BEAUTY is a BEAST - 03/25/07 evening review

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:44pm

MAJOR MAJOR Newsflash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
According to sources, an old beggar woman approached the Lunt-Fontanne asking for shelter. Upon being turned away, she transformed into Ethel Merman and cast a spell over the theatre and all who inhabit its walls. Much of it's cast, crew, and house staff were tranformed into VERY inanimate objects and the physical production and parts of the theatre fell into total disrepair with seats having leg room tighter than a Joan Rivers facelift. She gave the box office as the only way to let the outside world in to see. The only way to break the spell - let the show DIE!

I must keep this short. I am still flustered over the discrage of the performance.. and the show in general, and the ushers lying on the ground in the aisles like they were sunning a beach.. and the woman in front of me (and a good dozen others) who were VIDEO TAPING the show on their camcorders.. and I am still SEETHINg at the confrontation I had to have with the homophobic southern tramp with a bad perm and her brats behind me in the theatre during intermission.

Quite simply, Disney is closing thsis how because it is in total disrepair. It was the worst I have ever seen ANY show. Though I did have to wonder.. maybe Disney never downsized the show when they moved it to the Lunt. Perhaps the cast just chewed so much scenery, they I was seeing all that was left.. pure remnants of its self....

Let me put it bluntly.......

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (at the Palace) - New Orleans

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (at the Lunt) - New Orleans post-Katrina (the PSM, therefore, must be FEMA)

I am posting me GOOD thoughts in a following post in this thread....
Updated On: 3/26/07 at 02:44 PM

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:52pm

CRAP!

I just received my front row tix for April 24th.
Dammit!

Well, thanks for the 'review' --

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:58pm

Okay.. the good things.

deborah lew was great as belle. my boyfriend made note of the fact, that the only time i smiled during the show, was listening to her rendition of a change in me.

i was sad to miss john tartaglia as lumire. he was why i went. howeverm bret shuford was a highlight of the night in his place, somehow salavaging a disasterously bad perfromance of be our guest, where the sloppy and lazy ensemble could never seem to dance in time with one another, or the music.

jonathan freeman was a great cogsworth.

meredith inglesby, in the inconsequential and very minor role of babette, somehow managed to be the best performer on stage, earning some of the loudest cheers during curtain call. bravo to her.

in the ensemble, connor gallagher, as young prince/doormat, was the lone standout and strong member of perhaps the worst ensemble i have ever seen on a stage anywhere.

the worst pert of the night - a standing ovation. why?!?!?! it saddened me.. SO much.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 4:06pm

*bumping to spread the red alert warning on this one...*

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 4:17pm

I saw this back in November and thought it was OKAY. It wasn't ahlf as bad as the train wreck that is TARZAN. *shudders*

I wish I could've seen Johnny T and Jonathan Freeman in it before I left. I went to go see Donny Osmond and then one week later, they announce Johnny T and Jonathan Freeman were going to be in it and it pissed me off. Even though I liked the show, I didn't want to sit through it again.

WARNING: If you decide to go see the show just to see John Tartaglia as Lumire, he won't be doing matinees. He is filming the new season of Johnny and the Sprites. So, your best chance to see him is at an evening performance.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 4:20pm

I saw this show 8 times at the Palace (including its last performance there). Each of those times I saw a show that was in great shape. I refused to see it once it moved, and so happy I stuck with my decision.

How sad to hear the show is in such sloppy shape.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 4:26pm

regardless of how positive or negative anyone's view of tarzan may or may not be in relation to it's physical production.. design, direction, book, etc.. I would challenge anyone to argue me on the following point....

The company of Tarzan is infinately sttronger than the Beauty company, giving much more rounded, high quality performances across the board.. from stars, features, ensemble, etc alike that puts to shame what its being paraded around the stage across the street by the cast of Beauty.

[Faigs]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 4:50pm

WARNING: If you decide to go see the show just to see John Tartaglia as Lumire, he won't be doing matinees. He is filming the new season of Johnny and the Sprites.

