Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the award-winning worldwide smash hit Broadway musical, has come to Philadelphia as part of the Broadway Season, presented by The Kimmel Center and The Shubert Organization.
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
The original creators of the Broadway production are together again for this new touring production! The play is directed by Rob Roth and choreographed by Matt West, with Costume Design by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony Award® winner for her work on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), Lighting Design by Natasha Katz, Scenic Design by Stanley A. Meyer, Sound Design by John Petrafesa Jr. and Music Supervision by Michael Kosarin.
Director Rob Roth: “It has been wonderful to bring the entire original design team back together to work on this new production of Beauty and the Beast. As a director, it is rare to have the opportunity to revisit your work fifteen years later. Hopefully I’ve grown and developed as an artist, along with my collaborators, and we can bring 15 years of experience to this new production. We have remained very close as a team over the years of producing the show around the world, and it has been so much fun getting together to re-explore and re-invent the show for this new NETworks tour. The theme of ‘Beauty’ is about seeing past the exterior into the heart of someone, and this is reflected in the design for the show, which is about transparency and layers, seeing past one thing and into another.”
Note: Review experience provided by my sister, Kira.
When Beauty & the Beast was on the verge of closing on Broadway, I was heart broken that I would never get the chance to see it on the stage. But thank God for Broadway tours. Talk about nostalgia. While this may have been the oldest mother daughter pair in the theater, this was the Disney movie from my generation, from when I was a kid. So yeah, perhaps the biggest kid in the theatre was me and I am perfectly okay with that.
Belle was everything that I knew her to be and hoped for her to be on stage. Emily Behny is magnificent as Belle. She sounds just like the Belle we all love and know. Dane Agostinis was not at all what many may envision for the Beast but that’s why I love the stage so much. They cast out of the box. The casting was well done all around, the production as a whole was spectacular. Yes, there were a few moments production wise when it felt like the show was geared towards kids (If you’ve seen The Lion King on the stage, you might know what I mean when I say this, as far as the handling of the props goes) but surprisingly, it did not take away from the experience.
A sweet surprise was hearing six original songs written for the musical and one songg that was cut from the film that is so dear to our hearts. They were good numbers too. Very moving. The entire experience was truly magical. One of the first things that come to mind for me when I think of Beauty & the Beast in particular is the color. And the production does such a fantastic job at making this just as visually gripping as one would anticipate. And the costumes were just as grand.
The nostalgia that this entire experience brought on was truly almost overwhelming. Simply put, if you want to escape for two hours and feel like a child once again on one of the most beautiful and dark adventures you will go on, go see Beauty & the Beast when it comes to your town. There is a hidden “Mickey” in the tavern set drop… see if you can spot it when you go!
Get tickets for Beauty and the Beast at the Academy of Music (performances June 4 – 10, 2012), starting at $25 by calling 215-893-1999, online, or at the Kimmel Center box office or at the Academy of Music box office.