Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre Coral Gables Florida
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SHOWBILL
published
by METRO MAGAZINES |
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CREATIVE
SPONSORS |
Diego
Pocovi
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Alberto
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Madison
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Richard Rosen and
Paul Slaninka, Jr
Design |
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| Posted
on
Mon, Nov. 22, 2004
REVIEW : Classic 'Beauty' a lavish treat
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
cdolen@herald.com |
TERRIFIC DUO: Gwen Hollander and Tally Sessions deliver rich performances in the Actors' Playhouse production of Beauty and the Beast. | | |
It's
the polar opposite of the sort of ''entertainment''
that earns FCC fines and conservative condemnation.
When it comes to family-friendliness, it's tough to
imagine anything more cheerfully inclusive than Disney's
Beauty and the Beast.
But as the ambitious new production of the show at Actors'
Playhouse in Coral Gables demonstrates, Beauty and the
Beast isn't must-see theater for everyone. Families
and Disney devotees will enjoy it, for sure. But if
you're kid-free or don't particularly like shows derived
from animated fairy tales, this is one you could skip.
The first South Florida regional theater production
of the popular Disney musical gets the same lavish,
creative treatment Actors' gives to all of its big shows.
That's why the company has become the region's predominant
producer of musicals: Artistic director David Arisco,
utilizing both South Florida and based-elsewhere (usually
New York) talent, knows how to deliver the goods.
Led by sparkling Gwen Hollander as the beautiful Belle
and Tally Sessions as a Beast more empathetically vulnerable
than frightening, the cast is terrific.
Mary Lynne Izzo and Darío Almirón have
outdone themselves on a vast array of fanciful, sometimes
beautiful costumes. Choreographer Barbara Flaten, though
constrained by the sheer size of some of the costumes,
brings stylish panache to everything from the razzle-dazzle
of Be Our Guest to the falling-in-love dance of Belle
and her Beast. Musical director Eric Alsford and his
small orchestra sound much mightier on the big numbers.
The only real disappointment of the show is M.P. Amico's
set design. Though Patrick Tennent lights it artfully
-- blazing ''sunshine'' for the little cottage where
Belle lives with her kooky inventor-father Maurice (Gary
Marachek), fog-shrouded darkness for the Beast's spooky
castle -- the storybook-cartoonish design comes off
looking cheap. Creating the musical's multiple locations
is a challenge, but it hasn't been well served by Amico
and Arisco's design choice, which is at odds with the
lavish costumes and rich performances.
At the literal heart of Beauty and the Beast, of course,
is the last-chance love story of the Beast and Belle.
As the audience learns in a magical prologue, the Beast
is actually a heartless young prince transformed into
a creature that looks a lot like an upright water buffalo.
If he cannot truly give and receive love by the time
the last petal drops from an enchanted rose, the spell
that made him as ugly on the outside as he was within
will be permanent. And his servants, slowly turning
from humans into objects, will be doomed as well.
What's especially lovely about this Beauty and the Beast
is meshing of its varied performance styles.
Belle and the Beast are fairly traditional leads, if
you can call a guy as horned and hirsute as the Beast
''traditional.'' Hollander's sweet soprano brings both
yearning and brightness to the songs by composer Alan
Menken and lyricists Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and
she conveys Belle's odd-girl-out braininess as well
as her lovely appeal.
Sessions, who won the Carbonell Award for playing the
title role in Floyd Collins at Actors', always communicates
the pain beneath the Beast's bluster, and his solos
on How Long Must This Go On? and If I Can't Love Her
are gloriously powerful.
Terrell Hardcastle as the terribly proper Cogsworth,
Bill Perlach as the charming Lumiere and Lourelene Snedeker
as warm-hearted Mrs. Potts -- terrific singing actors
all -- enrich the production immeasurably. And on the
cartoonish end of the spectrum, Robert Rokicki as the
buffoonish Gaston and David Perez-Ribada as his hapless
sidekick Lefou are a hoot.
