“Wow” was the reaction after St. Albert Children’s Theatre Facebook page announced a sellout for their winter musical running Nov. 21 to Dec. 1 at the Arden Theatre, but there is some concern that some people may be holding fake tickets.
Every evening show for Beauty and the Beast was sold-out by Oct. 29 and there are barely 100 tickets available for four afternoon shows.
“It was kind of crazy. We knew it would sell well. When we were originally planning the winter show, Beauty and the Beast was not on our radar. But Disney announced that after 2024, it was pulling the show, and we knew it would be years before they would redo it and put it back on Broadway,” said artistic director Janice Flower.
The iconic fairytale’s popularity not only attracted local families snapping up tickets. Internet scammers also flagged it. The Arden Theatre, as with every venue across Canada, is facing a problem of fake accounts advertising ticket sales. On Nov. 6, the St. Albert Children’s Theatre Facebook page posted the following notice.
“The city has seen an increase of comments on our social media posts where fake accounts advertise tickets for sale as part of a scam. We strongly recommend that buyers only purchase tickets from the City of St. Albert at tickets.stalbert.ca. The city is actively deleting these comments and blocking accounts that post the scam comment more than once.”
Flower recommends anyone who purchased tickets and cannot attend to visit the Arden Theatre box office in person and complete a transfer. A refund will be issued as there is a long waiting list of people hoping to attend.
Nearly two decades ago when the children’s theatre company first produced Beauty and the Beast in 2005, scammers were not an issue. At that time, many of the musical’s young actors innocently remembered seeing Disney’s original 1991 animated musical romance and were eager to play a stage role.