Beauty and the Beast in Edinburgh…
For some reason, Laura, Nual, David and I didn’t go to see Beauty and the Beast when it was in Nottingham at the beginning of the summer, or when it was in Sunderland at the beginning of term – oh no, we just had to go all the way up to Edinburgh (actually, it’s only two hours by train)…
Beauty and the Beast is undoubtedly one of Disney’s best films – the first animated film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, in fact – and I believe I’m right in thinking that the 1994 Broadway (then West End) production was one of Disney’s first forays into theatre.
The music is definitely the strong point of the film (except, possibly, for the stunning scene in the ballroom with the CG-swoop… but that’s not the point) – the legendary team of the Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (after the success of The Little Mermaid), joined by Tim Rice, demonstrate the skill and wit that they further developed in Aladdin.
Unlike Mary Poppins and the Lion King, the stage production of Beauty and the Beast is very, very true to the movie. There are a few extra songs added – by the Menken and Rice – but the book and production design – and even the characters’ voices – are exactly as you might expect from the film. Makes sense, I suppose, when your target audience is mainly 7-year olds who know exactly what Belle should look, sound and dance like…
I’m not convinced that the animated design transfers terribly well to the stage (The Lion KIng didn’t even try – and has developed its own unique, tremendously successful design), but it certainly calls for some fairly funky technical effects. Lumiere, the singing candlestick (voiced memorably in the film by Jerry Orbach), has two flame-throwers built into his sleeves… The total amount of pyros used in the production would probably easily be enough to blow up the Houses of Parliament (a topical reference, there…!) – in fact, the stink of gunpowder at the end of the first act was quite overpowering… A quick nod, also, to the musical chappies (neither a band nor an orchestra, so chappies will have tot do), who spent much of the performance being showered with dry ice.
Some vocal performances seemed a bit overpowered by the huge space of the Edinburgh Playhouse and, quite frankly, the volume of the music… That said, though, certain songs were much clearer than their equivalents in the film.
To be perfectly honest, the whole thing reminded me very much of a big-budget panto – the set design, the opening numbers, the clearly evil Gaston (a fabulously over-the-top Elvis-esque performance) – but by the end of the first act it seemed to gain its own identity – probably thanks to the stronger musical numbers – and definitely came into its own. A barn-storming second half, culminating in the stunning transformation of the Beast back into the prince, capped it off perfectly.
It’s nice to be able to stop thinking and lose yourself in theatre from time to time – I have seen far too many plays that really require the audience to think – and Beauty and the Beast certainly lets your relax.
All in all, then, a good time! I’ll leave David to explain the fun and games of the return train journey (“Nugget”)…