The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

theatre by Sophia Sorenson An "Originar' Tale of Love and Beauty Beast O v e r the past year, he also w r o t e t h e s c o r e and lyrics. Beautiful is L a m b e r t - C inderella. Beauty and the Sleeping Beauty. F o r many of us, o u r n o t i o n s of r o m a n c e and happy endings e m e r g e d as w e c o m m i t t e d these s t o r i e s t o o u r hearts and m e m o r i e s in o u r early years. B e f o r e t h e s e t h r e e f a m o u s fairytales c a p t u r e d the imagination of several g e n e r a t i o n s , t h e r e w a s a n o t h e r tale, also of l o v e , but far less f a m o u s . It is the tale of the g o d C u p i d a n d t h e lovely m o r t a l P s y c h e , a love s t o r y fraught w i t h d r a m a and intrigue. Based o n a c e n t u r i e s - o l d telling and using c h a r a c t e r s d r a w n f r o m G r e e k mythology, this s t o r y can be c o n s i d e r e d o n e of the original fairytales, w i t h t h e m e s that inspired t h e better known modern versions.This tale is t h e focus of A s h l e y L a m b e r t M a b e r l y ' s n e w m u s i c a l . Beautiful. In addition to the romantic aspects, the s t o r y is c o m p l i c a t e d by t h e r e l a t i o n ship b e t w e e n t h e p o w e r f u l V e n u s , g o d d e s s o f love and beauty, and h e r s o n C u p i d . It's a riveting tale o f p o w e r struggles, jealousy, d i v i d e d loyalties, a n d , o f c o u r s e , beauty. T h e p r o d u c t i o n features G i l l i a n H u n t e r as P s y c h e . X a s h a O ' D a y as V e n u s , and L a m b e r t - M a b e r l y as the god caught-in-the-middle: C u p i d . Lambert-Maberly's role extends b e y o n d appearing o n c e n t r e stage; his many talents are s h o w c a s e d in his additional roles as p r o d u c e r , d i r e c t o r , c o s t u m e designer, a n d c h o r e o g r a p h e r . Maberly's t h i r d original p r o d u c t i o n , f o l l o w i n g o n t h e success of Rumpelsvltskin's Children {which ran in Beautiful THE R O M A N C E OF CUPID AND P S Y C CH HE E D e c e m b e r 1999) and Beyond the Meadow. It also m a r k s t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n of a mutually beneficial p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h Presentation House A r t s C e n t r e . " P r e s e n t a t i o n H o u s e is the friendliest t h e a t r e in t h e L o w e r M a i n l a n d , " says L a m b e r t - M a b e r l y . " T h e staff are fabulous, and it is a w o n d e r f u l e n v i r o n m e n t . " T h e i r relationship began t w o years ago w h e n he a p p r o a c h e d t h e t h e a t r e t o m o u n t his first p r o d u c t i o n . D e s p i t e his lack of p r e v i o u s p r o d u c t i o n e x p e r i e n c e , he w a s w e l c o m e d in a v e r y positive manner. Val M a s o n of P r e s e n t a t i o n H o u s e sings his praises. " A s h l e y is a fantastically t a l e n t e d individual. H e d o e s e v e r y t h i n g : w r i t e s , sings, acts, p r o d u c e s , d i r e c t s , designs t h e c o s t u m e s . H e is a joy t o w o r k w i t h . " Beautiful is a n o t h e r m i l e s t o n e in the e v o l u t i o n of L a m b e r t - M a b e r l y ' s c a r e e r as w r i t e r and storyteller, and it r e p r e s e n t s an o p p o r t u n i t y t o engage all of his talents. It is also a natural e x p r e s s i o n of his love of musical t h e a t r e , w h i c h he claims began w h e n he was seven years o l d , w i t h his part in a d u e t of Look to the Rainbow in the R i c h m o n d High Review 7 3 . He's c o m e a long way t o w a r d bringing his creative vision t o the stage and c o m m u n i c a t i n g " s t o r i e s that help p e o p l e deal w i t h life" and that are o p e n t o individual i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . To s h o w c a s e his p a s s i o n , L a m b e r t - M a b e r l y established his o w n company. O n c e U p o n a T h e a t r e (check o u t his w e b s i t e at www.onceupon.org). O n e thing is c e r t a i n , L a m b e r t M a b e r l y is clear o n his p u r p o s e in life: "It's the m o s t w o n d e r f u l thing in the w o r l d t o d i s c o v e r w h a t y o u love [and] . . . t o tell p e o p l e p o w e r f u l stories." The Ashley Maberly, his own company. multi-talented Lamberttakes theatre Beautiful runs at Presentation Arts Centre in North Vancouver Street and Chesterfield) 2. Nightly performances Wednesday-Saturday Matinees March run at 8 pm. and call House (3rd 22-April are held Saturday Sundays at 3 pm. For information, 990-3473. on many roles in