Well, the reviews are in. And among the kids we sent to see Beauty and the Beast at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the show's a hit.

Late last week, Patch asked youngsters in Morris, Sussex and Somerset counties to send in their brief essays on why they should go get to see the show for free—with the promise that if they were picked, they'd follow-up with a write-up letting us know how it was.

The word "loved" came up a lot. So did the word "great." If you'd like to see for yourself, Disney's Beauty and the Beast continues at NJPAC Friday, June 24, 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 25, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, June 26, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $24 to $100 and may be purchased by telephone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), by visiting the NJPAC Box Office at One Center Street in downtown Newark, or online at www.njpac.org.

The submitted reviews are below.

Ricky McNeil, second grade, Morristown:

This was my first time at NJPAC. The ushers were dressed appropriately for the show.  They wore crowns, tiaras, and Beast gloves as they handed us our playbills and escorted us to our seats. That set the mood for the play.

Before the play began, I was impressed with the theater.  The rose shone brightly on the curtain.  Then the play began.

The actors did a great job, and my favorite character was Lumiere. My brother agreed, that  was his favorite  character too. The costumes for the characters were very bright and cheerful, except for the Beast. My favorite costume was Lumiere's costume because his hands lit up like candles, and would sometimes blow out.

I thought the plot of the story was funny.   One example is  when the Beast was asked by Cosgsworth to compliment Belle, he told her that her dress was purple. It made me laugh.  The best scene was when they sang Be Our Guest, everything in the castle came to life.  The plates danced with the forks, knives, spoons and salt and pepper shakers.  Seeing the plates dance reminded me of flexible Frisbees. There were two times when confetti shot into the audience, but it didn't land on me.

I don't want want to give away too many of the details, because I don't want to spoil the play for those going to the show.   Thank you to the Patch for sending me to the show.  I had a great time and I would see this play again.

Laila Kirstein, second grade, Parsippany

Last night I went to see the play Beauty and the Beast at NJPAC. The show was about how the beast should be kind. Gaston, a hunter wants to marry Belle. Belle does not want to marry Gaston, because he is a showoff and Belle likes to read but Gaston
thinks reading is dumb. At the end of the play, Belle falls in love with the Beast and Gaston dies. The Beast turns into a prince and is very kind.

I liked all of the actors, but Le Fou was my favorite. Le Fou is Gaston’s assistant. Le Fou is hilarious. The actor was so very flexible. He flips, he falls without hurting himself, he hits into things, and is just plain funny. I loved the costumes because they have so many frills. For example, Belle’s dress has the most frills on any costume I’ve ever saw!

I loved the singing. I liked the song Be My Guest because it is really exciting and really entertained you. There are trumpets and when they blew them all of this confetti flew out! There was a dancing welcome mat that was so funny because it flipped and danced just like Le Fou, the only thing about the singing was it had a lot of opera. The reason why I didn’t really like that is because it seems like only parents would like that.

The scenery was spectacular. It really looked like the time period. For example: wood houses, the fashion clothing line and big fancy castles. I’m really impressed with how they made the beast float by himself!

In the theater, the people who worked there wore crowns and tiaras. On the tables they set up little tea sets. It was cool that they set up all that. So, I think that everyone should go to NJPAC to see Beauty and the Beast. The theater is so fancy. I loved the show!!! This show is impressive, funny and spectacular. I recommend this play, Beauty and the Beast for ages 6-39.

Thank you NJPAC and The Patch for letting me see the show and write all about it.

Ella Buono, 3, Basking Ridge

I loved the Beauty and the Beast show!  In the beginning, the beast was really mean and it scared me.  Then, he was nice and he even made me laugh.  I really liked Lumiere.  He had real fire coming out of his candlesticks!  Then, at one part, streamers shot out of the sky and into the crowd.  I didn't get one, but I wanted one.  Then, smoke shot out of some bottles.  It was really cool.  At one part, I tried to scream at the beast, but he didn't hear me.

The music was great!  Mom bought me a CD and we listened to it on the way home.  Belle's papa had a silly bicycle that he rode.  I wished I had a bike like that!  Some girl's at the show told me that they liked my Belle dress.  I love that dress!  I want to go back and see the beast again!

Kaitlin Hands, 12, of Hillsborough

 On Wednesday June 22,2011 'Beauty and the Beast' opened at the NJ PAC. The family favorite show is making a countrywide tour and is a perfect show for the whole family. It is a perfect combination of romance, action, and comedy. The play's special effects are phenomenal and you will really believe that you're in the forest or in the small village where Belle lives because of how well the lighting and sets are. The music and lyrics are very well planned because while the music is very classical the lyrics are humorous.                     Seeing multiple Broadway shows myself I would have never guessed that this wasn't a Broadway production because the actors showed the perfect amount of emotion at just the right parts.

Also, I would recommend this play to all theatre lovers because the way the actors perform the lines it makes you feel like you're up on that stage playing the part of Belle or Lumiere. The performance was amazing and I would definitely see it if you are a hopeless romantic looking for the perfect love story. 'Beauty and the Beast' is a classic love story, not just a child's movie, that anyone can relate to and adore as much as I did. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that wants to go.