BWW Reviews: National Tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is More Beastly Than Beautiful

Without a doubt, Beauty and the Beast is one of the best animated films of all time. The 1991 Disney feature cemented the Disney Animation renaissance with its more mature story and fleshed out characters, particularly a Disney princess who's smart, confident, and doesn't need saving from a Prince Charming. Yes, the film was gorgeous to look at an had a bit of humor as well, but it's the story of a beautiful but lonely maiden and a troubled Beast that makes Beauty and the Beast, to borrow from another Disney film, the fairest of them all.

In 1994, Disney kicked off Disney Theatricals with a Broadway musical based on the film, and a few years later a much younger version of myself saw all of the principle and supporting players of the Original Broadway Cast reprise their roles in Los Angeles. The show was magical, and my family and I returned several times over the show's L.A. run. What struck me, even as a kid, about the musical was how it expanded on what worked so well in the film. Songs were added, characters and conflicts were further developed, and the visual beauty of the film was gorgeously adapted to the stage. It may have been based on a "kids film," but Beauty and the Beast was undoubtedly a polished piece of theater designed to entertain everyone, including adults.

How things have changed. The current touring production of Beauty and the Beast shares the songs, dialogue, title, and even the creative team of the original Broadway production, but it completely lacks any sort of purpose, save the desire to put cash in the pockets of its producers. There's no magic or life in this pitiful production at all.

Granted, there's no possible way that the lavish sets used on Broadway could be transferred to the touring production. The sets were monstrous and would not travel easily, so some downscaling is understandable. Still, I stand by the idea that a Beast still needs a castle, much like a Phantom needs a chandelier. A flimsy assortment of stairs and downright ugly backdrops do not a castle make. The original show's Tony-winning costumes have been similarly re-thought and with similar results. The costumes of the ensemble of enchanted objects are particularly bad. What used to be realistic-looking kitchen utensils are now chorus boys and girls wearing aprons painted with the images of knives and forks. Likewise, the choreography, which was absolutely thrilling on Broadway, is incredibly pedestrian, simple, and boring in this production.

To say that the production values are overall on par with a high school, amusement park or Disney on Ice show would be unfair; I've seen better production values from all three. What's astonishing is that set designer Stanley A. Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, and choreographer Matt West all worked on the original production. It's baffling that they turn in bastardized facsimiles of their brilliant work for this version. Even those not familiar with the original production, like my two companions for the evening, will be disappointed by what is unsuccessfully passed off as design here.

But the biggest offender of all is the show's director, Rob Roth. While his direction of the original production was sophisticated and grown up, his approach here seems more concerned with getting cheap laughs than telling a romantic story. He miserably fails at both. His forced attempts to get laughs for certain characters go nowhere (i.e. a moment where the Beast talks with a high-pitched voice for no apparent reason, a tediously long gag involving the opera-singing Wardrobe doing a vocal warm-up), and no attention is paid to developing the relationship between the central characters. Do Belle and the Beast simply fall in love because they say so?

The only somewhat positive thing I can say about this production is that the cast is consistent with the creative team. The leads show talent in some areas but are clearly not ready to headline a national tour. Both Belle (Jillian Butterfield) and the Beast (Ryan Everett Wood) excel when given a song to sing. There's a richness and power to Wood's voice, but still plenty of heart and vulnerability. His Act One closer, "If I Can't Love Her," is superbly executed. Butterfield's voice is a bit brassier than you'd expect for a Disney heroine, but it fits with Belle's confident personality. Sadly, the two fall apart when they're not singing. That confident personality evaporates when Butterfield has dialogue rather than a melody, and Wood plays the Beast as timid and weak. There's not a shred of chemistry between them either. I'm not even sure if their characters become friends, let alone fall in love with each other. They're stuck in the acquaintance zone.

Some of their fellow performers are just as disappointing. As Mrs. Potts, Emily Jewell has a soothing singing voice but not much else to offer. Patrick Pevehouse goes overboard and unnecessarily hams it up as Lumiere, and Samuel Shurtleff does nothing to bring life to the role of Cogsworth, the talking clock. The only cast member who gives a consistently good performance is Cameron Bond as the villainous Gaston. Not since Cyril Richard's Captain Hook in Peter Pan have I seen a comedic villain played with this much gusto and exuberance. With his good looks, superb baritone voice, and excellent comedic timing, Bond steals the show. You find yourself waiting for him to return to the stage, and you may even root for him to win.

While the animated version of Beauty and the Beast and the original Broadway production of it were incredible artistic accomplishments, this tour accomplishes one thing only: it wastes two and a half hours. If given the choice between sitting through this again or being cursed by an Enchantress, I'd ask the Enchantress, "How bad of a curse are we talking about?"

Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, produced by NETworks, plays Bass Concert Hall (2350 Robert Dedman Dr, Austin, TX 78712) now thru October 12. Performances are Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 11am, 3:30pm, and 8pm, and Sunday at 1pm. Tickets are $40-$100. For tickets and information, please visit http://austin.broadway.com

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