REVIEW: 'BEAST' is a Beauty at Toby's Baltimore

Baltimore/>/> theatre-goers unite! History is in the making, and we must rally together to support it! A brand new theatre has opened its doors, with Disney's Beauty and the Beast, no less!! Toby Orenstein, namesake of the famous dinner theatre in Columbia/>, has bravely opened a brand new establishment in the newly restored and renovated Best Western Hotel and Conference/> Center/>/> on  O'Donnell Street.

Fans of the original will not be disappointed. All of the Toby's trademarks are firmly in place – not just the logo, but the delicious salad bar, buffet dinner, and make-your-own-sundae bar, the slick reminders of shows past (or, in this case, yet to come), the actors as waiters (what an odd thrill to have Gaston serve you chocolate cake), and of course, the commemorative Toby's glasses. You also get the same high quality, reasonably priced, highly professional show.

 So, what's different? Well, the stage. Toby's Baltimore/>/> is not an in-the-round enterprise. Instead, the show is on a more traditional horizontal stage, with the tables on elevated tiers, Vegas-style. And the stage is quite large. I suspect the playing space is at least double that of the Columbia/>/> facility. Those who enjoy the up-close intimacy of the original need not fear. No matter where you sit, the view is great, and the actors still feel close.

 In a traditional space, the staging, of course, becomes more traditional. The wonder of "how can they do that in the round?" is gone, but is replaced, at least with this production, with the wonder of "how do they get that much scenery on that stage?" (I also wonder how, where and who built the amazing set, designed by David A. Hopkins.) As this hugely successful production in Columbia/> is now transplanted to Baltimore/>/>, it is pretty clear it was completely re-imagined, and very successfully.

 Recreating what has become one of Broadway's longest running shows can be a dangerous undertaking. Add to that the fact that the show is based on one of the most popular films of all times, and that the film and stage show are produced by the entertainment juggernaut called Disney, and you have a potential nightmare on your hands. Never one to shrink from a challenge (Toby brought Sweeney Todd to a dinner theatre, and presented A Chorus Line in the round, after all), Ms. Orenstein and company have created a beautiful production that brings the best of all possible worlds to the stage. Obviously, no one but Disney has the Disney millions to create an exact duplicate of a film. But everything about it - the costumes, the set, the staging - is simultaneously original and respectful of the original source. 

The squeals of delight from the little girl at the next table as she gleefully announced the names of each character as they appeared (she even knew the Silly Girls!) confirmed that, in fact, the costumes (designed by Samn Huffer to be enough like the movie, enough like the show, yet nicely original) were doing the trick. The set also offers one surprise after another – an entire house-front moves off stage, the castle moves forward, and even the castle paintings transform into village buildings. And the staging clearly pays homage to the film (Belle, arms spread, twirls in front of a country scene drop; Lumiere strikes that familiar tilted pose, candle arms up, etc.), and the Broadway stage production (Ilona Kessell's energized choreography of the "Gaston" stein clinking is pretty close to the original). But the staging (by Toby herself) is also quite original - Gaston's death is creative, and the fight that instigates it is downright thrilling, as is Kessell's version of "Be Our Guest", which recycles dancers in a creative way and completely fills the stage, as it should, unlike its currently down-sized version on Broadway. This combination of the familiar, the eye-popping, and the clever really bring the story and its characters to front – as lovely as the production is, you don't leave "humming the scenery". And what a story it is – who can't relate to feeling like oddball? Or wanting more than the life you have? And the songs are still among the most clever and hummable on stage today.

 Toby's knack for finding talent is also very evident in this production. There are no weak links in this chain. The dancers are great, most playing 2 or 3 roles. Among the supporting cast, Greg May as Lefou stands out. The man is clearly made of rubber - every one of his pratfalls looks real and unstaged. And the trio of Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts (Darren McDonnell, David James and Channez McQuay) do fine work in creating reasonable facsimiles of their movie counterparts while creating something nicely original. Their chemistry is delightful and the urge to overplay has been thankfully abated. Daniel L. McDonald does heart-warming work as Belle's father, Maurice – his duet, "No Matter What" is particularly touching.

  The majority of the show rests on the shoulders of its three leads, and here all three are more than up to the task. Russell Sunday (in addition to being a great waiter – you should see how he carries cake plates) as the villain Gaston is a hoot! Hard to imagine anyone being more in love with himself – to humorous effect in Act One, and to dark, villainous effect in Act Two. Most Gaston's I've seen never really vary the character, but Sunday recognizes the evil turn that his character takes and delivers both with equal pinache. In what may be a casting first, in real life, Gaston is married to Belle, here played by the lovely Janine Gulisano-Sunday. Ms. Sunday gives a warm, touching performance – ever the perfect Disney heroine, you can even hear her whispered "I'm sorry"s to the Beast when she patches him up. She sings in a fine cross between the film voice (Paige O'Hara) and the Broadway original, Susan Egan. And while she goes through all the signature moves the piece demands, she manages to make the part her own, with a more confrontational, in-your-face mode with the Beast. 

Evan Shyer is the crown jewel of the show, however. His Beast is all his own. Just like the adolescent stuck in a man's body that the character is, Shyer gives it his all as he jumps from temper tantrum to smug self-assurance to scary bravado, all the while letting us see the pain, frustration and even goofiness of being in love for the first time beneath the hair and horns. His gorgeous voice absolutely soars in his act one closer, "If I Can't Love Her," which in previous versions I've seen can be quite flat. And his delivery of the line "I must be a gentleman" immediately after hearing Belle say she doesn't like him literally brought a tear to my eye. In that moment, we bonded - audience to actor. Keep an eye on this actor, a recent graduate of GWU. He is going places.

 Yes, Baltimore, history is being made! A new theatre opens, and what a way to start. Congratulations, Toby and Company. Long may the Baltimore/>/> venue thrive.

PHOTOS: Main Page: Janine Gulisano-Sunday (Belle) and Evan Shyer (Beast); Top: (L to R) Janine Gulisano-Sunday (Belle), Greg May (Lefou) and Russell Sunday (Gaston); Bottom: Evan Shyer (Beast).  All photos by Chris Christiansen

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