Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Paramount a Tale as Old as Time

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*

*As an aside, the touring production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" at the Paramount needs not a review. It feels wrong and cynical for me to pick apart a childhood favorite of mine adapted for the stage, but alas, it is my job to do so for my readers, so I will.

I will cut to the chase. "Beauty and the Beast" was an absolute delight.

Like most fairytales, this classic story does feel archaic, though this one in particular uses quite a bit of chauvinistic language that at times made audience members gasp and cringe. Calling a women property and ostracizing her from the community because she reads is far from feminist, but to the show's credit, the body language and over-emphasis on the misogyny was exaggerated in such a way that it felt once upon a time and ridiculous.

The set design by Stanley A. Meyer was absolutely breathtaking. The set pieces within the castle physically manifested everything I remembered from the Beast's ornate homestead. Every piece of rococo architecture was constructed almost entirely out of brass filigree. I did find the scantily-clad gargoyles a bit odd, but that is a tremendously minor criticism.The costumes, too, made the show really outstanding. Ann Hould-Ward's designs took the characters to a new level of foppishness and whimsy. No one outfit is exactly like those in the film, but are refined updates of the originals.

The two moments I was most excited for were the songs "Be Our Guest" and "Gaston," both of which surpassed my expectations. The razzle-dazzle of "Be Our Guest" felt so deliciously old Broadway, complete with a chorus line of dishes doing the can-can. The oom-pa-pa of "Gaston" was a hysterically choreographed dance, not without slapstick punches and clinking beer steins.

Brooke Quintana was a spitting image of Belle, and had a show-stopping voice. Matt Dasilva's Lefou was much more lovable than the cartoon. Ryan N. Phillips' amorous Lumiere was graceful in his friskiness, and very funny. Sam Hartley brought a modern awkwardness to the sympathetic beast's attempts to woo Belle that I really enjoyed, and showcased an impressive vocal power even during one small technical glitch.

This production gave depth to the tertiary characters in the movie, such as the vanity, whose name happens to be Madame de la Grande Bouche. Like the Victorian era Gloria Swanson, this diva played by the fabulous Stephanie Harter Gilmore longs for a time when she was not only a human, but an opera star, taking every opportunity to mention once again that she performed for the King back in her day. Gilmore brings a pomp and sass to the character that brings this vanity to life.

Speaking of vanity, Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek's boorish, egocentric Gaston was everything you could want from this strapping villain. As a young girl, I only could understand one dimension of Gaston; to me, he was compartmentalized as an evil character, and nothing more. A cookie-cutter image of the cartoon, Smith-Kortlarek made the oafish Gaston seem foolish and unintimidating for the next generation, which I loved. Not often do we see cartoon villains that can read as funny, and Smith-Kortlarek did just that.

"Beauty and the Beast" is an outstandingly fun night of music, dance, romance, and laughs. As they say, "If it's not baroque, don't fix it."

I give "Beauty and the Beast" at The Paramount 5/5 stars.

"Beauty and the Beast" plays at The Paramount through December 13th, 2015. For tickets and information, visit stgpresents.org.

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