A classic tale enhanced by the music of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and the extraordinary visual effects of Disney, “Beauty and the Beast” opened to a packed house Tuesday at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, evoking an enthusiastic response with showstopping numbers “Be Our Guest,” “Gaston” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Faithful to the 1991 animated feature, the stage musical “Beauty and the Beast” opens with a prologue revealing the origin of the Beast’s hideous exterior and the enchantment of his castle. The audience is immediately introduced to Disney’s fantastic puppeteer work with the enchantress (and later, the wolves) before being transported to the quaint village where Belle (Hilary Maiberger) resides with her inventive father, Maurice (William A. Martin). Disillusioned by her uneventful life, Belle finds more adventure than she bargained for at the doorstep of the Beast. But as the two open their hearts to one another, they find that true love looks below the surface.

The show boasts the use of 81 wigs, 580 costume pieces, a magic mirror with 67 LED lights and a starry sky backdrop that totals 450 pounds of curtain and lights. The set pieces are versatile and extravagant, and the players in this production wonderfully execute the song and dance numbers. A special treat is the comedic duo of Jeff Brooks as Gaston and Jimmy Larkin as Lefou, and the choreography of dancers with clinking beer mugs during the performance of the song “Gaston” takes the scene beyond even that of the animated movie.