Are you sure? They're filming already?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 5:32pm

Also remember this is ONE person's opinion.

Johnny and the Sprites is not filming at the moment, so you see how people state things they have no idea about.

The show is still playing at 90% plus, so word of mouth is obviosly still very good. Updated On: 3/26/07 at 05:32 PM

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 5:54pm

I wanna see Analiese Van Der Pol when she takes over Belle in April, maybe that will rejenuvate the show.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:04pm

CurtainPullDowner - Someone who works on the show who I have talked too, told me that they have already started filming.

[Craig]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:10pm

Anyone smell another bridge burning?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:41pm

Well, I believe your friend is wrong.
And Johnny was officially on vacation all last week so he couldn't have been filming.

[Craig]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:42pm

Last I heard, from John is that they were filming the second season beginning this summer. I could have misunderstood.. but I believe that's the latest

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:43pm

That is correct Craig.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:44pm

Maybe I misunderstood her...oh well. I'll have to go back and read that e-mail. lol.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:11pm

Filming for the second season of Sprites starts this summer. Johnny has said so publicly.

Also, if my opion is "that of one person".. let's talk about CATS getting a boost when it closed.. because a long running show was closing.. NOT because word of mouth was good. And I think, for full disclosure, it should be mentioned that certain hard-core supports of Beauty and the Beast, who have come out of the woodword to push it so hard since the closing notice was announced, happen to work for the show. So, you aren't getting an exactly honest opinion there.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:17pm

The show has four more months, I doubt they are running to see it now now because it is closing.

I am not hard core, just saying/

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:31pm

well i'll reiterate again... when i saw the show two years ago i was hoping for the worst... but i was pleasantly surprised at how well the company did (except for Steve Blanchard)... they did a wonderful job for a show that had been on for so many years... but the sets did look rather cheap for a broadway production... i was really hoping for a spectacle but was sad i didn't get one (spectacle in the sense of sets and whatnot)...

broadwayguy2... it just plain sucks you saw a horrible performance... from what i hear it's like they go in and out of giving wonderful to phone in performances... but sometimes i don't blame the actors... i blame the people that still let them go on and do the show... oh well...

[FutureAladdinOnB'Way]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 8:22pm

Regardless of broadwayguy2's opinion on the show, I still find Beauty and the Beast to be a beautiful production and I am sad to see it go...and regardless of the negativity about this show, I'm still planning on seeing it before it closes sometime like July 24th...I really wish Susan Egan would come back for like the last week or two of the show

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 8:38pm

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (at the Palace) - New Orleans

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (at the Lunt) - New Orleans post-Katrina (the PSM, therefore, must be FEMA)

So awful.

Made me laugh so hard.

[Craig]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 12:28am

Well if this sounds snarky, so be it. But I honestly put less stake in anyone's opinion when they can't take the time to re-read their posts for grammar, spelling - and oh yes, coherency. But that's just me. Especially when the board has an edit function where someone can go back and edit after they've posted.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 12:24pm

No, Craig... you NEVER sound snarky. Ever.

I'm sorry, but sometimes, when posting from work, I have more than one thing going on. Forgive me.. infalable one.

[Craig]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 1:07pm

I never said that I never sound snarky. And make excuses all you want, BG2 - if you're too busy to post with at least some semblance of coherency and care, then perhaps you should wait until you do have time?

Again - there's an edit function. Even if you posted in haste, you'd have time later to fix your errors.

But that's not important to you. What's important is you thinking up "clever" ways to trash a show.

A little less clever, a little more care is all I'm sayin'

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:24pm

Oh, bg2. At least this time you didn't post under a different screen name like that time you got all totally freaked out that they cut some costumes from Hairspray. Sheesh, remember that?

Anyway, nice to see you still find something praise worthy in performances by chorus boys you find sexually attractive.

However, ironically, it's actually spelled "infallible."