Beauty and the Beast Bedazzles
by Mary Rolerson Hebert
A magical meld of music and movement brings the last summer performance to the Ogunquit Playhouse now through September 4th. The Broadway musical comedy, Beauty and the Beast is a scintillating spectacle of scenery, song, and searching. The search is timeless: how to look past a sometimes flawed surface to find the beauty within.
It is a search that starts in a provincial French village where the local prince has been transformed into a horrific beast for because he turned an old beggar woman away from his castle door. Stephen Tewskbury is magnificent in his dual role of Prince/Beast. There is more to the spell… the castle servants have also been bewitched and changed into living knickknacks: there’s Lumiere (Kevin McGlynn) the bright candelabra, Mrs. Potts (Jeanne Lehman) the comforting teapot and her son Chip (Alex Dorr), and Cogsworth (William Hartery) the “tightly wound” clock. They can be saved – if, and only if – the ugly Beast can find a way to love, and be loved in return, before the last petal drops from the West Wing rose.
Enter the local beauty, Belle. Played by the sparkling Kirsten Rossi, Belle loves her books which take her “to adventure, mystery, romance, and happy endings.” Her love for adventure finds her at the Beast’s castle in search of her wrongfully imprisoned father Maurice (David Titus). To the castle servants, she represents hope that the evil spell can be broken for the Beast, who after ten years of Beasthood, has almost given up on being human again. Belle, previously claimed by the egotistical villager Gaston, unselfishly commits to making the castle her “Home” forever in exchange for her father’s freedom. She is welcomed by all the enchanted objects in the amazingly choreographed “Be Our Guest.”
With encouragement from his entourage, the arrogant Beast begins his courtship of the beautiful, intelligent Belle. The hilarious servants coach the bullying Beast to be a gentleman, to help Belle “see past the monster.” And now the search for beauty soars in earnest as the gruff Beast admires Belle’s courage and intelligence, while Belle sees his inner kindness. The two realize “they have something in common” for Belle admits “I know how it feels to be different; and I know how lonely it can be.”
The enchanted objects, thrilled with this mutual affection, are soon
dismayed to discover the Beast has given Belle her freedom from the castle in
order to rescue her father back in town. Maurice is in danger from the
conspiring Gaston (Gerritt VanderMeer) who is vengeful over Belle rejection of
his offer to become the “little wife “. The Beast, deeply dejected over this
loss, bemoans in baritone, “If I Can’t Love Her.” But his new found emotion of
love allows him to let her go.
While trying to save her beloved father, Belle unwittingly reveals the location of the Beast to the villagers. They are now stirred to the point of violence in “the Mob Song” by the possessive Gaston and his sidekick LeFou (Jonathan Stahl). Gaston uses the concept of being different to incite the villagers who sing: “It’s a beast! We don’t like what we don’t understand. In fact, it scares us.” Belle and her father hurriedly return to the castle to save the Beast from the villagers who want to “Kill the Beast! Kill the Beast” in the comical “Battle” scene.
By letting her go, he has also let her return, and finally the search is over. “Beauty” and the Beast have seen their way past the darkness of evil and found love under the natural light of the moon and the stars. The lovely duet “Transformation” shows that the search is now complete.
Beauty and the Beast stages such mesmerizing set changes that the audience is awed at its magic. From Belle’s quaint village and cozy cottage to the Beast’s dark forest and dim castle, the scenery transfers from light to dark to compliment the plot as it twists from good to evil. The wooded wolf chase scenes use a special screen to evoke a nightmarish quality as contrasted to the dazzling pastel dance fest of the enchanted objects in “Be my Guest.” The final starlit veranda scene is stunningly romantic as it blends the best of the light and the dark, and the good and the bad in all of us.
Elaborate costumes and props further extend the symbolism in the story. There are the ladies’ laced bodices and the men’s period knickers. Wigs, wigs, and more wigs! Lumiere never lets his candles down, nor does Mrs. Potts ever lose her spout. Cogsworth the clock struts the seconds as though he’s “ticked off.” There is the bubbling vapor contraption of inventor Maurice, the colorful cabinet living space for poor Chip, delightfully played by local youngster Alex Dorr. There are the ever-moving castle entrances, overly sized dishes, silverware, and salt and pepper shakers. And there is the red rose, ceaselessly dropping its petals as time runs out on the Beast.
Jokes and puns add great humor to this imaginative story. Listen carefully and you’ll hear lines such as Cogsworth telling Belle about the architecture of the castle; “It’s baroque style, and if it’s not baroque, don’t fix it.” But more than the fun, audiences will enjoy the astounding quality voices of the cast, especially those of Belle, the Beast, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts.
“Each fairy tale is a magic mirror which reflects some aspect of our inner world,” claims Bruno Bettelheim, author of The Uses of Enchantment. In our modern age of rhinoplasty, liposuction, and six-pack abs, it is human nature to be obsessed with surface looks. The lesson of this timeless tale, however, is that it is the respect of each other’s differences that allow the search for inner beauty.
A 1994 adaptation of the classic fairy tale and the 1991 Disney feature film, Beauty and the Beast was written both for film and stage by Linda Wolverton. The original music and score by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman was expanded by Tim Rice to bolster the theatrical possibilities of song and dance. As a result, the play has not only received nine Tony Award nominations, but has also been performed in 14 different countries to over 17 million people.
Directed by Richard Stafford and conducted by Stephen Purdy, Beauty and the Beast will amaze you. With a cast of 25 professionals from the NYC area and an orchestra of 7 talented musicians, this is a “must-see” performance. Come “Be our Guest” at the historic Ogunquit Playhouse as Beauty and the Beast celebrates its 10th anniversary as the longest running American Broadway musical. There’s “Something There” that will make you feel wonderfully “Human Again.”
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Who: The Ogunquit Playhouse, Route 1, Ogunquit
When: Through September 4th
Weeknights 8:00 pm
Saturdays 8:30 pm
Matinees Wednesdays and Thursdays 2:30 pm
Matinees Saturdays 3:00 pm – specially added for this show
Tickets: $39 weeknights
$45 Saturday evenings
$35 Wednesday matinees
$29 Thursday matinees
Information: 646-5511 or online at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org