Beauty and the Beast national tour - My Reivew- Page 2

[JMVR]

Posted: 10/26/10 at 9:04pm

When and why did they change the logo? The "Beauty and the Beast" font is different in a new version of the logo I've seen.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/26/10 at 9:34pm

I would love to see pictures of the cast in costume.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:37am

A friend of mine got a better picture of the curtain. You can see how many vines, swirls, and weedish plants there are around the stage. The middle section with no vines and swirls lifts up and the rest stays the entire show. That should give you an idea as to how small and congested the stage is.

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 2/14/11 at 1:54am

I saw the show in Springfield, Missouri twice this weekend. I got student rush tickets and ended up second row both times. Very good seats. I have seen 8 different productions of Beauty and the Beast, with 5 of those being professional. (Broadway, National Tours, MUNY)

The GOOD:
I had Carter Lynch for the beast the first show I attended. He brought a LOT of humor to the role that I hadn't seen before. He had a great voice, also. Very rich baritone. I LOVED Liz as Belle. Her "A Change In Me" was one of the best I've heard (next to Ashley Brown's). Nathaniel Hackman's Gaston was easily the best I've ever seen and a real standout in the show. Not only is he attractive, but he's got a great set of pipes on him. He took an optional note in Gaston (Roughly the size of a barge---went to a high G.)That song was a standout for me also. The ensemble was on FIRE at that point. "Human Again" and "Be Our Guest" were both spectacular production numbers. Including two different shots of metallic streamers during the latter. "If I Can't Love Her" was great. I preferred Justin's vocals to the understudy's. At the final key change, the gargoyles turn the "West Wing" around and fog starts billowing around. Beautiful stage picture and way to end the first act. The transformation was great. I wasn't expecting them to fly the beast in a non-equity tour.
The orchestra was fantastic!

The BAD:
The show was slow starting up to "Gaston"
The cutting of "No Matter What" didn't make sense to me at all.
The guy playing Maurice had waaaaaaay too much energy to be an old man. He was running and prancing around the stage like he was in his mid-twenties. The wolf puppets were indeed, interesting.
Mrs. Potts had a great singing voice, but her accent while speaking was very inconsistent and hard to understand. Sometimes she was Cockney, British, Australian...etc. Very confusing.
I was underwhelmed by Babette's costume. She didn't look like a feather duster at all.
The "castle" set consisted of two smaller staircase platforms (constructed in the vines that are on the show portals) and the "West Wing" which was an even larger staircase. I miss the HUGE castle from the original production.
As stated by someone else, the sound effects are all pre-recorded. (slaps...etc.) The beast's roar was wimpy, and wasn't anything near why I remembered.

There were a lot of families at the shows and the kids were loving their lives. A bunch of little girls were dressed as Belle. If you've seen the original production or tour and plan on seeing this, go in with an open mind. Otherwise, I'd recommend it for families and for a fun night out. Don't pay full price though!

[Goggles]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 4:20am

I just saw the show today in LA.....it was the worst production I have ever seen. For the price of the tix 87 bucks for the balcony I was pissed at the show. I really want to call the Pantages tomorrow and ask for my money back. What a waste of time and money!

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 5:11am

I sat through this unfortunate mess in Texas. Having seen this with TUTS, OBC and first national tour (the Chicago sit down), this non-eq cast was a joke. Terrible, flimsy looking set. Dumbed-down special effects (intro beast transformation, no fireballs, no flying rig, no pyro during Be Our Guest, cheap projector used for rain effect during fight scene, etc). It is a total waste of money to spend anything more than $40 to see this tour.

And btw, the best Change in Me can be heard on Susan Egan's last album. While she didn't get to sing it as the original Belle, she does it MASS justice when finally getting it.




BN

[My Oh My]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 7:48am

I've seen a handful of non-equity tours and all except one disappointed me greatly.

There was an incredible equity reproduction of the original production national tour of West Side Story that played the Pantages in L.A. in 1997. I was dying to see it again so drove far away to catch it the following year. Little did I know it had gone non-equity by then and I was treated to a lackluster joke of a performance.

Same with a non-equity tour of A Chorus Line (199 that had blown me away the previous year when it was equity. The non-equity used synthesized brass and a cast so bad, I wanted to die.

I was looking forward to the non-equity tour of Spring Awakening that I saw last month, especially after reading the reviews on here. While I wasn't terribly disappointed, too many of the cast had trouble staying on key and the girls all sang in a very warbly head voice. The sound system was the 2nd worst I've ever heard. That was my first time seeing the show and I could not make out a single lyric from my 2nd row orchestra seat, which was also right smack in front of the stage left speakers. One thing did surprise me--the awesome band was first class.

The best of the bunch was a non-equity tour of Hairspray that I caught last year right before it closed. The entire cast absolutely defied the 2nd class nature of most non-equity tours and were Broadway and equity caliber. I usually feel like stabbing my ears with a pitchfork when I have to sit through a "virtual" orchestra, and this Hairspray's orchestra consisted of some keyboards and a few guitars. Shockingly, the music did not sound overly fake. It wasn't anywhere nearly as good as a real group of musicians playing real instruments, but it did not make me want to shake my fist at the pit either, which is good!

The physical production looked very lavish and nearly as elaborate as the original equity national tours. The costumes did not appear to be made of colored plastic Glade bags, and the lighting was as great as I remember from the YouTube videos I've seen of the original production.

Now, if only they invested in some basic Bose boom box thingies, the sound would have definitely been much improved!!! By far the worst sound system in history. Think LOUD WALKIE TALKIES. *dies*

As for this non-equity Beauty and the Beast, you'd have to tie me up and haul me there to see it. The much ballyhooed original production that enjoyed a sit-down at Los Angeles' Shubert Theatre was said to be the largest and most elaborate production of the musical in the world, and even so, I was terribly underwhelmed with the production. I've long called the stage version GARISH and TACKY. Add that horrifying severed talking noggin of Chip, and you can add CREEPY to the mix!

That Disney...adapting a cartoon for the stage by making the staged version look like a cartoon. FAIL, anyone?

Updated On: 3/13/11 at 07:48 AM

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 10:28am

I saw this tour when it began in Providence and I rather liked the design, and the cast. To each his own, I guess.

As for the prices... producers don't set them on the road. Presenters do. If you're upset with what it costs, take it up with them.

Cutting No Matter What, I thought, sped up a show that I've always thought started slowly. I never liked the song, so I didn't miss it. I did miss Maison.... so I'll give you that.

I thought the wolf puppets worked great. And the concept of having the castle represented with dead vines was an interesting choice. Can't speak for Justin Glaser's Beast now but in Providence he sang it quite well. Liz (I don't remember her last name) was superb as Belle, and the Mrs. Potts had a lovely voice on the title song.

My mother, who is VERY picky and counts the original tour as one of her favorite shows ever, loved the new tour.

And remember... for those mourning that it's not the same design used on the last Equity tour, it can't be! Of course it's going to be smaller. This show is designed to be able to go up and down quickly. They do many, many one-two night runs or split weeks. To do the original tour concept wouldn't make sense.
Updated On: 3/13/11 at 10:28 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 9:36pm

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I am glad you enjoyed it! I have no problem with having to make the set smaller or redesigning, I just did not care for this design at all and thought it was tacky and gaudy- just my opinion though. I unfortunately saw Gabriella Gamache as Belle and she was not very good at all. Having a bad Belle can definitely put a damper on Beauty and the Beast though. I really wish I could have seen Liz Shivener (sp?).

[tourboi]

Posted: 3/14/11 at 1:13am

It's true, the show is largely carried on Belle's shoulder.