#1
Posted: 10/25/10 at 1:19am
I just got back from the NetWorks touring production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Going in I was not expecting much, but what I saw tonight was the tackiest, most garish production I have ever seen in my life. I do not even know where to begin.
The Cast- The cast was bad. The only standout was Nathaniel Hackman as Gaston. Gabrielle Gamache was on as Belle and I did not care for her performance too much. Her acting was very one dimensional and her singing was pretty, but mediocre. She was by no means terrible, but she was not great either. The Beast was not good either. He added way too much humor to the role and was constantly turning his lines into jokes by adding annoying little motions. Mrs. Potts was probably the worst out of all of them. She sounded like she was attempting to have a British accent, but she didn't. I felt like none of the cast was taking the show seriously. Most of the performances felt phoned in. I would add more names, but I don't have my Playbill in front of me.
The Sets- Wow. The sets for this production are busy and just overflowing with swirls, vines, and what looked like dead flowers. Upon walking in, the audience is greeted with a drop that is covered in brown swirls and plants behind which is visible a highlighter pink projection of a blury rose on a purple backdrop. From here it just went downhill. I do not understand why this production had such a large border of vines, swirls etc. that basically drowned the stage and crammed and confined the action of the plot. The floor of the stage is also covered in these lovely vines and flowers. The library set was by far the worst. It was an arch of books. The backdrop for the village scenes looked like it was a picture a second grader did with colored pencil.
The special effects- I know a lot of people have been asking about the prologue. The prologue is shown through the show drop. When the beggar woman turns into the enchantress the lights go off and a PUPPET of an enchantress shoots into the air. A PUPPET. When she transforms him into a beast they flicker the lights and the beast comes out. They also used puppets for the wolves which looked like giant stuffed animals with not enough stuffing. The enchanted rose was this huge plastic-like sculpture that looked like a toy. The only other special effect was the transformation. The beast lays on a platform as he dies and then he is elevated and turned around a couple times. The lights go off and he takes his mask off. At the show I was at he started taking the mask off before the lights went off.
The sound- This production uses pre-recorded sound effects for everything! Every time Gaston slaps Lefou, a pre-recorded sound effect went off. The beast's roars were pre-recorded and sounded nothing like the actor playing him. The sounds of the wolves sounded like dogs barking.
Costumes- Belle's blue dress made her look like Alice in Wonderland dressed as a dutch milk maid. The dress was short sleved and went a little bit below her knees. The enchated object's costumes were disappointing. Mrs. Potts looked like Little Bo Peep. Babette was wearing a tutu with feathers on it. She did not look like a feather duster. The also changed the pink dress Belle wears in Something There to this lacy purple frock.
Changes to the show- I have no idea why they made some changed. Replacing No Matter What with the dialogue about Belle's mother made no sense. The dialogue just felt out of place. No Matter What really helped establish the relationship between Belle and Maurice for the audience. The only other change that bothered me was cutting the battle between the enchanted objects and the villagers. It was helped transition into the fight Gaston and the Beast had.
Overall, I was not impressed with this production. If you have seen the original Broadway show or a great local production, stay away. I still enjoyed myself because I love Beauty and the Beast, but this production just did not cut for me.
The Cast- The cast was bad. The only standout was Nathaniel Hackman as Gaston. Gabrielle Gamache was on as Belle and I did not care for her performance too much. Her acting was very one dimensional and her singing was pretty, but mediocre. She was by no means terrible, but she was not great either. The Beast was not good either. He added way too much humor to the role and was constantly turning his lines into jokes by adding annoying little motions. Mrs. Potts was probably the worst out of all of them. She sounded like she was attempting to have a British accent, but she didn't. I felt like none of the cast was taking the show seriously. Most of the performances felt phoned in. I would add more names, but I don't have my Playbill in front of me.
The Sets- Wow. The sets for this production are busy and just overflowing with swirls, vines, and what looked like dead flowers. Upon walking in, the audience is greeted with a drop that is covered in brown swirls and plants behind which is visible a highlighter pink projection of a blury rose on a purple backdrop. From here it just went downhill. I do not understand why this production had such a large border of vines, swirls etc. that basically drowned the stage and crammed and confined the action of the plot. The floor of the stage is also covered in these lovely vines and flowers. The library set was by far the worst. It was an arch of books. The backdrop for the village scenes looked like it was a picture a second grader did with colored pencil.
The special effects- I know a lot of people have been asking about the prologue. The prologue is shown through the show drop. When the beggar woman turns into the enchantress the lights go off and a PUPPET of an enchantress shoots into the air. A PUPPET. When she transforms him into a beast they flicker the lights and the beast comes out. They also used puppets for the wolves which looked like giant stuffed animals with not enough stuffing. The enchanted rose was this huge plastic-like sculpture that looked like a toy. The only other special effect was the transformation. The beast lays on a platform as he dies and then he is elevated and turned around a couple times. The lights go off and he takes his mask off. At the show I was at he started taking the mask off before the lights went off.
The sound- This production uses pre-recorded sound effects for everything! Every time Gaston slaps Lefou, a pre-recorded sound effect went off. The beast's roars were pre-recorded and sounded nothing like the actor playing him. The sounds of the wolves sounded like dogs barking.
Costumes- Belle's blue dress made her look like Alice in Wonderland dressed as a dutch milk maid. The dress was short sleved and went a little bit below her knees. The enchated object's costumes were disappointing. Mrs. Potts looked like Little Bo Peep. Babette was wearing a tutu with feathers on it. She did not look like a feather duster. The also changed the pink dress Belle wears in Something There to this lacy purple frock.
Changes to the show- I have no idea why they made some changed. Replacing No Matter What with the dialogue about Belle's mother made no sense. The dialogue just felt out of place. No Matter What really helped establish the relationship between Belle and Maurice for the audience. The only other change that bothered me was cutting the battle between the enchanted objects and the villagers. It was helped transition into the fight Gaston and the Beast had.
Overall, I was not impressed with this production. If you have seen the original Broadway show or a great local production, stay away. I still enjoyed myself because I love Beauty and the Beast, but this production just did not cut for me.
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Updated On: 10/25/10 at 01:19 AM
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