Orange Theatre Company announce Beauty and the Beast cast

This will be OTC's first show since COVID put a halt to performances early last year and director Lindsay Punch is excited to showing the city what they're made of.

"We're looking forward to it, but we have to take each day as it comes," she said.

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"Fingers crossed things stay the way they are and there's a bit more easing of restrictions and we'll end up on stage.

"So much work goes into these productions so you want to hope that it comes off in the end."

Bagging the top honours of Beast and Belle were Nick Schmich and Leah Griffiths.

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Mr Schmick has lived in Orange his whole life and first took to the stage in high school as part of the ensemble in none other than Beauty and the Beast.

Thirteen years later and he is looking forward to his maiden performance in the starring role.

"I've been in one of the lead casts, but I've never actually been the lead male before," he said.

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"It's always great getting up on stage, especially when you know people in the audience.

"You always hear their applause and being the lead role is that little bit extra."

Mr Schmick was a little surprised when he found out he'd bagged the part.

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"It was a bit nerve-wracking doing auditions because my mother-in-law and my wife are in the production team," he said.

"But at the same time it was really good. It was actually surprising I got the call to say that I got it, because I was hearing feedback all the time of how others went and getting told how well they were going."

Ms Griffiths is currently studying theatre media as CSU Bathurst and has been performing for nearly six years.

She feels her story has now come full circle.

"When I was nine, up in Tamworth where I was living at the time, the local musical society was putting on Beauty and the Beast," she said.

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"My parents were doing lighting and sound cues for it, and they took the night off to take me to see it. It was the first show I ever saw live and my nine-year-old brain exploded.

"The part means a lot to me, the show means a lot to me and I feel very privileged. I feel like I worked for it and it's a good feeling knowing I've done this for as long as I have, because I've been knocked back and been put in the ensemble for so many years and now I feel like I've paid my dues."

There will be a total of seven performances at the Orange Civic Theatre, on May 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15.