Beauty and the Beast takes stage at Fox
Stage version fails to capture the magic, still delivers dose of fun
Photo courtesy Rick Diamond
Belle reads aloud to the children of the " small provincial town " in the large-scale opening scene, well-known from the Disney cartoon. The Theater of the Stars' production of Beauty and the Beast ran at the Fox Theatre Jan. 8-16.
A singing candelabra and dancing china sure can add zing to any meal and they sure enlivened the Theater Of The Stars' production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which played at the Fox Theatre Jan. 8-16.
Beauty and the Beast is definitely one of the most beloved animated movies of all time. This musical production of the classic Disney movie is colorful, lively and at times gaudy.
The beautiful intelligent Belle lives with her eccentric inventor father in a " small, provincial town " in France. The sleepy town seems too small to fulfill book-loving Belle's thirst for excitement.
Her wish for " adventure in the great wide somewhere " comes true when she encounters a fearsome Beast in a gloomy castle who has her father locked up in a dungeon. Seeing her father's plight, she agrees to take her father's place as the Beast's prisoner.
The Beast is in reality a young prince who has been transformed by an enchantress' spell due to his apparent lack of humanity. The Beast has to learn to love and to be loved by the time the last petal falls from an enchanted rose. If not, he will remain a Beast forever.
Can he learn to love someone and be loved back in return? Could this someone be Belle? Will Belle be able to see past his terrifying exterior?
The pompous clock, Cogsworth, the loveable teapot, Mrs. Potts, her son, Chip, the suave candelabra, Lumiere and the rest of the enchanted castle occupants add the much needed sparkle and charm to this otherwise lackluster production.
This lavish musical features all of the award-winning songs from the original Disney movie by composer Alan Menken and lyricists Howard Ashman and Tim Rice including a dazzling enactment of " Be Our Guest " where one gladly surrenders to the joy of being a guest at this magical feast as well as " Tale as Old as Time " performed with enthralling set decorations.
The production does fall short of expectations but is worth a watch because let's face it: how often does your cold dinner stand up and cabaret dance for your entertainment?
