‘Beauty and the Beast’ enchants
Production captures magic of animated film
“Beauty and the Beast,” more than two decades after its Broadway debut, still casts an enchanting spell. Credit that classic Disney magic — the kind that makes adults weep with joy in a dark theater.
The stage musical will forever be linked to Houston. The musical, based on the 1992 film, premiered in 1993 as a joint production between Theatre Under The Stars and Disney Theatricals. This current production plays through Sunday as part of Broadway at the Hobby Center.
The story, of course, is familiar to fans of the animated film, the first of its kind to earn an Academy Award nomination for best picture. An enchantress turns a vain, selfish prince into a terrifying beast and condemns him to live inside a castle. His loyal staff is slowly transforming into household items. (A candelabra, a clock, you know the rest.) The only way to reverse the spell is to learn to love another and earn their love in return — all before the last petal falls from a magic rose.
Enter Belle (Brooke Quintana), a beautiful village girl who loves to read and longs for adventure. Her inventor father gets lost in the woods, attacked by wolves and imprisoned by the Beast for trespassing. Belle offers to take her father’s place in exchange for his release, a selfless
act that shocks the Beast. Gorgeous shadows and lighting create a mood of despair throughout the Beast’s lonely castle.
“Beauty” ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway, becoming one of the longestrunning shows in history. It’s easy to understand why. The music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and book by Linda Woolverton honor the source material but also make it bigger and brasher. It loses some of the film’s sweet subtleties but retains a good amount of sparkle. It’s helped by the flock of young girls in the crowd, who scurry through the aisles in yellow Belle dresses and regularly erupt into fits of laughter.
“Beauty and the Beast,” in many ways, is a typical romantic comedy. Boy meets girl. Girl hates boy. Boy tries to change. Girl is eventually won over. Quintana’s Belle and Sam Hartley as the Beast ground the storybook relationship in some real emotion. They’re both stubborn but learn to accept the other’s ways. Just don’t ever demand a woman join you for dinner. It won’t end well.
Ryan N. Phillips is a consistent scene-stealer as Lumiere, the mischievous candelabra. He leads the cast through a fittingly spectacular “Be Our Guest,” complete with dancing forks, plates and an acrobatic carpet (expertly executed in a brief, but memorable, appearance by Mike Baskowski). Samuel
‘Beauty and the Beast’
When: 3:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday Where: Broadway at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby Tickets: $40-$135; 713622-7469 or houston. broadway.com
Shurtleff, who grew up in Pasadena and Deer Park, gives Cogsworth the clock a fussy charm.
Christiaan SmithKotlarek certainly has the voice and puts on the arrogance as Gaston, who’s emerged as an unlikely heartthrob over the years. But there’s something in his characterization that just isn’t imposing enough. He’s brawny and tall, to be sure, but it just doesn’t feel big enough. He’d be much more effective going a bit more over the top.
The real pull here, though, is Belle and her Beast. The second act is particularly enchanting, fueled by the pair’s changing relationship. Quintana takes a refreshingly wry approach to her character and also has a lovely singing voice. It’s her spirit that gives so many scenes that extra sprinkle of magic.
A trio of songs — “Something There,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Change in Me” — encapsulate the show’s sweet emotion. When the Beast swept Belle across the floor during the titular song, the entire theater seemed to be sniffling.
Pack some tissues.