The Carlsbad High School Cultural Arts Center is gone, being magically and thoroughly transformed into an enchanted castle through May 21. In what is truly a technical marvel for any production, much less a high school show, this is eye-popping theatre that you might not believe when you see it. The impressive sets designed by Monica Hall and Justin Smiley are highlighted by some magnificent backdrops and the mysterious castle interior made even more mysterious by sublime lighting effects (courtesy of Justin Smiley) with fog nicely woven into it.

And don’t get me started on the costumes. Jane Craig-Jones, Sue Bouse Team, and staff have been working on these since last year, and it certainly shows. Everything from the Beast’s beastly body to Belle’s beautiful gowns to the countless animated objects including candelabras, walking clocks, a huge chest of drawers, and a variety of kitchen utensils that are designed to both look fantastic and move handsomely during the big dance scenes. It’s truly dazzling. Then throw on top of all that the countless cool gadgets including a magical tea tray whose base truly appears to be see-through with only the head of the boy teacup (David Tanner) sitting atop, a self-propelled car for the inventor (Belle’s father), a sparkling magic mirror, and petals dropping off the enchanted rose on cue.

But Carlsbad High’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast isn’t all about mere technical achievement, as there's a lot of human talent on the stage as well. Haleigh Kotter stars as the beauty, and she’s got the vocals to match – a warm, velvet voice that soars in her solos and a gentle, sometimes humorous personality to accompany it. Her beastly counterpart is played by John Cardenas whose rich, deep voice reverberates whether he’s talking or singing as in his moving ballad If I Can’t Love Her. It can be tough for the character to be seen through the beastly exterior, but John manages to do it quite well. And then there’s the real beast. Collin McConnell uses his extraordinary physical comedy skills and hilarious personality to deliver a totally hysterical performance as the egotistical Gaston – hunter extraordinaire who finds himself hunting Belle for a wife and hunting the Beast for a trophy. His Gaston scene, where amusing sidekick Lefou (Kyle Marks) and his female admirers try to pick him up after being rejected by Belle, is performed to perfection.

Other highlights include a humorously stuffy and underplayed Cogsworth (Mikael Thomas), a humorously amorous and overplayed Lumiere (Kyle Wooley), the flirty Babette (Talia Davis), and of course the caring and motherly Mrs. Potts (Sarah Kapp) who nicely sings the show’s title song and is the enchanted objects’ emotional rock as they become more and more object-like. Carlsbad High teacher Wayne Beauvais lends his considerable acting skills to the role of Belle’s inventive father, a.k.a. Crazy Old Maurice. And the ensemble nails their big scenes from the light Belle intro to the dark Mob Song as the townsfolk react to fearmongering rather than wisdom.

But everything really comes to a head for the Be Our Guest scene – one of the more spectacular displays of pageantry you’re ever going to see. Kyle Wooley as Lumiere lights the way through a fantastic feast featuring excellent choreography (Suzanne Fernandez) that makes such great use of those clever costumes – especially the flexible rug (Adriana Spencer) and a kickline of napkins, eventually culminating in a grand finale that can only be topped off with streaming fireworks. Of course, they have those, too!