Beauty gets Decreased....

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:22pm

When I saw Forbidden Broadway, they had a parody of the song "Beauty and the Beast" entitled, "Beauty Gets Decreased". Are they just poking fun, or is the show actually not doing well?

Just this year, the rights to do Beauty and the Beast were available... and our High School is doing the show right now. One reason it could have sold the rights is because it isn't doing well... anyone know for real?

[morosco]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:25pm

Wasn't the scenery reduced when it moved from the Palace Theatre to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre? I seem to recall that in the Lunt-Fontanne they're using the national tour scenery?

[Craig]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:25pm

The show is doing very well. It's also celebrating it's 11th year. It's not uncommon for a show that's been running that long to make itself available.

The parody stems from when it moved from the Palace Theater and a few of the sets and actors were decreased for the new space. It (the song) has nothing to do with revenue or how the show has been doing.

And I believe it's "Beauty's been decreased"

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:25pm

This parody is referring to when the show moved from the Palace Theatre to the Lunt Fontanne -- they "downsized" the show -- trimming back the number of chorus members and some of the special effects.

The number was hilarious at the time, particularly as it was clear that Felicia Finley was parodying Andrea McArdle as Belle, but this is one of those numbers that Forbidden Broadway seems to hold onto forever even though its so irrelevent, most people don't know what its referring to.

I think BEAUTY is probably still doing alright box office wise. I imagine they'll be able to get one more year out of it.

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:26pm

Craig, you might be right about the title.

And I didn't know it was because it moved theatres. Thank you for letting me know, that makes more sense, now.

[Craig]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:27pm

I would guess more than one year. I believe the past several months the show has been over 80 percent. Not bad for an almost 11 year old show...

[catstagestud]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:31pm

So happy that B&TB is still around. It's kinda funny; now that the rights for B&TB and Aida are out they're going to be mass produced. There are two productions of B&TB this summer where I'm from and one of Aida. Already had a high school production of B&TB and an upcoming high school production of Aida in the fall...Sad to see shows that can be done really well get over-done and not that wonderfully...Oh high school's doing Aida...not sure how many 16 year old girls have the right voice for both Aida and Amneris but then again I'm not the director of these places. :-P

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:31pm

actually it played at 98% two weeks in a row.
Unheard of for a show running this long.
It will be around for a long time!
I think releasing the rights was an experiment to see how it affects the Bway production.
It seems to have helped it, people who are in the show across the country are all coming to compare or prepare.
When is yer production Buttons?

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:33pm

Our production is next weekend and the weekend after, six performances total.

[Craig]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:40pm

Curtain-

I just noted that two weeks in a row (most recently) it was at 100 percent. And it should also be noted that the show has been fairing very well lately WITHOUT "stunt" casting for a lack of better phrase. Brooke Tansley and Steve Blanchard are an amazing duo who are bringing a lot of heart to this production.

And having local productions will probably, as you say, only help those figures because people will want to see the b'way production. Not to mention that it along with CCBB are really the only two age appropriate shows for little kids.

[jjdude2000]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:41pm

CurtainPullDowner, actually, Phantom has been doing extremely well lately, and they've been around much longer than BATB. They've been at 100% a few times in the last couple of weeks

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:42pm

"Not to mention that it along with CCBB are really the only two age appropriate shows for little kids."

I didn't think of that... but right now, you're pretty much right.

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:44pm

Is your school doing the "Full" B&B? I though there had been a special version released for schools that simplified the set & effects demands.

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:45pm

As far as I know... if we weren't, what would be cut so I would know?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:54pm

yeah PHANTOM has been doing well also
and it is Older

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 1:56pm

I think everyone is gettting the full production
cause i saw it in stock last Summer and it was the whole show
I hear it comes with a proviso not to copy the NYC production.
You know anything about that Buttons?

[ButtonstheClown]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 2:00pm

Nope, I do not.

[NYC_or_Bust]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 2:53pm

I saw it at the LF last may and will be seeing it again in a few weeks. Does anyone know the specific changes that it made from one theatre to the other? I saw where you said some of the special effects and sets were decreased, which ones??

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 10:45pm

Most noticebly, the town set is simpler, smaller, not as encompassing. Also, the ballroom is not as grand as the original which was a semi-circle colonade. Candles no longer appear at the edge of the stage during "Be Our Guest" When I saw it at LF, I noticed they didn't have a rain projector for the battle on the tower. Oh, and the show curtain is that God awful purple show curtain from the tour. The Palace had a beautiful curtain that looked like it was out of POTO.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 10:57pm

Everything has been decreased, at least on the tour. I saw the 1st nat. tour, when it was still at the Palace. Then I saw it last year, and I was VERY dissapointed that I didnt see the beautiful sets and costumes that I remembered.

THe castle has been MAJORLY decreased. m

[magruder]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 11:06pm

There is a rain projector for the fight with Gaston at the Lunt. And the show curtain was newly created within the past year or two. It wasn't brought in from a tour.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 4/15/05 at 11:17pm

There is a rain projector for the fight with Gaston at the Lunt

What was there at the Palace?

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 2:02am

When I saw it at the Lunt, the rain projector must not have been working. That particular show curtain may have been created just a year or two ago, however, the show curtain for the tour when I saw it in Atlanta in '96 was that ugly purple color with the show logo on it sans any writing. The Lunt's curtain had the granitefied version of the logo instead of the simple and elegant all white logo of yesteryear. I should have said the Lunt's show curtain was inspired by the tour's curtain, I didn't mean it was the same one.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 9:34am

When you get the rights from MTI to do Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the book and music are exactly the same as Broadway. However, it's not full of character descriptions and costuming ideas, because all you have to do is watch a movie or find pictures on the internet. You're allowed to do the show however you want. As long as you don't change the script without permission, you can make the show as different as you want, or you can carbon-copy Broadway.

[NYC_or_Bust]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 6:27pm

The rain was there when i went to see the show last year...I dunno maybe you're right, it wasn't working for the particular show. If you look at my pictures...i have one of the "god awful tour curtain" haha