Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Downtown Cabaret Theatre

On Saturday, April 2, at 2:30 PM, I had the pleasure of seeing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. Directed by Andrea Pane, this tale as old as 1740 is reinterpreted by Phill Hill for a modern young audience, and features music primarily from the 1990s.

Ashley DePascale who has stood out as a supporting actress in many previous performances excels in the lead role of the central protagonist, Bella (short for Isabella.)

Bella loves to read, shows self-sacrificial love for her mother, and has a heart that loves people for who they are. She stands out as a far more free-thinking person than the young ladies in her town.

Steve Belli is excellent in the role of Beast. Through a magic spell, Beast has become physically mutated, seeking love and redemption, hopefully with Bella. Steve Belli portrays the character in a way that makes the character highly likeable. His higher octave also makes the character less scary to children, which is essential in a show that has a young audience as its primary target.

Andrea Pane shows yet another amazing side of his myriad of acting talents in the role of Chester, the self-absorbed and vain narcissist who has an unrequited crush on Bella and a sense of entitlement towards her. Andrea Pane gives somewhat of a 1980s California surfer dude voice and vibe to this character, which totally works!

Karen Hanley is convincing in the role of Mona, who is Bella's very loving, although somewhat senile, mother. Karen Hanley knows just the right level to push her character's traits to for the optimum levels of humor and likeability.

Corinne Marshall is double cast and shows her acting versatility in both roles. Her first role is as Donna, a ditzy town girl who has a crush on Chester, because having a crush on Chester is the socially "in" thing to do. Carly Jurman plays Brenda, the other ditzy town girl who is a rival for Chester's affection. The comedic dynamics between Corinne Marshall and Carly Jurman totally work in these roles, and also in each of their other roles as Miss Ottoman and Swiffer, respectively. Corinne Marshall and Carly Jurman both maximize the quality of both of their roles.

Cory Murphy provides some great comedy in his role of Linus, while also portraying a strong protagonist in his other role of Loomin. Linus is Chester's sidekick who tries to pick up on the local girls, but receives disgust, in return, from them, simply because he is not Chester, the "in" guy to have a crush on. Loomin is a human who has been mutated into candle form, by the spell cast on the Beast and his castle. Loomin strategizes with Miss Ottoman and Swiffer to help get Bella and the Beast together, romantically, so that if they fall in love with each other, the spell will be broken, and they will all physically become fully human, once again.

I never look to see what songs will be in the shows ahead of time. For the first time ever, however, in this show, based on the dialogue Chester presented to Bella about having to choose between him and the Beast, I successfully predicted what the following song would be a few seconds before the music even started.

For the first time since Covid, some cast members enter from the rear of the house, through the audience, as Beast counters Chester's song with a big number of his own for Bella, excellently performed by Steve Belli.

Who, if anyone, will Bella choose? Will she choose wisely? Come to the show to find out!

I highly recommend BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which is scheduled to continue to run at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, in Bridgeport, CT, through May 22. For times and tickets, please go to tickets.

To post a comment, you must register and login.