Beauty and the Beast Sept. 28th (My Unbiased Review)

[Benzy92]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 4:07pm

This might be long.. we'll see.

Beauty and the Beast was my first show on Broadway. It was this show that made me love Broadway. I saw it with the original cast at the Palace Theatre when I was five or six and immediately went back. I am now 15 and have seen around seventy Broadway shows. I am sad to say that my fond memories were gone sitting at the Lunt Fontanne last night.

I won these tickets at the Broadway flea market and was very excited to go see it again. I heard very good things about this cast and was very excited from what I read on this board.

The main problem with this production is that it looks cheap. The sets are almost all backdrops and it is all very fake looking. The costumes and lighting are much less than the original version and the cast is down in numbers.. maybe six or seven less members.

The cast is tired. Almost all of the ensemble looks bored and they were clearly phoning in their performances. I would not say one cast member was trying their hardest with the exception of three cast members. Those three were Steve Blanchard, Jill Hayner (sp?), and Brooke Tansley.

Steve Blanchard as the Beast was pretty good. His acting was fine and his voice was fine and he really did a great job with If I Cant Love Her. The other standout was the understudy for Mrs. Potts who I thought was great. Brooke Tansley as Belle was very good. She was not astounding like I read, but she did a very nice job. She has a great voice and when she doesnt try hard with the character voice which tends to get nasily, it is gorgeous. Her "Home" was great as was A Change in Me. Acting wise, she was a little too perky for Belle.. she wasnt tough enough, however she was loveable. She is also a great dancer. I cant judge her personality, but from what I read she is very nice but this is why this is an ubiased review. My dad thought Brooke was serviceable (clearly the most talent on the stage) and my sister did not care for her performance, but this is because the three of us all have fond memories of the brilliant Susan Egan.

What the show really needs right now is a director. It clearly needs to be cleaned up. Also, the cast needs a good lecture. People dont pay a hundred dollars to see a performance like that. Maybe it is just me, but there was no standing ovation at the end.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.. Id love to hear what other people think of this cast.

BTW, the theatre was not full at all. First act, our seats were V 6 and 8 and my dad bought a ticket at the last minute in J101. We all moved to G Center Orchestra for the second act.

Updated On: 9/29/04 at 04:07 PM

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 4:11pm

Thanks for the articulate review.

[saddle shoe side kick]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 4:26pm

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Brooke as much as I do. I'm glad you did like her though.

[Benzy92]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 4:34pm

Yes, dont get me wrong, she was clearly the best on that stage.. I just had nothing else to judge her from, and I thought she did a great job, just nothing BRILLIANT.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 6:01pm

Was there last night as well. LOVED Brooke !!! Liked most of the cast, except for Grant Norman as Gaston. Seemed to me like he kept getting winded during his songs, and he just didnt seem like he should be playing the role. He looked like a cross between Abe Lincoln and Kramer !!!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 9/29/04 at 10:50pm

Nice review, a lot of good points. I first saw the show at the Palace, and I absolutely hated it. The cast seemed so not into it (but I figured it was the day after Christmas, so they were probably tired), but the one thing I really hated was that the set (which was gorgeous), seemed to stop the show at numerous times. Like, I'm running to the door, but wait, the door hasn't flown all the way in...various moments like that. I also felt it was too literal a translation of the film.

I saw the show again last Wed, and while it wasn't the best I've ever seen, and the first act almost let me doze off, it wasn't as bad I as remembered it to be, and I can understand why people enjoy it. It's light and fluffy, and doesn't ask to be anything else. I really enjoyed Steve Blanchard, and the gentleman who played Lumiere was hysterical. Brooke was fine, didn't think she lived up to the broadwayworld hype, but I enjoyed her. Gaston was really funny too, I thought, totally playing Robert Goulet!Otherwise, the rest of the cast was fine.

I'm sure they made a lot of adjustments to fit the Lunt (understandable), but I thought the show flew a lot more smoothly than I remember. While the backdrops could use a fresh coat of paint, they're looking faded, and they could use a better way to cover the offstage areas than bright purple curtains, the lights and costumes still look great.

While still not my favorite night of theatre, my guests genuinely ate it up, and I can understand why they enjoy it. It's a light, charming evening with a great love story at it's center.

Updated On: 9/29/04 at 10:50 PM