Hi. Has anyone seen the NETworks tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? I am seeing it tonight and was wondering how close it is to the original Broadway production. Thanks!
They all call me a troll. Ok, call me a troll. If I stand on my own, so be it.
It's "reimagined" by the same creative team as the original Broadway production, but the sets and most of the costumes are entirely new designs. They've also made some cuts to the libretto/score including "No Matter What" and the entire battle sequence with the enchanted objects.
Cheap is the word I would use to describe this production. The set is horrendous and looks like a giant coloring book as inflated, popped, and the remains were thrown onstage. The changes made to the book were unnecessary. No Matter What was cut and replaced by awkward dialogue about Belle's mother that is out of place and stops the show dead in its tracks.
"There's nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music."
Seriously? Please do a SEARCH next time. There are like 2 other threads asking this exact same question AND with tons of comments/responses.
So what does that make you, Brody? A zero-trick pony? - Wanna Be
A
Foster
.........................The only power brody wields is in his own mind, joe.
But it's amusing to watch him pretend nonetheless. - tazber
^ If you've tried navigating the board's search function lately, you would find that prudent silence is wise the next time you feel tempted to suggest it.
I saw the tour twice last year over, in the fall in Cincinnati and shortly before Christmas in Richmond, KY. I saw the show several years ago on Broadway as well and, like others have said, the sets and costumes are very scaled down, especially the village and Belle's home.
I thought Emily Behny did a very solid job as Belle and had a nice richness to her voice. The Beast was played more as a brattish child than a tortured soul, but the kids seemed to love it. Overall, it was worth seeing and, especially for younger or first-time theater go-ers, it would be a very entertaining show.
It's super budget. It's the Dollar General version of a Broadway show.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Okay that video is BRILLIANT!!! Much more entertaining than the 2 and a half hours of banal theme park entertainment Beauty and the Beast trudging it's way across the country right now!
"There's nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music."
Having enjoyed the show on Broadway, I was interested in seeing the NETworks tour, yet skeptical at the same time.
The prices for this show were outrageous; it was about $120+ ticket. Fortunately, we had "limited view" seats in the orchestra for $33, which turned out to be a good deal. Had I paid more, I would've expected a lot more from the production.
For the most part, the cast was talented. If you've ever seen the Broadway production, you can spot the differences in the NETworks tour. For example:
- As someone mentioned in a previous thread, "No Matter What" was cut and replaced with some dialogue between Belle and her father about Belle's mother (I thought it did not fit well). - "Maison De Lunes" is cut. - There is no battle scene between the villagers and the enchanted objects; it went straight from the battle song to Gaston fighting the Beast. - The costumes and scenery were different and not as grand as the Broadway version (example: "Be Our Guest").
For what we paid, I enjoyed the production. But I missed the grandeur that was the Broadway production.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
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joined:6/20/12
Posted: 6/26/12 at 03:42pm