Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
#1Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 12:09pm
I have to say, Im not too fond of the recent update to Beauty and the Beast, cutting two songs and a reprise to tighten up the show and get it closer to the original animated films flow and run time. I know few people have sentimental attachment to Maison does Lunes, but Ive never seen an audience fail to respond to No Matter What. And the simplified choral harmonies throughout rob the show of some of its grandeur, bringing it closer to the all songs unison throughout style of the most recent licensed version of Annie. They even cut the battle scene!
What do you think? Do you prefer the older BATB or the new, shorter one?
#2Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 12:12pmI dunno. I haven’t seen it. But theatre isn’t mean to be preserved in amber.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#3Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 12:26pm
I'm far from a fan of replica productions being the standard. But I think the material changes here weaken the material overall, especially since they're mandatory now and not a TYA alternative.
#4Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 12:28pm
“I know few people have sentimental attachment to Maison does Lunes”
This has to be a troll comment.
I haven’t experienced this production in person yet, but it’s not going to be the standard going forward - neither is Webber’s atrocious take on The Wizard of Oz. These are versions/revisions that will come and go. Maybe if the physical production was to the level of the original design, people would remember this version for years to come…but I doubt it will be the case.
I’m someone who (oddly, I know) holds the first few Disney adaptations close to my heart, and while I look forward to seeing this version in person to round out my perspective (as opposed to a computer screen), I’m sure it won’t ruin what the original show is and has always been.
I am big. It’s the REVIVALS that got small.
Updated On: 10/11/21 at 12:28 PM
#5Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 12:43pm
It's the new MTI licensing copy. The original "longer" version of the show has been phased out.
#6Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 2:36pm
"No Matter What" is now optional and there are optional cuts for dance breaks. The only official cuts are "Maison De Lunes" and "The Battle."
Is this the version currently being performed on tour in the UK? As long as "A Change in Me" is still in I'm good. Now that those songs are cut maybe there will finally be enough room to record the Overture on any forthcoming cast album. Assuming the Overture hasn't been cut.
#7Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 2:39pm
CATSNYrevival said: ""No Matter What" is now optional and there are optional cuts for dance breaks.The only official cuts are"Maison De Lunes" and "The Battle."
Is this the version currently being performed on tour in the UK? As long as "A Change in Me" is still in I'm good. Now that those songs are cut maybe there will finally be enough room to record the Overture on any forthcoming cast album. Assuming the Overture hasn't been cut."
Wow - "The Battle" is cut? I don't mind the changes, but that one surprises me.
#8Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 2:44pm
CATSNYrevival said: ""No Matter What" is now optional and there are optional cuts for dance breaks.The only official cuts are"Maison De Lunes" and "The Battle."
Is this the version currently being performed on tour in the UK? As long as "A Change in Me" is still in I'm good. Now that those songs are cut maybe there will finally be enough room to record the Overture on any forthcoming cast album. Assuming the Overture hasn't been cut."
The current UK tour just has a few bars of A Change in Me played as more of a prelude than a full overture. It's really too bad. Beauty and the Beast has (or should I say HAD) a great overture.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#9Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 3:08pm
bwayphreak234 said: "The current UK tour just has a few bars of A Change in Me played as more of a prelude than a full overture. It's really too bad. Beauty and the Beast has (or should I say HAD) a great overture."
It figures.
#10Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 3:51pm
Thanks darquegk for mentioning this. Super disappointed to read about these changes, especially since they don't really seem to better the show in any way. I was involved in a production pre-covid that never happened but I guess we'll have to go along with the new changes for our post-covid show. Weird.
sparksatmidnight
Leading Actor Joined: 1/26/19
#11Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 6:41pm
Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite shows (my first one, too) and I hate Maison Des Lunes, so I'm not too sad about that. But No Matter What??? I'm not even hoping I could see this production but perhaps it makes sense when you watch it.