Beauty and the Beast may be a little scary for the tiniest theatergoers. But for anyone else -- providing you like this sort of show -- it's enchanting. |
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Beauty
and the Blimp
The Disney classic is slow on the runway, but when it
takes off, it soars
BY RONALD MANGRAVITE Miami New Times
originally published: November 25, 2004 | |
It's pretty near impossible not to be impressed with
the Actors' Playhouse's gangbuster production of Disney's
Beauty and the Beast (yes, the corporate moniker is
part of the official title). This should come as no
surprise; the Coral Gables troupe has become the undisputed
king of musical theater in South Florida. In truth,
surprise is not a word usually associated with the Playhouse,
which rarely takes artistic risks, opting instead to
scale huge production challenges. Each season has seen
bigger and bigger musical productions. Beauty isn't
the most difficult Playhouse project in terms of its
musical requirements, but its technical challenges are
daunting. The show is filled with magical sleight of
hand, big dance numbers, and a formidable array of costume
demands -- most of the furniture, from the tables to
an acrobatic doormat, are dancing characters. The Playhouse
production, which closely resembles the on-going Broadway
version, now in its eleventh year, also calls for a
formidable cast of 26; some of the big musical numbers
require more actors on stage than some local theaters
hire for an entire season.
The basics of the Beauty story are well known -- a young
girl, Belle, is imprisoned by a rich, powerful monster
who is really a handsome prince under an evil spell.
Through her eventual love for him, the monster is freed
from the spell, and they marry. The tale has been around
for centuries and crops up around the world (folklorists
Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson cite 179 stories from
many cultures that deal with the theme of a monster
as bridegroom). What sets Beauty apart from most fairy
tales is the focus on a flawed, adult relationship,
centering on male rage and the redeeming power of love.
The old fairy tale has been simplified in this Disney
version (curmudgeons would say deracinated) and used
as the source of the animated feature film, several
straight-to-video sequels, an ice dancing spectacle,
and the current stage version, which cleaves closely
to the movie script. Beauty's screen-to-stage adaptation
lacks the dazzling reinvention that Julie Taymor brought
to The Lion King, but it's purposeful and functional,
a solid, satisfying tale.
The Playhouse production measures up to its illustrious
antecedents. It's well-sung, well-acted, and well-produced,
and it should let the Disney executives concerned about
quality control rest easy. In its close adherence to
the Broadway original, it's admirable but not entirely
lovable, an efficient hotel of a show, something to
check into comfortably but briefly. The Playhouse's
artistic staff delivers four-star work. David Arisco's
staging is skillful and clear, ably abetted by Barbara
Flaten's muscular choreography. Costumer Mary Lynne
Izzo has a field day with whimsical getups for the array
of dancing furniture.
As Belle, Gwen Hollander is a plucky pragmatist, not
the usual dreamy romantic. Hollander's singing is strong
and articulated but lacks emotional textures; her vocals
generate more light than heat. Still Hollander is a
dynamic performer and energizes the show every time
she makes an entrance. She's backed by an able supporting
cast, with the hilarious Robert Rokicki as Gaston, Belle's
relentless suitor, leading the list. Gaston is a narcissistic
bully, so in love with himself that he doesn't notice
that his intended bride can't stand him. We shall be
the perfect pair, he shamelessly croons, rather like
my thighs. Rokicki, not intimidated by shame, milks
this role for every laugh he can get, nicely abetted
by David Perez-Ribada as Gaston's dentally challenged
sidekick, Lefou. Perez-Ribada, who has cropped up in
a remarkable range of roles in local theaters, has found
his niche as an inventive, knock-about comedian. The
cast has a long list of fine featured performers. Bill
Perlach makes a suave Lumiere, the French candelabra;
Terrell Hardcastle is an amusing Cogsworth, the officious
clock; Lourelene Snedeker adds warmth and beautiful
vocal support as the kindly teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Beauty is an enormous undertaking, and achieving some
kind of pace and drive with it is no small feat; it's
something like getting a dirigible airborne. The Playhouse
production takes some time to get going -- despite the
individual performances and energetic staging, the first
act on opening night tended to drag. Only when Tally
Sessions as the Beast finished the first half with a
soulful, stirring "If I Can't Love Her" did
the show get fully aloft, picking up emotional power
in the second half. Sessions is a riveting, dynamic
stage presence, as he so ably demonstrated in the title
role of Floyd Collins, a recent Playhouse hit about
a man pinned in a cave he was exploring. Here, Sessions
faces similar challenges -- he' s unrecognizable under
the Beast's monstrous mask and costume. Despite this,
Sessions gives the Beast great soul and emotional texture,
and when the story finally focuses on a series of scenes
between Belle and the Beast in the second act, Sessions
and Hollander deliver the romantic goods. For all the
whiz-bang production elements, what makes Beauty and
the Beast click is what drives all drama, from Sophocles
to Sex and the City -- the human heart. No surprise
there.
