Beauty and the Beast

Question: Why did I go see this musical?

Answer: Because the first time was a horrid experience!!!!

I saw Beauty and the Beast years ago, when I was in high school (it makes me sick to think that was years ago, lol) and all I could remember from the show was that I was sitting in the most uncomfortable box seats with no armrests and the lady who played Belle had a shaky, shrill voice that annoyed me for the ENTIRE show! I remember thinking in the beginning that it may have been nerves, but after 10 or 15 minutes on stage...certainly after intermission, you should be in the swing of the show and immersed in your character and nerves should not be a factor. I don't remember anything else about the show. It is like her voice was the spot of blood on Lady Macbeth's dress that she couldn't get out no matter how hard she scrubbed.  No matter how hard I try to forget that voice, I can't.  And I can't remember anything else about that production because I can't not remember that voice....like nails on a chalkboard.

Anyway, so, I went to see the musical and it was AWESOME! I dare say the cast for this year's touring production is one of the best traveling companies I have seen so far! They were all so talented, their comedic timing was GREAT! Nafoo was hilarious. All of the characters where as memorable on stage as they are on the animated movie. This production was an example of how, no matter how small the set, the CAST and direction of the play the difference in how it is perceived by the audience.  The set was absolutely small.  While it was very colorful, it was almost minimalistic.  Even the castle of the beast only had 3 or 4 parts to it, but the way those parts were moved around, and how the actors traveled and worked with the set made it seem larger than it was.  It was like every detail, small as it was, was taken into account like it was larger than life.  One of the most impressive things for me is how the set for the castle interior of the Beast's home was moved around.  There were human gargoyles that spent the entire time they were on stage in poses as if they were real gargoyles and when it was time for a staircase to be moved, or a room to be turned around, they worked together to move the sets, then went back into formation.  It was seamless, and part of the show, and the show wouldn't have had the same effect if they were not there & the set was on mechanics or strings and; pulleys like some of the other show sets are.  There were, or course, musical numbers that were a part of the show that are not part of the movie, but there was one with an AWESOME dance sequence that was a combo of singing, dancing and prop percussion (like STOMP) that was absolutely amazing! I mean, they clinked and tossed beer mugs across that stage like it was nothing, all while dancing and with NONE of them looking like they were working really hard to catch and clink on cue without messing up.

I am so glad I went to see this show because it was nothing short of amazing. I wish I could see it again. I wish I could have recorded it because they were absolutely amazing! Even with a small set!