#12Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 10/11/21 at 8:38pm
Maison De Lunes & No Matter What have been gone from the show since Disney Theatrical reworked for the NETworks Tour over a decade ago.
#13Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/2/23 at 9:12pm
Music Theatre International is currently offering its website visitors a free read of the book. There, you can see all the revisions that have been made.
https://www.mtishows.com/news/free-read-disneys-beauty-and-the-beast
Chase Miller
Understudy Joined: 9/12/22
#14Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/2/23 at 11:14pm
Maison De Lunes and No Matter what are fantastic songs. Sad they're not being done anymore. I'd love to see a BATB revival with the original set and all the songs. That show was pure magic when it was on Broadway.
#15Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 8:57am
Maison De Lunes I think was really just written to give Belle and the Beast 2 minutes to sit down. Really, if you think about it, its the only time Belle really isn't on stage. I mean, yes, there are bit and pieces here, but its the only time we don't see her. No Matter What is a cute little song, that I don't really know why they cut it, but its nice that MTI allows it to be added.
I saw the reworked Networks tour in 2016, and it felt theme park-esque to me, in a way that the glorious original production did not. Don't me started on the fact that Networks had every actor say the first line of lyrics as dialogue, and then the second line be have spoken/sung to then carry on singing. What?! So horrible. The original was much more theatrical, in a way that Lion King and (deal with it) Tarzan were. Other Disney shows have felt more like a live action version of the animated film.
I really hope that they can bring the idea from the cruise line show (of the 2017 live action movie), and have the objects "life-size" puppets.
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
#16Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 9:00am
fashionguru_23 said: "Don't me started on the fact that Networks had every actor say the first line of lyrics as dialogue, and then the second line be have spoken/sung to then carry on singing. What?! So horrible."
Was the creative team taking inspiration from Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Lyrics in musicals are meant to be sung, not spoken.
#17Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 10:40am
Kind of, Jeffrey. ahahahah
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#18Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 10:48am
I personally think it is a positive move. I know it ran for 10 or 11 years, but I thought the production was very stodgy from the beginning, and I saw it right at the beginning. Don’t know which was first but, compared to The Lion King (which I also have issues with), it just seems so bloated and unexciting. I saw it years later and felt the same way. Even worse, it was on tour and the production values were lousy. If the elimination and other changes bring it closer to the spirit of the original movie, I am all for it…may even see it, which is something I never thought I’d say about any production of Beauty…
KnewItWhenIWasInFron
Leading Actor Joined: 6/23/14
#19Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 1:43pm
Have not yet seen the newer version but the more abridging to that show, the better.
#20Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 1:50pm
TheatreFan4 said: "Maison De Lunes & No Matter What have been gone from the show since Disney Theatrical reworked for the NETworks Tour over a decade ago."
God that tour was horrible.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
mememe
Understudy Joined: 10/14/07
#21Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 4:04pm
No Matter What adds nothing. Everything that song says, can be done in one paragraph of spoken text. It’s also a nightmare of a part to cast because you are looking for an older character with a lyrical voice.
It is a cute melody but the show gains momentum and loses nothing without it
#22Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/3/23 at 4:30pm
I’m surprised about The Battle. I guess I can see how the climax works without it, but that’s an odd change. Maison Des Lunes doesn’t add anything and Gaston already has plenty of music without it, so that’s a pretty logical cut. I’m fine with No Matter What being optional. It’s a sweet moment, but it’s also not a big loss if it’s absent.
#23Beauty and the Beast now revised/abridged: how do you feel?
Posted: 2/4/23 at 11:20am
Jeffrey Karasarides said: "fashionguru_23 said: "Don't me started on the fact that Networks had every actor say the first line of lyrics as dialogue, and then the second line be have spoken/sung to then carry on singing. What?! So horrible."
Was the creative team taking inspiration from Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Lyrics in musicals are meant to be sung, not spoken."
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