Musical supervision and arrangements: Michael KOSARIN
Choreographer: Matt WEST
Scenic design: Stanley A. MEYER
Costumes design: Ann HOULD-WARD
Lightning designer: Natasha KATZ
Video and projection design: Darrel MALONEY
Sound designer: John SHIVERS
Hair and make-up design: David H. LAWRENCE
Illusion design: Jim STEINMEYER
Fight direction: Rick SORDELET
Physical Movement Coordinator: Lorenzo PISONI
Associate choreographer: Chandon JONES
Musical Director: Jonathan GILL
Dance arranger: David CHASE
Starring:
Richard ASTBURY, Sam BAILEY, Martin BALL, Sarah BENBELAID, Samantha BINGLEY, Jake BISHOP, Pamela BLAIR, Liam BUCKLAND, Emma CAFFREY, Benjamin DALTON, Jasmine DAVIS, Matthew DAWKINS, Autumn DRAPER, Sekhani DUMEZWENI, Daisy EDWARDS, Alyn HAWKE, George HINSON, Jennifer Louise JONES, Brontë LAVINE, Gavin LEE, Thomas LEE-KIDD, David McINTOSH, Aimee MOORE, Sam MURPHY, Zarian Marcel OBATARHE, Ashley-Jordon PACKER, Nigel RICHARDS, Tom SENIOR, Rojae SIMPSON, Emily SQUIBB, Courtney STAPLETON, Grace SWABY, Shaq TAYLOR, India THORNTON, Rhys WEST and Angela LANSBURY as voice of the prologue narrator
When Beauty and the Beast was released in theaters, one critic said that the animated film was the best musical of the year, ahead of all the live Broadway productions. This was enough for Disney to launch its show division and develop a stage adaptation. The show was an incredible success with the legacy that we know, leading to other productions based on the tooth fairy’s catalogue.
Beauty and the BeastThe musical returns to the UK this year in a touring version and will be at the London Palladium until mid-September.
More than a UK tour, it is a real revival, very close to the version proposed on the « Disney Cruise line » that Beauty and the Beast the musical is offered. If the first creation of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions enjoyed an undeniable success, it gets a very pleasant facelift 30 years after its premiere in Houston. One has the feeling that Babette, the feather duster, has dusted off the show. Although it doesn’t need it, the result is finally convincing! Between the films, the previous shows, this version is without doubt the best. So delicious that you will keep the sweet taste for a while.
New sets, new costumes, new visual effects, you’ll get your boost of wonder. We love the arabesque-like mouldings and the way they move around the set. And this is just one example. The costumes and sets are even more glitzy, lavish and baroque. If it’s not baroque, don’t fix it!
Many scenes are more graphic than before and thus allow a wider audience to be reached. There is something for everyone.
In the first act, one is still dazzled by certain scenes such as Gaston or Be our guest. These tableaux are full of different techniques: acrobatics, splits, cancan, tap dancing and other pirouettes. We don’t know where to turn!
Everything is brought together to dazzle and surprise us. You will be glued to your seat and wonder if the charm will still be there in the second act. It goes without saying that it will. The second act transports us into a dreamlike world that is very different from the first, but still admirable. Special care is taken with the love story in the second act.
You will waltz right into the disturbing « Kill the beast » where, again, there is no lack of immersive visual effects. The cursed rose is also a technical feat that will delight both young and old.
Other songs are interspersed, giving the main characters the opportunity to shine. This is the case with If I Can’t Love Her, the finale of the first act which benefits from a magnificent staging effect, but also with A Change is Me, a solo superbly performed by Courtney STAPLETON as Belle. The magic is there, we recognise the characters we love: Gavin LEE as Lumière and Tom SENIOR as Gaston are like something out of a cartoon. How can we not talk about Shaq TAYLOR, impressive of strength and presence by his physical and vocal posture!
Finally the transformations, understand enchantment, wherever they are in the show will leave you amazed. Don’t ask yourself how they do it, it’s magic! You will be dazzled by the show until the last moment with a sumptuous finale.
If you are in London this summer, don’t miss it. Then it’s off on a UK and ireland tour again.
This fairy tale is a huge magical musical!
Synospis
Bonjour! Disney proudly invites you to ‘Be Our Guest’ as the most enchanted musical of all time, Beauty and the Beast, returns to the stage for a new, completely reimagined UK & Ireland tour.
This beloved ‘tale as old as time’ has been brought to life on stage like never before, with all the charm and elegance audiences expect from Belle and her Beast. 28 years after its Broadway debut, members of the original creative team have reunited on this new production that features all of the spellbinding songs of Alan MENKEN, Howard ASHMAN and Tim RICE including Belle, Gaston, Be Our Guest and, of course, Beauty and the Beast.
