"I learned early in the theater world," said Larry Tempo, "that you should go big, or go home."

Mr. Tempo, music director at Valley High School, said he and his cast have opted to go "huger than huge" with their production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," which will open tonight.

Based on the beloved 1991 film, the musical "Beauty" is also adapted from the fairy tale of a young girl who is kept prisoner by a terrible Beast who is really a handsome prince. It debuted on Broadway in 1994 and ran until 2007.

"People expect a lot from Disney, so you want to keep true to the spirit of the original," said Mr. Tempo. "But this is a learning experience for the kids, so you also want them to put their own spin on things."

An example of Valley's fresh interpretation, he said, was its production of the musical's best-known number, "Be Our Guest." Instead of dancing forks and kitchen implements, Mr. Tempo wanted to see dancing food.

"So we have kids dressed as boxes of chocolate, croissants, cheese. One actor is dressed as a six tier cake," he said. "We have salt and pepper shakers that shoot confetti. We've taken it to an entirely new level."

Mr. Tempo said it was important to him that the costumes be stunning and easy for the actors to move in, and he worked closely with several mothers of the cast, especially Nancy Livorio, to realize that vision.

"Every single costume has been constructed from scratch," he pointed out. "We rented nothing, we bought nothing, we borrowed nothing."

And as hard-working as his "costume moms" were, he said, the "set dads" were the same, constructing four 12-foot revolving arches for the Beast's castle.

"I told them what I wanted, and they made it happen. I couldn't ask for more support."

His cast and crew also are special, said Mr. Tempo, and he's seen many of them mature over his past four years as musical director.

He pointed out he's known Austin Farneth, who plays Lumiere, for almost 15 years through their work with the New Kensington Civic Theatre.

"Beauty" also stars Elise Zavadak, as Belle; Josh Lutman, as the Beast; Dave Bonk, as Gaston; and Galen Bakos, as Cogsworth.

Elora Walsh plays Chip, Kiersten Sadecky plays Mrs. Potts, Klase Danko plays Babette, Jacob Mangone plays Le Fou and Alyssa Beck plays Madame de la Grande Bouche.

Robert Livorio plays Monsieur D'arque and T.J. O'Sullivan plays Maurice.

"I didn't want to do a cookie-cutter version," said Mr. Tempo of the show. "This is going to be an experience for the audience from beginning to end."

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