Stage Review: Beauty and the Beast

I have seen many productions of Beauty and the Beast, the first being a touring production of it many years ago. I've seen so many, that I have become a little disenchanted (no pun intended) with it. So, when the touring production came through Salt Lake City again, I wasn't expecting anything new.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Changes have been made to the touring show, and I liked many of the changes. Here are a few:

1. Maurice's song, "No Matter What," has been cut, and I have to say that I didn't miss it. It has never been my favorite song. Instead of the song, Maurice talks to Belle about her mother, and how she changed him. That dialogue connects with the song that Belle sings in Act II, "Change in Me."
2. Monsieur D'Arque's song was also cut. Didn't miss it either.
3. The sets and costumes are new. They are not an exact imitation of the movie anymore, which I liked. They aren't quite as grand as they were before, but I like the simplicity.

There have always been moments in many productions in B&B that have bugged me, and this production fixed a couple of those moments. It's like the director somehow heard my complaints (I've never posted the complaints on the web).

1. At the beginning, when Belle discovers her father is lost in the woods, she runs right into the woods without stopping anywhere, and the next time we see her in the woods, she is wearing a cloak. When did she put it on? In this production, right before she has the scene with Lefou, she goes into the house and comes out wearing her cloak. Problem solved.
2. When we see Belle in the woods after she has run away from the Beast, again she has a cloak on. Did she take time to run to her room to get it? In this production, we see her run past the Beast as he sings "If I Can't Love Her." Now at least we know that somehow she got the cloak, so it's not bizarre when we see her the next time with a cloak.

There were many moments I liked in this production.

1. At the beginning of "Be Our Guest" someone put a lobster bib on Belle. Hi. Larry. Us.
2. Madame de la Grande Bouche's costume is a shaped like a Marie Antoinette dress. She takes the clothes out of the sides of the the dress, instead of out of a drawer in the front of her costume.
3. The song, "Gaston," starts outside of the tavern, and moves into the tavern toward the end of the song. The choreography in that song was the best I've seen for that number.
4. The Silly girls were a stand-out.
4. When Belle and the Beast are eating together, and they're both nervous, Belle twists her hair, and then the Beast twists his hair the same way. Great moment.

Didn't Like:

1. When the old woman in the prologue turns into the beautiful woman, it's a large puppet. That didn't work for me. I like her being a real woman.
2. Gaston pronounces the French words incorrectly, and though it's a little funny, it's really silly because he is French.
3. Although I liked the Beast, he didn't sing the right notes in the verse of "If I Can't Love Her," and it was really hard to listen to. And I love that song.