Beauty and the Beast

I have seen three (well, two and a half) productions of "Beauty and the Beast" this season. Very popular show in these parts.

Before I start getting nit-picky, apologies to all the people I know who were involved with these shows. I know you have all worked your tails off, and all three companies produced entertaining versions of the play.

Of course, all three were the Disney version, homage paid to both Disney and the Broadway production. I will have to go back to the fairy tale and report later how Disney butchered it. It has been so long since I read it, and I have the Disney version strongly engraved on my mind.

The Palace Theater did a community production, involving adults and kids. The Beast sang beautifully, in fact, the song at the end of Act I, "If I Can't Love Her," made me cry. But his characterization made The Beast seem like a petulant child. I kept wanting Mrs Potts to turn him over her tea cart and wallop him. Best performances were Gaston and LeFou. Those two could have been a comedy duo on their own. The biggest problem with that production was the set. The producers rented set pieces that were designed for a much larger stage, and shifting them around became a *huge* distraction. They towered over the actors, dwarfing them, and generally took up much too much space. The set upstaged the actors. The music was canned. I did not get to see the Transformation, as Husband had a blinding headache, and we had to leave at Intermission.

Pflugerville High School Fine Arts Department did a rousing version. They had energetic fund-raising going on in the lobby, including the sale of red roses that light up. IMO, this was a bad idea, because there were audience members waving these red lights all during the performance. They were selling DVDs of the production, and you could get your picture taken with cast members, for a fee. The lobby was decorated to look like a castle courtyard, which I thought was a very nice touch. Their set was built by the Theater Tech class, and was very effective, in that it was there, they used it, shifted it around unobtrusively, and it was what it should be--a backdrop that focused the action on the story. The costumes were rented, and very nice. Cogsworth stole the show. He became this fussy major domo, armed with a feather duster which he wielded like a baton. "Belle" had the voice of an angel. The Transformation was rigged by a magician, and was very effective, with the Beast rising up in the air, and coming down as the Prince. Some of the singers had trouble with their mikes, and therefore, some songs were full of clumping sounds. The orchestra pit was crammed to the max, with music provided by students and teachers alike, to a total of 34 musicians. All in all, a great evening's entertainment.

Round Rock High School did the same show this past weekend. They were not so energetic with the raising of funds, as it took almost an entire intermission to get through the line at the concession. Apparently, there were not enough volunteers manning it. They, too, sold DVDs. The show was basically strong, with wonderful costumes (rented), and a decent set, built by theater students. However, the Castle was too big, and some shadows should have been added to the painted stone blocks to give them some depth. A darker colour might have been better, as well. The castle set dominated any scenes in which it was used. They built an absolutely wonderful fireplace that reversed for the hunting lodge scene. I liked the use of gobos for the forest scenes and the castle window. For anyone who doesn't know, a gobo is a silhouette placed over a light to produce a specific effect. This production used a beautiful stained glass window, as well as clouds and leafy trees. The strongest singer was Mrs Potts, who has a truly lovely voice. The show was stolen by Lumiere, aided and abetted by Cogsworth. I would love to see this Lumiere get together with the Pflugerville Cogsworth. Round Rock opted to have two separate actors playing The Beast and The Prince. The Beast's face was done with makeup, which was a bit of a distraction. You could see his mouth move when he was singing, right above the row of white teeth painted on his chin. The wolf attack scenes bothered me, as they seemed to be in slow motion, and Gaston just did not quite have The Spirit. Part of that may have been his costume, and the fact that they made no attempt to make him look like the Disney character. Perhaps he was a later addition to the cast; that happens a lot in high school plays. But, really! He had a loose suede vest, bare arms, and baggy leather pants. He wore no wig, and his long blonde hair was so...well...wrong for Gaston. They used a 19 piece band, all students. As they did not use personal microphones, but had those tiny things hanging down from the flies, there were times when the music drowned out the singing. Still and all, a very good rendition of a very ambitious project.

I have enjoyed seeing three different versions of the same show, but I am hoping for a bit more variety next year!