This Beauty and the Beast takes the film version and turns it into a live musical. It is a long way from both pantomime and other musicals, since it imitates the movement of cartoon characters and lacks any seasonal touches.
The singing is, of course, note perfect, with Shaun Dalton’s Beast exceptionally clear and passionate. The performers are, however, often overshadowed by the set and the immediacy of the action is undermined by the familiarity of the script and set pieces.
Ben Harlow’s Gaston is the most cartoonish of the characters - his disjointed postures ensure that he attracts no sympathy and his defeat is anti-climatic. The Beast gets the best lines and the most development, somehow being sympathetic even at his most brutal. Belle is a cipher, a token beauty with a book habit and commonplace kindness. Yet fairy stories charm with less and it is the grandeur of this production that holds the attention, alongside the popular Disney songs.
The interpretation of the myth is sadly limited by the close following of the film’s script and the display is more important than the detail. It is enthusiastically followed by the young audience, but lacks the dramatic bite to be a true all-ages musical.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Content is copyright © 2012 The Stage Media Company Limited unless otherwise stated.
All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)
