There’s been plenty of hype around Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical opening at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Having experienced the show on Saturday evening, we can confidently say that it lives up to high expectations.
In a tale that’s “As old as Time”, the lusciously dark opening scene introduces us to the arrogant and self-centred prince, who cruelly turns away an old crone into the cold wet night. She hands him a red rose and curses him and the castle, turning him into a beast. The curse will only be lifted if he finds true love before the dying red rose marks the end of his time.
The late Angela Lansbury is the Voice of the Prologue Narrator and listening to her tell the opening just feels like sitting by a cosy fire, listening to a bedtime story. Like all good stories, there are moments of sadness, happiness, hope and joy and quests to overcome.
The set design is luxurious and expansive, as if the actual Disney cartoons have loomed larger than life on the theatre stage. Every detail is important and adds to the story, even at this early stage of the show. The orchestra, conducted by Luke Hunter sets the mood brilliantly. Costume, lighting and sound design are flawless and give a moviesque feel to the production.
Queensland actress, Shrubshri Kandiah is delightful as the innocent maiden Belle. Whilst caring for her eccentric inventor father, Maurice (Rodney Dobson) she is pursued by the egotistical Gaston (played to perfection by Jackson Head). With a bit of a Jim Carrey feel to his mannerisms, he exudes sleazy jock energy in spades. His sycophantic sidekick Le Fou (Adam Di Martino) is an hilarious counterbalance to Gaston’s self-confidence.
Maurice takes his new invention into the woods and gets lost and breaks down. He finds himself at the Beast’s castle and begs to be let inside. The portrayal of the woods as a dark, evil and wolf filled is a credit to the projection and video design (Jim Steinmeyer). There are some genuinely frightening moments in this scene. There were several children in the audience, but the moments of fear are short.
However, fear soon to absurdity when Maurice realises that the castle occupants are talking objects. Mrs Potts is a teapot, deliciously played by Jayde Westaby. The gold lame wearing Lumiere is played to camp perfection by Rohan Browne. The lamps that he holds and light up randomly are part of a perpetual sight-gag. Cogsworth (Gareth Jacobs) is a prim and proper talking clock, who is on a constant state of rivalry. Apparently, all occupants of the castle have come under the curse.
Soon, the Beast makes his appearance and enraged that a stranger has entered his castle, he orders him thrown in the dungeon. Brendan Xavier gives his all to making the Beast believable, a dark and angry beast of a man, looking for true love to break him from the spell with which is cursed by.
Belle goes looking for her father and finds the castle and her father locked up. She implores the Beast to let her father go and keep her instead. He agrees, as long as Belle has dinner with him. Belle’s attitude is cold and distant, which only serves to enrage him. His advisors tell him to be “more of a gentleman”. Slowly the relationship between the two begins to thaw. Madame (Alana Tranter) as the vanity table has “a good feeling about the two of them”.
What follows is an epic story of love, romance, jealousy, war and fighting that ends happily ever after. Despite the 2.5 hour run time (with a 20-minute interval) the story is fast paced and action filled. Gaston himself has a long song that extols his virtues as seen from his point of view. There are plenty of jokes, visual and implied as well that even the younger audience members found funny. The fact that the Beast forgot to say the magic word when asking Belle for dinner caused a ripple of amusement through the audience.
The sets are larger than life. From a sleepy mountain village to the terrifying woods and spooky castle, the scenery felt more than real. The characters feel as though they’ve stepped straight from the big screen onto the stage. The special effects are breathtaking – lighting that flashes around the venue, realistic storms and winter fogs, it was almost an immersive experience.
Not to forget the expansive ensemble who lend a real sense of realism to the scenes. Their combined enthusiasm is a treat to witness. Costume designer Ann Hould-Ward has to be congratulated on the costumes so delicious that you just want to eat them all up. There are some 300 costumes and 119 wigs in the show.
Everything about “Beauty and the Beast” is larger than life and is a definite must-see. A love story that is old as love itself, that is truly inspiring and heart-warming. A rousing spontaneous standing ovation sealed the audience reaction of one of joy and happiness.
Tickets are now on sale for performances until Sunday 6th July 2025 exclusively via www.beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au
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