"Beauty & The Beast" 10/5--review and bad audience behavior

[karen24]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 10:32am

I took my out-of-town guest to see this on 10/5--she is a huge Donny Osmond fan, so she really just went to see Donny.
The show was cute--not really my cup of tea (no pun intended), but Donny was funny as Gaston, and Sarah Uriarte Berry was very good (although she did get a bit strident during a couple of numbers.) I was disappointed with Steve Blanchard as the Beast, who seemed to be only half-there (he didn't really seem to be engaged in the performance until the very end, when he "transformed"), and with Jamie Ross (Maurice)--he seemed to be literally walking through the performance at some points. I thought the wolf chase scene was just embarrassing--there was no sense of danger there at all (I mean the one where he was being chased--the one with Belle and the Beast and the wolves was quite good.)
I saw the animated film about a million times when my kids were younger, and I kept thinking that overall, I liked the film better. It seemed to me that the magic of people being turned into objects, for example, came across better in animation than onstage. Also, some things, like the way Gaston keeps beating up Lefou, which seemed funny in the cartoon (at least to me), came across as just mean onstage.
I did really enjoy Jeanne Lehman as Mrs. Potts and Stuart Marland as Lumiere; they were excellent.
The only substitution the night we were there was for Babette--Alisa Klein played the role. She was cute.
One really annoying thing--we were sitting in the front row of the mezzanine. Off to our left was a large group in the "box". This group had not only a restless toddler who couldn't sit still, but a BABY who started to fuss and cry about halfway through the first act. It was incredibly distracting. The ushers did nothing about it. It was especially bad during the Beast's big, emotional number at the end of Act I, and I felt sorry for him as he tried to get through the song. I'm sure he could hear the crying as it was right above him. I kept thinking that if this were "Sweeney," the ushers would have been on that group in a flash, but maybe because it's Disney, they are more tolerant of fussy kids? But still, to me, bringing a baby to ANY Broadway show is just wrong.
Karen

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 10:35am

Thankfully most shows have an age limit

[Nycboi23]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 11:20am

I'm pretty sure the house staff isn't thrilled Disney shows don't have any limitations on age. However, people see logic in buying tickets for their newborns and bringing them to a show that they will have no memory of. Isn't that what all the oversized American Girl bags are for? You know the ones people drag into the "kid" shows. The toddlers need something to pay attention too.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 1:42pm

"I'm pretty sure the house staff isn't thrilled Disney shows don't have any limitations on age."

I was about to say that I thought it was a general rule that any theater doesn't allow anyone 4 and under into the show. But I went onto the website and they do let in all ages! They should really think about changing that. Even though it is Disney, I doubt a little baby would understand what is going on, so they should put the age restrictions on.

[Anakela]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 1:53pm

That's so interesting, because I know I've read that no child under the age of 3 will be admitted to Lion King in London- who knew you could bring babies to Disney on Broadway. Or maybe the question is who would think to bring a baby?

[BlueforBroadway]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 1:54pm

Well, that answered my question on whether to see this show when I come to NYC later this month.

Babies belong at home! ARGH.

[avab802]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 1:55pm

Interesting. I'd heard that Beauty & the Beast has no age restriction any more, but was sure I'd seen the "No Children Under 4" sign at the New Amsterdam when I purchased tickets for Mary Poppins. (The Lion King was still playing there at the time.) So I went to Ticketmaster to see if it said anything, and I found this on the purchase page for both Beauty and Poppins:

"Additional Information:
Age Recommendation: Disney on Broadway performances are recommended for a general audience. As an advisory to adults who might bring young people, Disney recommends its productions for ages 6 and up. All persons entering the theatre, regardless of age, must have a ticket. Disney's shows run approximately two and a half hours, including intermission."

Maybe Disney is trying to discourage people from bringing very young children, without having an actual age limit? I don't see why they don't just bring back the 'no children under age 4' rule that all other Broadway theaters seem to have. It's definitely not unreasonable.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 1:59pm

When I saw EVITA in London recently, there was a baby in the audience that started crying in the middle of the first act. I was furious and said something to the House Manager. You should have done the same.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 2:00pm

if i were a professional actor i would stay away from disney shows. bless their souls.

[karen24]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 2:10pm

I seriously thought about getting up and finding the house manager, but I thought that my doing that would cause even more of a distraction. Plus, I was with my friend from out of town, who was already nervous about being in NYC, and I was afraid that she'd panic if I left her by herself! I was also hoping that they would use common sense and take the baby home, or back to the hotel, or whatever, after the first act, but no such luck.
If everyone attending the show must have a ticket, does that mean they paid over $100 for their baby?! Insane! (Or maybe they were all relatives of Donny...hmmmm...)
Karen

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 2:57pm

Beauty and the Beast is the only show on broadway with no age limits really in place...The Lion King and Mary Poppins, however, do have age limits because they are performed for mature audiecnes mroe so than Beauty is.

[lildogs]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 3:16pm

I don't understand bringing the baby in either; it's annoying to others, the child couldn't possibly fully comprehend the show, and a babysitter would be MUCH cheaper than a show ticket. Hets!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 4:16pm

I'm sorry there might be an easier way to find this answer, but has Beauty and the Beast played in London? Did it not do well?

[greeneyed_one]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 4:25pm

I think peope most likely bring babies to a show because they have no other option. I'm sure the majority of the audience is made up of tourists. Where is a tourist supposed to get a babysitter from? I'm not saying people should bring their baby to a show but if you have older kids who would enjoy it what else can you do?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 4:30pm

Many hotels do have babysitting services.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 4:49pm

Beauty and the Beast was in London, but I don't know whether it was particularily successful or not...

Why would anyone bring their baby on vacation to New York City? Seems like a big hassle to me, which is why my father and his wife never bring their toddler to NY whenever they go.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 7:33pm

Well, it's possible if the baby were young enough that the family could have been bringing the baby to visit relatives and they decided to make a vacation out of it.

Regardless, the family shouldn't have brought the baby to the theatre. It's like bringing a baby to a movie and SO much worse when the baby gets fussy and cries.

[Producer2]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 7:40pm

i was in the same row as a baby for harvey fierstein the first night of fiddler on the roof. what's wrong with this picture?

[bially082]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 7:51pm

I was at the show recently and these two girls, maybe 8 years old, would not stop talking after Be Our Guest. They were sitting right behind me. I mean it was constant. I came to the show for If I Can't Love Her, the Act 1 Finale. So I was more than pissed that they wouldn't shut up especially at that point. Finally I turned around and told them to "shut it, other people are here!" And at intermission their mother her mother told me to have some manners. I was like "are you kidding me? If you can't keep your d*%n loud kids at home at least teach them something about theatre etiquette!" then she went and bought them a bunch of candy which they munched loudly on all through the second act. Good lord!

[karen24]

Posted: 10/11/06 at 9:09pm

I don't know...if the parents wanted to take an older child to the show, couldn't one parent have stayed home with the baby while the other one took the older child to the theater? My dh and I did that all the time when our boys were younger. We just assumed that we would have to give up going to many things together until the kids were older. "Divide and conquer," that was our motto! We've been married 17 years now, so obviously that time apart wasn't fatal to our marriage

Or, if that wasn't an option, they could Just Not Go. It's not like missing B&TB would be the end of the world! And it will probably still be playing when the baby is a teenager, anyway!
Karen

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/12/06 at 1:10am

I suppose it wasn't that big of a hit since it has closed.