Broadway Review: Beauty and the Beast

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Expanding on this classic story only improves it

Cons: Only minor ones worth noting in passing

The Bottom Line: 

Broadway musical

Plus some Disney magic make

A play worth seeing

I Fall in Love with This Show Every Time I See It

It's no secret that I absolutely love Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  So every chance I get, I go see the Broadway version of the show.  I've seen the touring company three times now (and two local productions).  The show is absolutely amazing.

Those who know and love the Disney animated movie will be delighted to learn that the play pretty much follows the same story.  Belle is living with her father in a small French village where her biggest challenge is trying to fit in and avoiding the advances of village hunt Gaston.  But one day her father is taken hostage by a Beast living in an enchanted castle.  When Belle agrees to take her father's place, Beast and the enchanted objects in his castle begin to hope that she might break the spell they are under.  But will Belle and Beast learn to love each other?

All the characters and songs you already know and love are here.  But to turn it into a two and a half hour stage show instead of an hour and a half movie, some things are added.  Most noticeably, "Gaston" becomes a show stopping number and "Be Our Guest" becomes an even bigger show.  We learn a little more about the objects and their worries that the spell will never be broken.  They also expand the part of Madame de la Grande Bouche (aka the wardrobe) and Babette (aka the feather duster).

Plus there are all knew songs written by original composer Alan Menken and lyrist Tim Rice (subbing for the late Howard Ashman).  The second act gets "Human Again," which was originally written for the movie (and added to the movie for the DVD release).  Gaston's proposal to Belle is turned into the absolutely hilarious "Me."  Belle sings of her feelings when taking her father's place in "Home."  And Beast get "How Long Must This Go On?" and "If I Can't Love Her" to share his side of the story.  All these new songs are great and really add to the story.  Honestly, I miss them when watching the movie.

The best expansion is of Beast.  Now more than in the movie we really get to see how much he falls for Belle.  And watching his slow evolution to gentleman is so funny.  There are lots of laughs, and he gets most of them.  It just makes the ending so much sweeter.

As you can imagine, the costumes are wonderful.  Belle and Gaston always look just like they do in the cartoon.  The costume that Beast wears is elaborate (which makes the transformation at the end that much more impressive since it takes place in front of us).  Of the enchanted objects, Mrs. Potts seems to suffer a tad, but the others are pretty good.  Lumiere's candle arms that turn on and off are especially impressive.

As with most Broadway type plays, the sets are good but require some imagination.  They are elaborate but also suggestive with a few pieces of furniture or a backdrop or two that can be easily moved when the scene changes.  Heck, even the houses in the village can be wheeled around easily.  Just take your imagination with you, and you'll be fine.

My three times with the official tour have been with three original casts.  What do you expect over 15 years?  All three have been amazing, making these great characters their own.

I saw it most recently in March of 2011, and I must admit I was a bit surprised to find they had taken out a couple of the songs as well as the big fight sequence between the mob and the villagers at the end.  Honestly, I wouldn't have missed any of them if I hadn't known they were there.  The fights fun, but cutting it kept the pace moving nicely.  "No Matter What," likewise, just slows things down in the first act and isn't really needed to establish how close Belle and her father are.  While they took out "Maison des Lumes," I liked the replacement scene better.  That's the scene where Gaston bribes someone to claim that Belle's father is crazy.  The song was okay, but the new, song free scene, is very funny.

At two and a half hours (plus a fifteen minute intermission), this is still probably a bit much for many kids to sit through.  Elementary school age and old would probably enjoy seeing a story they already know and love brought to life.

Sadly, one thing they expanded is Lumiere's sexually suggestive behavior.  There are really only a couple of scenes, but it would have been nice if they had cut them, although they will probably fly over most kids' heads.  Beast is also a little frightening early on.  Those are the only things that might not be appropriate for kids.

Overall, this is an emotionally satisfying, funny fairy tale that any dreamer will love.  The changes they've made to the basic story only made it stronger.  If you ever get a chance, you must see the Broadway version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.