Rose (Sarah Rose) and the former Beast (Luke Munana) are at center stage at the end of I.C.E. Creative Entertainment Group's production Friday night of Beauty and the Beast on the Hempstead Hall Auditorium stage.

Beauty and the Beast, a story estimated to be over 4,000 years old, was brought to the Hempstead Hall Auditorium stage Friday night, greeted by hundreds of kids, their parents and assorted young-at-heart grownups. Many of the children had what the characters on stage referred to as Magic Lamps, whirling, multi-color lighted fans that would become useful late in Act Two.

This version was part of the series Fairytales on Ice and was the fourth production in Hope in four years by I.C.E. Creative Entertainment Group. No doubt a combination of lively publicity and  word of mouth from past performances helped nearly fill the auditorium, and attendees seemed well-pleased by what they saw as they filed out after a little over a two-hour exhibition of masterful ice skating, hypnotic dancing, evocative music and a message about the power of a unified community working toward one goal.

Sarah Rose, as Rose/Beauty glided across the stage and performed her choreography so smoothly it’s easy to believe the short bio on the troupe’s Facebook page which says she began skating at age four. Her interactive dances with Luke Munana as the Beast were the highlight of the production.

The set design and projections combined to render a world on stage that was by turns charming, ominous, grand, stormy and festive. It also extended into the audience as all the children with their Magic Lamps were called upon to create a wind powerful enough to blow any dastardly sorceress off course.

The master of ceremonies pledged that I.C.E. would return next year for its fifth time in a row, to put on Peter Pan and Wendy’s Adventures.