What's Wrong With Beauty and the Beast?

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:24am

Why do a lot of people dislike Beauty and the Beast? It is one of my favorites. :)
Updated On: 11/22/05 at 12:24 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:26am

I can just hope the question doesn't re-start another 80 page "Disney on Broadway" rant

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:27am

I was fantastic when it first opened - even a few years ago, it was still great.

However, the production is not the WORST production on Broadway. No one (other than the current Belle) cares at all about what's going on. They are all on autopilot and completely expression and energy-less - it's really clear that they're only in the show to pay the bills. It's really, truly, quite terrible.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:30am

Oh, I had not idea. I was just in a community theater production of it and I could not see how anyone could not like this show but after what you said...that would not be very good.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:33am

The show is wonderful. However, save for Ashley Brown, no in the show right now gives a damn. They're all disinterested, and just collecting a paycheck. No energy at all, except for Ashley Brown.

The physical production has been downsized to the point of looking like a bus and truck tour at this point.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:35am

This makes me sad.

[Jilani]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:39am

I know that what adamgreer and munkustrap have posted about the show above is definitely the conventional wisdom, but I saw the show a month ago and just didn't find it to be true at all. Maybe I got lucky, and it was the one night that Ashley Brown's charm and energy lifted the rest of the cast's spirits or something, but I found the ensemble to be very energetic, and the production did not look objectively cheap. (Perhaps it looks cheaper than the way it looked when it used to be at the Palace, but that's only an issue if you saw it there first.)

[Conor]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 1:29am

I saw it about 2 months ago and i thought it was a fine show, definitly good for kids, but such a disappointment when compared with when I saw it at the Palace as a kid. The magic was just gone.

[Flahooley]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:04am

I think the the answer has to do with the expectations the regular Broadway theatre goer has when it comes to musicals.

A lot of people here have developed sophisticated tastes. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is not intended for that audience. It is intended for the tourist, family, and Disney conditioned crowd.

I'm not judging the show. I thought it was pretty. But the people who think and write seriously about the art of musical theatre don't have much to work with when it comes to a show like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:07am

But the people who think and write seriously about the art of musical theatre don't have much to work with when it comes to a show like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

I actually think that adapting such a beloved film into the musical it is, must have been a very big task... I don't think that was a fair statement. I think the translation to the stage was very clever.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:10am

I loved it when I saw the tour. It was one of the first big "musicals" I've seen and was amazed by the technical aspects of it. I think Disney is just kind of dragging this show along until it reaches the mile stone they want it to, to be in the top 5 running shows. Its kind of out of steam, I think.

[nesatchr]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:11am

It's got value as a story. But the score, the score! Mind-numbing after a few days.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:00am

Besides the fact that it is boring? The costumes are horrendous, the plot thin, the character development non-existent. And the dialogue...only All Shook Up's is worse. It is clearly based on a cartoon, because every character is cartoonish. I don't find any of the costumes creative at all. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:14am

I agree with Flahooley (and a little with Fosse76). It's basically a cartoon on stage (which is fine as far as it goes), but I just felt it lacked something. The production was solid and a lot of money had clearly been spent on it, but it just wasn't as magical as I remember the film being. Although tht could be due to the fact I'm a 23 year old straight male, which isn't exactly their target demographic!

[Jay2]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:00am

I'm sure Ashley's great but Brooke Tansley is a tough act to follow.She brought some serious heat to the proceedings.

[dancinfan]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:50am

Okay, Jay2, you're sounding a little stalker-y.

I am not sure it's fair to say that everyone onstage at Beauty and the Beast is "done," "over it," "phoning it in," "collecting a paycheck." Sure, there are several cast members who have been there a long time and aren't putting out what they did when they started, but there are also several recent additions to the cast, some of whom are making their Broadway debuts, and they are putting out plenty. Ashley has infused the principals, in particular, with a lot of new energy, and Potts and Babette are new, too, which peps things up quite a bit.

I also don't think it's fair to say the show looks like a bus & truck tour - did you see the real bus and truck of Beauty with no castle unit? It looks big and expensive like any other Broadway show.

[OasisBroadway]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:52am

Interesting that so many people are mentioning the characters being too "cartoonish." The Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia is producing this right now and one of the things they were trying to do is make the cartoonish feel of the show (especially the costumes) less so. I am on the fence as to whether to see it or not.

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:57am

The show didn't really impress me whenever I saw it. I was definetly expecting something better considering the fact that it is a Broadway show. There are only a couple of songs that I can bare to listen to and it's mainly because of the cartoon version. I was just really dissapointed in it but the hundreds of kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:59am

I agree that the characters on BRoadway are very cartoonish, and to a point, annoying. But having worked on this show 3 times in 3 different capacities (Beast, lighting design, and conductor), I can tell you that it certainly does not have to be that way.

The music "mind-numbing?" Someone clearly does not want to give credit where credit is due. The writing is brilliant. How can anyone not fall in love with those beautiful Horn lines, just to use one example.

After working with professionals for a week who ACTUALLY only play in pits for the paycheck, the number of positive comments I overheard about the music, etc. was just incredible.
Updated On: 11/22/05 at 11:59 AM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:25pm

It is a key culprit in the "dumbing-down" of Broadway. A basic carbon copy of the film, it fails to add anything new to the story or material. Yes, there are new songs, but the show, at least to me, is like watching the film. Which a lot of people seem to love. But again, it is more theme park fare than Broadway.

[Jay2]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 1:50pm

I love the show and the cast has always been good when I've seen it.Grant Norman alone is worth the price of admission.He is always great. But the numbers are down in the last few months. Not that it means a whole heck of a lot.

[Phantom05]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 1:59pm

It would be such an interesting thing if they were to just revamp the show a bit...Re-cast, retouch the set, etc. A bit of polishing is definitely needed, the last time I saw they production a few months ago it wasn't bad, just stale. Hmmm...It's a great show, but I still think "spring cleaning" is in order, lol!

Later!

Phantom05

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:11pm

Do shows ever just replace their set compleatly?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:13pm

"Spring cleaning" is a good word for what the show needs. I really have enjoyed it in the past, but last time, it just looked and felt so tired.

[Jay2]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 2:21pm

dancinfan-

just becasue someone dreams of running off to a faraway castle with a beautiful princess doesn't mean he's "stalker-y".

lighten up!