Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Warner Theatre

It may be a "tale as old as time", but the Warner Stage Company's season opener, Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, feels fresh, exciting and, as expected, magical.

It is hard to find anyone who is not already familiar with the classic Disney tale of Belle, her unfortunate imprisonment in an enchanted castle, filled with staff and servants who have been turned into objects and the blossoming love with a beast who is more than he seems. On the Warner stage, these familiar scenes are all brought to life through beautiful sets, amazing costumes and, most importantly, a talented cast.

In her role as Belle, the beautiful bookworm destined to melt the hardest of hearts, Caitlin Mandracchia shines. Her Belle is not too brassy, and not too timid, just a perfect mix of boldness in the face of fear. Her character shines in songs such as "A Change in Me" and "Is This Home", in her warm relationship with her inventor father, Maurice (Jim Wood) and in her animosity toward her brutish suitor, Gaston (Michael King.) And, it is Mr. King, in this role that truly stands out among the rest. His booming baritone is a perfect match for the role and his comic timing is impeccable. The physical comedy with Lefou (Richard McKenna) is laugh out loud funny, and speaking of, Mr. McKenna plays the perfect comic foil for King's Gaston, delivering on a number of pratfalls and physical maneuvers that made the audience wince and laugh at the same time. As the trio of servant "objects", Rick Fountain, as Lumiere, Eric Lindblom as Cogsworth, and Rebekah Derrick as Mrs. Potts, bring a great energy and excitement to every one of their scenes. Their respective accents are also quite good, something that can hang up many an actor playing these roles. In supporting roles, young Jake Kordas as Chip, does an excellent job, making you wish he had more scenes/songs, and Anne Kanter and Becky Sawicki (as Madam de la Grande Bouche and Babette, respectively) are both quite funny in their featured roles. Finally, as the beast, Tyler Reid von Oy is quite, well, beastly, especially as he nimbly moves up and down the staircase and perches in the most precarious of positions. The ensemble does a fine job and looked like they were having a blast playing knives, forks, cheese graters, and even one particular, but hilarious champagne bottle.

Speaking of the costumes, the designs for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST by Renee C. Purdy and Aurora Montenero are inspired and beautiful and are both faithful to the movie (Belle's yellow dress and the Beast's blue suit) and fresh. The sets (by SceneWorks) are magnificent (though one backdrop did seem to have some trouble moving fast enough) and the lighting (LBC Lighting) and Sound (Chris LaPlante) compliment the beautiful scenery and costumes quite well.

Donald Birely, in his role as Director/Musical Stager uses the stage quite well, especially making use of the ramp over the orchestra pit for many of the musical numbers. Matthew Farina's choreography is visually exciting, energetic, and, a great mix of the expected and unexpected. The cast is supported by a very talented orchestra, conducted by Holly J. McCann.

Overall, the Warner Stage Company's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a beautiful spectacle filled with familiar songs and characters, but delivered in a fresh, exciting, and magical way. And though the film is celebrating its 25th anniversary, judging from the many excited children (some dressed in their own magical gowns) clutching magic roses (sold in the lobby) at the Warner, the story continues to bring smiles to all ages.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST runs at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT through November 13th. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 860-489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org.

Photo credits: Lüke Haughwøut

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