Alan Bresloff — Theater Critic

All five of these performers are of high quality in regards to being able to change their characters within seconds, often without even doing a costume change. In fact, one of the highlights of the production, for me, is that the actors leave one scene as one character, go offstage and come right back as a new character, and we never have a moment without action. You have all heard the expression “timing is everything”, well this group of performers, under the guidance of Hastie, proves this to be quite factual.

Tonight’s opening was spectacular. While the cast appears a little smaller in numbers than previous productions, the talent of the major players and the ensemble is outstanding, making each musical number strong and drawing audience approval that was amazing. There is nothing like a “showstopper” in any production, and in this one “Be Our Guest” had people applauding, cheering and even a few on their feet, and this number is not even the first act finale. It was followed by the amazing “If I Can’t Love Her” sung by The Beast ( a powerful portrayal by Fergie L. Phillippe).

If you have read the books and /or seen the films, you will catch on a lot faster than this old guy did, but with the creativity of the production and the solid performances, no matter what, you will have a great time and probably want to go back for more. As I said at the very start, I was very limited in my knowledge, and I was able to follow the story and see who each character was and how they related to the others. The story evolves easily and I am going back for sure!