Musical Review: Beauty and the Beast – A Double Perspective

Perspective 1: Zenna Hussain

The Birmingham Hippodrome’s Beauty and the Beast performs the enchanting Disney tale of a prince (Shaq Taylor) who has been cursed to be a monster until he earns the love of the beautiful provincial women (Grace Swaby-More) he holds prisoner.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast made in 1991 over $440.1 million at the box office and remains one of the beloved Disney animated films. Thus, it is difficult to put a new spin on an old classic, but the Birmingham Hippodrome managed to do so with a re-imagining: spectacular new designs and avant-garde technology, combined with the timelessness and grace that Belle and the Beast offer. The classic, romantic tale is brought to life matched with strobes, gun shots, and a realistic thunderstorm.

Massive group numbers, audience interaction, and countless one-liners makes it not only a treat for children, but enjoyable for all ages

In true musical form, it is incredibly campy with a revolving stage featuring can-can dancers, a glitter cannon and slapstick and physical humour. Massive group numbers, audience interaction, and countless one-liners makes it not only a treat for children, but enjoyable for all ages.

The Olivier Award-winning stage musical Beauty and the Beast retains the members of the original award-winning creative team, with a fresh new production and cast. Among these new features lies a boisterous tap number within the iconic ‘Be Our Guest,’ created personally for Gavin Lee, one of the greatest tap dancers.

The lavish, phenomenal ‘Be Our Guest’ number was perhaps the highlight of Beauty and the Beast with 8 minutes of the tap-dancing Lumiere, can-can girls, backflipping candlesticks, gigantic feather fans, humongous plates, and synchronised, floor-bound dancing, reflected on the screen.

The LED backdrop screen would be the largest change made, and the reason that holds the most sway for seeing the musical in person over the Disney film or live action film. Dynamic scene changes (with thanks to Stanley A. Meyer) and effects are cleverly used throughout, especially with the three moving scrolls, taking us from the rustic village, the enchanted forest, and bewitched castle.

The stylistic choice seemed a bit odd at first but makes the lack of physical prop and set non-bothersome. The library scene was the only backdrop to be truly disappointing for a musical that focuses on a woman who loves to read – and the library is an important backdrop to beauty and the beast falling in love; it was nowhere as beautiful as the Disney version.

Visually, the musical was highly developed, but the shining moment had to be the beast’s transformation

Visually, the musical was highly developed, but the shining moment had to be the beast’s transformation. The beast did actually appear different (with his hair tied and a change in clothes) after a bizarre, flashing transformation where he performs an almost gymnastic routine on stage, completed with somersaults and turns. As a 20-year-old, it was done in an intelligent manner, and as a child it must have been magical.

Some parts were a little pellicular; Chip as a disembodied head, with his body hiding in a table in a cut out large cup was perhaps the most terrifying route they could have taken to take the iconic characters and humanise him, but his natural sweetness of the actor did somewhat redeem the choice.

Unfortunately, in general, Belle was not the most likeable, and her voice strained a little at times. However, the side characters Lumiere, Cosworth (Nigel Richards), and Wardrobe (Samantha Bingley) had the wit she was missing, and the group work was where they really shone. The synchronisation and chemistry between character does imply that the cast was better suited to dancing rather than acting, but as this was a musical, it was easily forgiven.

Overall, the Birmingham Hippodrome did manage to present an enchanted evening, and if there was ever a reason to choose the theatre over watching a DVD, this would be it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Perspective 2: Youssra Al Hajji

A tale as old as time – Beauty and The Beast, to all of us, is an enchanting tale that transcends all age categorisations. From Disney’s animated depiction in 1991, to Emma Watson’s universally praised live-action in 2017 and now finally to this brilliant re-telling, I am left with one question: is it possible for Beauty and the Beast to ever be performed underwhelmingly?

It seems not just yet. This classical romantic tale follows Belle (Grace Swaby-More), a well-read dreamer residing with her father Maurice (Martin Ball) in a remote little village in France. She is constantly pursued by the village’s most eligible bachelor Gaston (Tom Senior), a self-absorbed narcissist with more brawn than brains, but finds herself trapped in an enchanted castle in exchange for freeing her father. There she meets the Beast (Shaq Taylor) and slowly finds herself falling in love – with some encouragement from the household objects of course.

The adaptations made to the musical to accommodate for the actor’s various impressive skill sets were awe-inducing. Gavin Lee, our favourite Bert from Mary Poppins, was given the opportunity to display his world-famous tap-dancing talent in a mind-blowing performance of the famous production number ‘Be Our Guest’ tailored to showcase him.

The unusual depth given to the all [the side characters] gave the show such a multi-faceted storyline

Similarly, unlike the live-action where Belle narrates and is our constant focus, so much spotlight was given to the side characters, especially the household objects, that I found myself coveting their playfully sarcastic comments and grand entrances. The unusual depth given to the all their characters gave the show such a multi-faceted storyline. Of course, this is due to the actor’s themselves – Gavin Lee is not the only renowned actor, for the cast boasts of Sam Bailey (from the X-Factor) as Mrs Pots, managing to beautifully express the heart-warming relationship between herself and Chip, and of course Broadway-anointed Beauty and her Beast, Grace Swaby-More and Shaq Taylor.

Most interestingly enough were the contrasting portrayals of both the characters and tale in comparison to the celebrated live-action version starring Emma Watson. Although perhaps lacking as much emotional connection to the Beast as conveyed in the live-action until the second act, Grace Swaby-More’s take on Belle as a young women resulted in an empowering authoritative and self-assured young woman who seemed ready to take on the world- slightly different to the usual image of a sweet although witty women in the animation and live-action.

It’s a very fascinating take on the stereotypical portrayal of Belle, but extremely positive in reinforcing gender equality, and communicating the right dramatic intention to younger audiences

It’s a very fascinating take on the stereotypical portrayal of Belle, but extremely positive in reinforcing gender equality, and communicating the right dramatic intention to younger audiences – considering the out-dated societal expectations of the tale’s time period. Having said that, the ridiculously entertaining character of Gaston was played brilliantly; I was in a constant state of laughter whenever he appeared on stage impersonating a peacock with his puffed up chest and – oh how could I almost forget – faithful companion LeFou.

Again, the chemistry is rather required of Belle and the Beast, was slow to develop. However, by the second act it was fluttering anxiously around stage, a feeling impossible to ignore. Shaq Taylor took the Beast and bared his soul for us in a beautiful rendition of a villain’s character development to something beautiful. Finally, the revolving set, flying-in set, the backdrops, archways and metal spirals all created a magical feel of a castle shrouded in mist, hidden in a forest in a remote part of France. The nostalgia and warmth this performance induced in me were incomparable – not to mention the envy at the gorgeous wardrobe of all the actors. But as the enchantress warns: ‘beauty lies within.’