Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Orpheum Theatre Memphis

Our beloved "tale as old as time" has returned to the stage, reimagined for its 30th anniversary. Based on the award-winning 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast centers around a selfish prince who is cursed to become a hideous beast until the day he learned to love another, and earn another's love in return. The beauty in this tale is Belle, an intellectual girl in a dull Parisian town full of vapid people who call her "odd". She yearns for adventure, which she finds when she takes her father's place in a Beast's castle. The story is actually a fairytale, written in 1740 by French novelist Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont and became one of Disney's most iconic films in the 1990s. Beauty and the Beast became the highest-grossing animated film in history as well as the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, altogether winning 2 Academy Awards, 3 Golden Globes, and 4 Grammy Awards. The film was heavily praised for the music and the songwriting, some calling it "better than anything they had seen on Broadway". These reviews encouraged Disney to consider turning it into a stage musical... and it remains Broadway's 11th longest-running production in history. 

All of the original songs are used for the stage, including "Human Again" which was actually cut from the Disney film. Alan Menken returned, alongside Tim Rice (who replaced Howard Ashman after his death), and composed six new songs for the production. Some of these songs have been removed for the 30th anniversary production and the dance breaks have been turned into something far more extravagant (which personally I was not a fan of but I am a purist at heart, more often appreciating the original than the updated) I also read that many of these changes were to appeal to the younger audiences, making it more fun to watch and sort of putting a time limit on Belle and Beast-- can true love break the curse before the last petal of the rose falls? As somene who has worked for the Walt Disney Company and the Walt Disney parks, this makes sense to me as children's attention is limited at best. Matt West's exhilarating choreography along with Ann Hould-Ward's spectacular costumes and David H. Lawrence's Hair and Make-Up make it a pure spectacle that all ages can enjoy. 

 Casting wise, the production is bursting with talent. (A warm Welcome Home shout out to Memphis native, Benjamin Cheng, who is a part of the masterful ensemble) While most reviews will feature Kyra Belle Johnson in the role of Belle, I was actually treated to something different; Grace Marie Rusnica went on last night for Belle and it was a combination of watching the cartoon come to life with a fresh take on the bookworm beauty. Rusnica's sweet tones filled the Orpheum Theatre while her sassy side played wonderfully opposite Stephen Mark Lucas, who portrays the handsome yet horrid Gaston. Lucas had plenty of comedic moments, especially when paired with Harry Francis's Lefou but he was also able to muster up Gaston's sly cunning when he gathers the villagers to raid the Castle and kill the Beast. And speaking of the Beast, Fergie L. Phillipe brings a fresh take on the Beast with vulnerability and humor. While I would have loved to see a little more growling and "beast-like" behavior in the first act, it was really fun to see the Beast as he is-- a pompous brat. Phillipe has moments that has the audience rolling with laughter but as the rose petals fall and he finds himself falling in love, we are treated to intense moments of sensitivity. His rich voice shines beautifully during the tragic tune, "If I Can't Love Her" and later in the reprise. Javier Ignacio, Danny Gardner, Kathy Voytko, Cameron Monroe Thomas, and Holly Ann Butler come together as the enchanted objects of the Castle,  Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Babette, and Madame (my personal favorite!) They all have moments to shine but also work together to help push Belle and Beast together and their voices blend together wonderfully. "Be Our Guest" and "Human Again" are great examples of those extravagant changes I mentioned earlier, with the ensemble all joining in to create quite the display! 

Another change you might find interesting is the heavy use of projection and screens, particularly with the wolf chase. I have seen Beauty and the Beast on the stage three times so it sort of took me by surprise that the wolves were done on the screen. That being said, Natasha Katz's lighting design, Stanley A. Meyer's scenic design, John Shivers's sound design and Darrell Maloney's video and projection design all work together to bring this piece of magic to life. 

The original Broadway production began previews at the Palace Theatre on March 9, 1994, running until September 5th, 1999. The show transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11th, 1999 and closed on July 29th, 2007, after 5,461 performances. Since then, the show has been performed in 40 different countries. I was lucky enough to meet Susan Egan, who originated the role of Belle. Since I am a both a Disney lover and avid theatre-goer, I asked her about her different roles throughout history and I was fascinated to hear that she credits Beauty and the Beast for her role as Meg in the animated film Hercules. She did not have a chance to audition for the role, as the creators thought that Belle and Meg were polar opposites but her connections within the Disney community helped her get an audition and her sassy side to Belle was perfect for Meg. She also mentioned that she originally refused to audition for Beauty and the Beast, as she thought that Disney should not be putting a cartoon on stage and she also thought she was not attractive enough to play the most beautiful girl in town but she said she was grateful that her agent convinced her otherwise. Beauty and the Beast personally means a great deal to me. I was a very lucky young cast member when I was selected to be a part of the opening photopass photography team in New Fantasyland in 2012. My new home was to be Enchanted Tales with Belle, an attraction that combined storytelling and animatronics with a hint of the Disney magic that we all know and love. The library was my favorite part of the expansion... if you ever get to visit the attraction, be sure to check out the books on the right side of the fireplace! There are two very special books, engraved with the initials "AM" and "HA", for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the two men behind the magic of Beauty and the Beast. 

Since it is PRIDE month, I will take a moment to share one of my favorite bits of history with you. Howard Ashman, who also won an award for Best Original Song for Under the Sea in 1989's The Little Mermaid, worked on Beauty and the Beast with Alan Menken and soon told him that he had been diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. Ashman poured his personal experiences into the lyrics, particularly in "Mob Song" ("We don't like what we don't understand/ In fact it scares us/ And this monster is mysterious at least") The lyrics are widely viewed as a personal metaphor for the AIDS epidemic and the villagers' fear of the Beast reflects society's rejection and fear that gay men faced during this time in history. Ashman viewed the Beast's curse much like his diagnosis-- a hopeless situation that harmed not only him but those around him as well. Ashman unfortunately passed away eight months before Beauty and the Beast premiered. The movie was dedicated to his memory, displaying the message after the credits: "To our friend, Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we wil be forever grateful. Howard Ashman, 1950-1991."

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