|
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Lourelene Snedeker, Gwen Hollander,
Bill Perlach and Terrell Hardcastle
in Disney's Beauty and the Beast at Actors' Playhouse
PHOTO BY: Daniel Portnoy |
Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast at Actors’ Playhouse
By Tony Guzman Critic at Large - Sun Post
originally published: November 25, 2004 | | Obviously
meant to be the crowning jewel of Actors’ Playhouse’s
10th Anniversary Season, Disney’s Beauty and the
Beast opened last Saturday night at the Miracle Theatre
in Coral Gables amidst twirling searchlights and considerable
hoopla. Executive Producing Director Barbara S. Stein
effused during the lengthy parade of local politicos,
corporate sponsors and well-heeled donors coming on
stage to kiss her cheek and have their pictures snapped,
that the show is “the most major production we’ve
ever done here.” Indeed, this Beauty is the first
bona fide regional theater production of the Disney
juggernaut, and Artistic Director David Arisco veritably
bounded on stage to reiterate that the show is not a
touring production, having been cast and produced locally.
Via this show, Actors’ Playhouse, a genuinely first-rate
regional theater (when it comes to musicals and other
fan-friendly divertissements), takes the measure of
Broadway itself, as it were.
The story you know: a handsome prince is repulsed by
an ugly hag and is turned into the Beast, cursed to
remain in this sorry state till redeemed by love. He
retreats to an enchanted castle deep in the wolf-infested
forest, his servants and staff having been turned into
sundry household objects and implements. Meanwhile,
idealistic, book-loving Belle is being pestered by Gaston,
the handsome village ruffian, while her papa Maurice
(a kooky inventor rather a merchant in Disney’s
version) generally makes a muddle of things. Will our
brainy, spunky heroine learn that true beauty lies within,
and so save the day? Don’t bet against it.
The heart and soul of any production of this show is
bound to be the performances rendering Beauty and the
Beast. That’s especially so given the inherent
limitations of a regional production, space and glitz-wise.
The Actors’ Playhouse Beauty is fortunate indeed
in this regard. Tally Sessions embodies the physicality
of the Beast impressively, while bringing considerable
depth to the role. Although Gwen Hollander’s quivery
vibrato wears on you a bit early on, she grows on you
palpably, and her winsomeness and emotional aliveness
results in an ultimately enchanting Belle.
Robert Rokicki is suitably loutish, and very funny,
as Gaston, as is David Perez-Ribada in the role of his
hapless lackey, Lefou. Gary Marachek, an inspired comedic
actor, makes the most of the part of Belle’s loopy
pop.
The actors portraying the Beast’s servants/household
objects are hugely entertaining despite the considerable
challenge presented by the rigidities of their costumes.
As the candelabra, Lumiere, Bill Perlach serves almost
as an alternate heart of the show, oozing affability
and Gallic charm (and abetted by the ability to spew
fire from his “hands”). The rest of the “objects”
are engaging and entertaining: Terrell Hardcastle as
Cogsworth (a clock), Erin Romero as Madame de la Grand
Bouche (a dresser) and Anna K. DeMoranville as Babbette
(a feather duster? anyway, something fuzzy). Lourelene
Snedeker (Mrs. Potts) does a nice job with the title
tune (the only really memorable song in the score).
The production values are generally top-notch given the limitations of a regional theater, particularly the exuberant, lavish costumes by Mary Lynne Izzo and Dario Almiron and the storybook décor by M.P. Amico, which although rather boxy, is evocative and moves fluidly from scene to scene. Kudos also to Patrick Tennent’s effective lighting and the sound design of Nate Rausch and Alexander Herrin. Oh, this Beauty is beautifully sung and the band is good. Everybody lives happily ever after. | | | |
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