Two Things About Beauty and the Beast...

Okay guys, I have two questions and/or comments about Beauty and the Beast.

1. I've never seen the show in person... I'm a fan of the movie and of Menken, and the Non-Equity tour is coming to my city next spring. Is it worth seeing?

2. One of the things that is pushing me to see it is an old video on YouTube of it's Tony Awards performance. They did such a great job with that medley! Also, I'm curious...did they really do all of that on the Tony's stage, or did it stream live from Lunt, or half and half? I know it's a strange question but I'm just so impressed with their Tony set. Also, don't worry, I'm not expecting the NETworks production to be as impressive as the Broadway/Tony production.

I have heard very little positive word about that NETworks tour, from its cast to its cheap production values. For what tickets can go for, you're not getting your money's worth.

Updated On: 6/29/16 at 05:15 PM

Oh, I didn't even see it was a NETworks tour. Expect Halloween costumes and backdrops painted by Mrs. Smith's 4th grade art class.

Regarding the Tony performance, it looks like some parts were performed at the Tonys (at the Gershwin that year) and other parts were prerecorded at the Palace. If you watch closely, notice how the floor changes - the downstage shape and diamond colour scheme.

The floor was my first thought! I also forgot that BatB was at the Palace that that time, not the Lunt. So when you guys say no pyrotechnics...does that include the beautiful use of them in the Prologue? That was something that I was really looking forward to... How sad. I wish that I had seen it while it was on Broadway. Would Disney do a revival? It may be too soon, even if they were interested.

Don't waste your money on it. the NETworks tour is a disgrace to the magnificent production values of the original Broaway show.

Oh, well, why not? It's part of a season package... Also, the venue's large and always has reasonably priced tickets. Plus the subscription package makes it 15% off. I probably won't pay more than $73 for A section, Mezz.



Also, apologies!!! It's not listed on NETwork's tour schedule, neither are any of next year's stops... The tour has been here before so I just assumed that it was the tour, and not a Regional production... Many apologies if I'm wrong and it's really Regional.

The current tour of the show is absolute junk. Tacky and cheap costumes and sets. It's easily one of the ugliest productions I have ever seen. The set looks like an oversized coloring book, and the deck and portals are painted with what looks like rotten seaweed. Definitely skip it.

I'd just watch the animated film again before wasting any money on this tour. It'll be back on Broadway, eventually. No point in ruining the show for yourself by seeing a terrible production.

Or watch this instead!

https://vimeo.com/172770829

The prologue is just so perfect.

I always think it's worth noting when the discussion of this particular tour comes up that this was designed so that Beauty and the Beast could play in one night and split week tour markets. It is a smaller physical production so it can be loaded in and out in the same day, and even then it is often presented with pieces of the set missing because they don't fit into the theaters Networks books the tour into.To cities that are used to 1-3 truck bus and truck tours, getting Beauty and the Beast, which, however tacky looking, is a decently large physical show, is a treat. When packaged in a season with a Book of Mormon or Wicked and at the same price, this seems terrible, but when compared to the Canadian Non-Equity tour of Godspell that ran a few years ago, the Networks Beauty tour seems like a decent show, especially in markets where top tickets are only in the $60 range.