[NEohioPAL] "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" at PlayhouseSquare

[Bob Abelman]

'Disney's Beauty and the Beast' on tour is both beautiful and beastly

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 11/9/12

 

The Disney dogma is on tour and at PlayhouseSquare. 

 

No, this isn't about Pluto.  We're talking about the type of storytelling found in The Walt Disney Company equivalent of musical theater theme parks, which have been invading Broadway since 1994 and then going on national tours.  

 

These are all larger-than-life, big-budgeted productions with storybook characters, child-proofed conflicts, and franchise-approved musical scores.  The touring company of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" is currently on the Palace Theatre stage.  "Disney's The Lion King" will be there this summer.  "Newsies" is not far behind.

 

With each production comes the Disney dilemma:  Some folks can't help hating, dismissing or simply missing this formulaic brand of mass marketed entertainment.  Yet Disney consistently delivers the goods.  These musicals offer a visual feast complete with inventive staging and choreography, incredible on-stage talent, and eye-popping production numbers that offer a great bang for the buck.    

 

As such, they tend to be as much fun for the disgruntled adults in attendance as they are for the children dressed as their favorite Disney princess.  Unfortunately, this well-honed balance of family friendliness is way off kilter in "Beast."  It is far too child-centric.

 

As did the animated film that spawned this production, the story features a young girl who is dissatisfied with life in a provincial town.  Belle is shunned by the townspeople because of her intelligence but wooed by conceited Gaston because of her beauty.  When her father, Maurice, is taken prisoner by the Beast-a prince whose household was placed under a spell because he loves no one but himself-she offers herself in exchange.  As it happens, the Beast and his servants can only be saved if he loves another before the last petal falls on an enchanted rose.  You do the math.

 

The original Broadway telling of this tale cost $12 million and ran for 13 years, making it one of the most expensive and the eighth-longest-running Broadway show in history.  The previous tours required 12 trucks to tote scenery and costuming, and took a week to set up and strike.

 

The intention behind the current tour was to cut the budget (just over $3 million) and strip down the production so it could travel more efficiently (three trucks and a day to get in and out). Smaller cities and more cities could be visited, and ticket prices could be more affordable.

 

While some of the dramatic changes do not impact on the quality of this latest installment of the Disney dynasty, too many do.

 

The once-elaborate set design is now more abstract, offering colorful window dressing in the place of behemoth constructions.  While easier to move on stage and on the road, the adult audience will be less moved by the absence of the "wow" factor of the original production.  The same can be said for the less cumbersome but less impressive costumes.  

 

Several of the minor musical numbers have been cut.  They include Maurice's charming "No Matter What," which helps establish his relationship with Belle (now nonexistent) and "Maison des Lunes," which turns the story darker and more interesting for adults (no longer). 

 

Several special effects have been replaced with child-friendly puppetry.  While Basil Twist's puppets are interesting, they are out-of-step with the live action.  

 

The most significant change is that director Rob Roth and his creative team have re-imagined the play's storytelling device.  Instead of trying to capture the charm of the animated film on stage, this production attempts to have the story unfold as if it was an illustrated storybook coming to life.   

 

This somehow translates into outlandishly exaggerated movement, gesture, and physical comedy by this touring cast of non-equity actors.  The worse culprits are Hilary Maiberger as Belle, William Martin as Maurice, Jimmy Larkin as Lefou and Shani Hadjian as the enchanted dresser, who melodramatically overact as if they just stepped out of the early 19th century when actors relayed each inner emotion with a specific outward expression.  

 

Darick Pead, as an accessible and surprisingly vulnerable Beast, does not perform this strange behavior.  Nor do Jeff Brooks as the cartoonish Gaston or Hassan Nazari-Robati and James May as the Beast's sidekicks, Lumiere and Cogsworth.  They are wonderful and, as is the case with everyone else on stage, sing up a storm.

 

Clearly, children will be charmed by this production.  Most adults may well feel cheated.  As for the Disney Dogma, Goofy is still a mystery to all of us.

 

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" continues through November 18 at PlayhouseSquare's Palace Theatre.  For tickets, which range from $10 to $80, visit www.playhousesquare.com.
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