Belle (Sally Bethmann) and the Beast (Ian Bethmann) share a dance as the characters’ connection grows, leading to the potential breaking of the curse that keeps him in his unhuman form. PHOTO | Tiernan Stover
Disney’s Beauty And The Beast: The Broadway Musical presented by Maurer Productions OnStage opened at the Kelsey Theatre on Friday, November 8. A timeless and magical display, the musical ran to November 24.
The classic romance takes audiences to 18th-century France, where the bright and clever Belle is imprisoned in a magical castle by the Beast, a former prince cursed by an enchantress to live as a hideous creature. His entire castle of staff is comprised of anthropomorphized household objects. Unless he can find true love, the Beast and all his staff are doomed to remain in their cursed forms forever. Back in town, the egotistical and selfish scoundrel Gaston wants Belle’s hand in marriage. With the help of his bumbling sidekick, LeFou, he’ll stop at nothing to have her.
From left: LeFou (Casey Okamoto), Belle (Sally Graham Bethmann) and Gaston (Pat Rounds) converse about the egotistical Gaston’s marriage proposal as the village looks on. PHOTO | Tiernan Stover
Those who saw it can count themselves lucky, as Disney plans to ‘vault’ Beauty & The Beast, barring theaters from performing it for the foreseeable future. It was directed and choreographed by Haley Schmalbach with music direction by Sue den Outer, and produced by John M. Maurer and Diana Gilman Maurer.
Schmalbach and Maurer had a lot to live up to when designing the set. Both the original Disney animated feature and the Broadway production had dramatic setpieces of epic proportions. In the case of MPOnStage, the set was divided into two main settings, the village square and the castle.
The design of the double-sided panels imitating quaint French storefronts featured warm yellows, bright pinks and reds, and a smokey, rough-and-tumble tavern, adorned with an excess of deer antlers. When turned around, some panels became the castle.
From left: Madame De La Grande Bouche (Natalie Megules), Lumiere (Michael Zweig), Cogsworth (Michael Hall), Chip (Eddie Pfender) and Mrs. Potts (Jenny Weiner) sing and dance with the castle staff-turned objects as they long for the curse to be lifted. PHOTO | Tiernan Stover
Where the set and lighting really excelled was in the Beast’s foreboding castle. It featured a large split staircase with a central landing all painted stone gray, furniture, even a glowing fireplace with two mantle-mounted swords. Combined with a projection backdrop of various rooms and their nighttime counterparts, the result was a deep sense of scale and immersion.
The costumes and object design displayed an abundance of color, character, and creativity. For example, Madame de la Grande Bouche, the human wardrobe, acted by Natalie Megules, was, from the waist-down, a cumbersome, rectangular bright-red wardrobe, complete with moving drawers with clothes inside.
The sentient dinner plates looked shiny enough to eat off, and how impressive to dance on a busy stage with a massive dinner plate strapped to your back! There were even little salt and pepper shakers, portrayed by adorable young cast members.
The cast added their own personal magic to their roles. For example, Lumiere, portrayed by Michael Zweig, illuminated the stage with more than just his candle-capped extremities.
Michael Hall, who played the Beast’s uptight and anxious butler-turned-pendulum clock, Cogsworth, possessed a distinct knack for awkward physical comedy.
Belle, portrayed by Sally Bethmann, had a show-stopping voice that gripped me in all her numbers. Both her vocal and acting ranges were more than wide enough to nail the intelligent, witty and heartfelt character of Belle.
Belle’s beastly counterpart was portrayed by her real-life husband, Ian Bethmann, whose deep, powerful voice, menacing stage presence and skillful physical acting did the Beast justice. His costume was transformative, the mask and hair making Bethmann unrecognizable. His spoken lines were delivered with a monstrous gravel and a scowl, but he had his softer moments as well.
Sally Bethmann said, “I already had instant trust with the person who I’m interacting with and especially as a romantic lead, that’s one of the most important things, to know you can trust the other person.”
I loved to hate Gaston, portrayed excellently by Pat Rounds. His performance was crass, humorous and frustrating in all the best ways. This is not to overlook his right-hand-man, LeFou, who was played by Casey Okamoto. His physical comedy, timing, vocal performance and facial expressions were hilarious.
Stage Manager Melissa Gaynor said, “[MPOnStage] decided about a year ago that we were going to do Beauty & The Beast. It was a bucket-list show…It’s Disney, it’s been a fantastic experience.”
The full cast of Maurer Productions OnStage’s production of Beauty & The Beast takes a bow at the end of the show. PHOTO | Tiernan Stover
The show more than lived up to its grand film and Broadway counterparts, and reflected that director Schmalbach knew how to adapt the Broadway source material. For example, other versions of the number “Human Again” only feature the main cast of objects, whereas MPOnStage’s performance featured the ensemble as well.
The show earned a standing ovation from the packed theater. The ear-to-ear smiles from the cast during the bows were contagious. The production was a shining example of the fact that small-budget community theater and outstanding performances are anything but mutually exclusive.
