Beauty and the Beast - the musical

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Beauty and the Beast - The Musical

Playwright/s/Composer/s – Book by Linda Woolverton, lyrics Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, music by Alan Menken.

Production Company/Theatre space – (With six unions, this is obviously a professional show) Disney Theatrical Group under Andrew Flatt and Anne Quart, John Gore Organization, Broadway Across Canada / Jubilee Auditorium.

Length – 2 Acts (2 hours, 30 min, one intermission.)

Genre– Musical Fairytale

Premise – After an enchantress puts a spell on a young prince, he lives as a beast (with his staff that are turned into objects) until a book loving villager rescues her father from his lair and ends up breaking the spell.

Why this play? Why now? – At this time, it’s fun for adults to see a monster turn into a gentle man; for kids it’s a well-known Disney classic.

Curiosities – In addition to 4 creators, there are 22 producers, 32 cast members, 14 musicians, 49 designers, crew, stage managers, and an additional 244 names of staff in the program. Is the audience aware of the enormity of putting on a two-and-a-half-hour show? Maybe they shouldn’t be, but for those that grumble at ticket prices would this awareness help?

Notable Moment – The Be Our Guest number is a showstopper.

Notable writing – The lyrics in A Change in Me bridge Belle as a young woman wanting to see the world change into a woman happy to live in a castle with a former beast. It’s difficult to make Stockholm Syndrome, abuse, kidnapping, marauding villagers, and death palatable let alone the myth that true love will change a beast of a man into a caring human. Somehow the Disney magic makes it all work.

Notable performances – Broadway sends its best. The titular roles are played beautifully by Kyra Belle Johnson and Fergie L. Philippe. Gaston, the unsuitable narcissist, is played by scene-stealing Stephen Mark Lukas. Danny Gardner as Lumiere lights up the stage but as always with children it is Levi Blaise Coleman who steals the show as Chip the cup that reverts to a little boy.

Notable design/Production – Award winning Video & Projection Designer Darrel Maloney adds magic and threat which is dynamic and doesn’t override the theatrical experience. Costume Designer Ann Hould-Ward excels in the hundreds of quick-change costumes needed to fully tell this story. It was lovely to hear the late Angela Lansbury’s narration at the top of show.

Notable direction – Director & Choreographer Matt West pays homage to Esther Williams water choreo, Sally Rand’s ostrich feather fans, and the Ziegfeld Follies chorus line among others in this spectacular show. Scenic Designer Stanley A. Meyer creates the perfect touring show sets.

One reason to see this show – Be a guest, it’s terrific.