Disney’s Beauty and
the Beast
Alan Menken (Music); Howard Ashman & Tim Rice (Lyrics);
Linda Woolverton (Book)
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| Brooke Quintana & Sam Hartley |
The first time I saw Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast on the big screen as an animated film, I immediately
pictured the opening number “Belle” as made for the big stage. As the song’s angelic-looking namesake roams aimlessly
nose in a book around her “little town, a quiet village,” townspeople of all
shapes, sorts, and sizes rush about in chores and errands, taking time to jeer
and point at her while singing in wonderful harmonies, “There she goes again
... She’s nothing like the rest of us, is Belle.” That film went on to become the first
animated picture ever to be nominated in the Oscar Best Picture category (1992),
and its stage version (the first Disney film ever made into a fully staged
musical) secured nine 1994 Tony nominations (including Best Musical) and won
the Olivier’s Best in 1998. Broadway’s
ninth-longest-running musical, Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast, has since toured 13 countries and 115 cities and has
now landed a three-day, Broadway San Jose stop-over with an outstanding
production does proud for Alan Menkin (Music), Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
(Lyrics), and Linda Woolverton (Book).
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| Brooke Quintana as Belle |
Based on a mid-eighteenth-century French fairy tale,
Disney’s version of Beauty and the Beast
is at its heart a story of two rejects by their local, narrow-minded society
who stand up to rigid social norms and to dare fall in love, even though they
are on the outside as different as night and day. Belle is an educated village girl who opines
to her eccentric, inventing father Maurice, “I’m surrounded by people, but I’m
so lonely.” She is the only girl in town
not falling silly heads over heels for the handsome, muscled brute Gaston, who
only has eyes for her and has intentions they will be married. A woods-wandering, soon-lost Maurice (a
wide-eyed, always curious Thomas Mothershed) finds himself imprisoned in a
hairy Beast’s castle (the Beast being a once-callous-hearted prince under a
witch’s spell), a condition Belle remedies by offering herself as hostage in
exchange for her father’s freedom.
Surrounded in this doomed but enchanted household by a host of servants
slowly turning into common objects like clocks, dishes, bureaus, and
candlesticks, Belle slowly strikes a friendship and more with the horned, hairy
master with long tail and gruff, growling disposition. As is true in all Disney stories, just when
the going looks good that they might overcome the spell, turning everyone back
into real people (including the once-handsome prince), disaster and evil arrive
... and well, the rest of the story is of course pure fairy tale and Disney
magic.
Brooke Quintana brings much spunk and spirit to the heroine
of this story as well as a voice that is crystal clear and able both to soar
with unwavering grace as well as to modulate into contemplative reflection in
songs like “Home” and “A Change in Me.” As the Beast, Sam Hartley is at first wildly animalistic
as his pounces on chairs, roars in big blasts when annoyed, and shakes in
fury. But, behind his mask of make-up,
fur, warts and beefed-up muscle, he also ably conveys the Beast’s insecurity,
shyness, and tender heart as well as sings in with soft, silvery tones unexpectedly
coming from a brutal monster, “If I Can’t Love Her” (“let the world be done
with me.” As a couple, the diminutive
Belle and the gigantic Beast convincingly waltz their way into each other’s hearts
during “Beauty and the Beast” (sung by a wonderfully voiced teapot played by
Stephanie Gray) and blend into one harmonic entity in a reprise of “Home.”
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| The Household Objects of the Castle |
As anyone who has ever seen the original film will quickly
attest, the real fun of this outing comes from all the deliciously delightful
characters inhabiting the house. There
is the aforementioned, cheerful Mrs. Potts as the hostess-with-the-mostest
teapot and her only-head-showing son Chip as a teacup rolling around smiling
and chirping on a teacart (alternately played by Deandre Horner and Jake
Jones). Samuel Shurtleff is
appropriately pompous yet always funny Cogsworth the clock (and former butler) who
is joined by his big-hearted, best pal Lumiere (a very French, former valet now
with wick-lit hands and a body of a candle holder, Ryan N. Phillips). The four of them, along with a former opera
diva (Stephanie Harter Gilmore) -- now chest of many drawers -- and
a sexy maid (Melissa Jones) -- now covered in feathers as a duster, combine in
one of the night’s highlight numbers, “Be Our Guest.” Along with a dancing/singing chorus line of
forks, spoons, and knives and can-canning dinner plates, the most-famous number
of this musical comes to full life and sound in an explosion of color,
movement, and harmony (thanks to the excellent choreography of Matt West).
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| Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek (Gaston) & Townspeople |
But even the bad guys in Disney productions are stars in
their own rights and are often the best parts of the show. Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek’s Gaston is like a
bad boy Lil’ Abner in appearance and demeanor.
His ego is sky-high, and he always towers over his many townspeople
worshippers in stature and exaggerated poses that look like ridiculous covers
for Men’s Health Magazine. His voice rings loud and true for his
self-adoring “Me,” and he is rambunctiously right in all his moves and notes in
the big production number, “Gaston.” His
sidekick Lefou (the rubber-bodied, tumbling, stumbling, and impish-looking Matt
Dasilva) takes all his smacks and trips by the bullying Gaston in stride; and
their reprise of “Gaston” is sung with frolic and frenzy. When required to become evil to lead the
townspeople to rid their community of the Beast, this Gaston fills the bill with
villainous voice in “The Mob Song.”
What helps make this touring production so much fun are the
many on-and-off scenic elements that have the look of pop-ups in a children’s
storybook. There is never any mistake
that we are in the midst of a fairy tale, further enhanced by Ann Hould-Ward’s
cartoon-like, tongue-in-cheek costumes full of the brightest colors and
detailed in ways only Disney does.
Lighting and sound effects by Natasha Katz and John Petrafesa, Jr.,
respectively, lead to magical moments and transformations while Shane Parus
conducts a fine orchestra that does full justice to Alan Menkin’s hummable
score.
Touring shows – especially those in town just for the
weekend -- are sometimes only shadows of
the original Broadway production in their staging and their stars. That is certainly not the case for this San
Jose Broadway production of Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast. And while it
may be too late upon reading this review to make it to this show, just know San
Jose Broadway promises more good times for a longer stay of Disney’s Newsies, May 10-15, 2016 at the
San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
Rating: 4 E
San Jose Broadway’s production of the touring Disney’s Beauty and the Beast closes
April 2, 2016, at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 South
Almaden Boulevard, San Jose. Tickets are
available online at http://broadwaysanjose.com.
Photo Credit by Matthew Murphy
I wants to know that the Movie Beauty and the Beast will release in Hindi or not in India.
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