Beauty and the Beast

My first experience with a Broadway on the road production. I went to see Beauty and the Beast armed with the knowledge that it is over produced yet fun. Going into it I was just looking to enjoy myself. Part of the excitement comes from me just being happy to see a production in a style the likes of which I have only dreamed. Through a connection I got a really good ticket to see a really cool show in a really great opera house. All of these things beyond my ability to get, I have happily took the place of someone else for one night of extravagance.

The production was large with a pointedly large budget. The thought occurred to me that if it wasn't a travelling show it might have had three times as many people in the cast. However, it was a travelling show so the chorus was the same group of people for every scene. This is something that I love about theater. Being involved in the production from beginning to end, on and off the stage. I watched trying to figure out how crazy it was backstage with all of the costume changes. That's my thing with watching live productions. Even when the play is good, I go from watching the story to watching cast and crew work.

With Beauty and the Beast, I both loved the crews work and questioned the choices made to portray the characters. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Beast that Disney gave me. The voice, the actions, the reactions and the transformations, these are all things that I foolishly looked forward to from the stage production. They gave us some of it. I did find myself wishing for more though. They played a lot with levels. Many a balcony were wheeled across the stage to show intimidating height difference and changing scenery in the castle. All of the musical numbers that Disney placed in our hearts were present plus a few others to show off the voices of the leads. I had to remind myself that not everyone portrayed the characters the same. I had to tell myself that there wasn't any reason to get paid to act if you never brought anything fresh to the role. That being said, I appreciate the innovation used to bring these characters to life. It left me with the desire to watch the movie again.

All in all, the musical was pretty funny. I went with my sister who enjoyed every minute of it. She helped me appreciate the new songs as well as the old. She kept me excited for what we was going on on stage. Having her there allowed me remember the play as well as the experience of the entire night.