It had been more than three years since I saw this show, and I was really excited to be seeing it again, especially with Grant Norman as the Beast, since I’ve heard such wonderful things about his Phantom for years. I was a little concerned about the sets on the tour, and although there were definitely some parts where they were not as spectacular as the Toronto production, they were still really good, and I’m sure nobody who hadn’t seen a permanent production would have thought there was anything lacking.
There was no castle in the prologue, only a large set of doors that the Prince stood beside. It kind of ruined the effect of him changing to the Beast because I saw Grant come running from backstage to take his place. 🙂
Susan Owen was a wonderful Belle! She stuck very close to the movie characterization, of course, but she had her own little spunk as well, and her voice was fabulous! “Home” was really enjoyable. Chris Hoch as Gaston was absolutely hilarious. “Me” was a lot of fun, as was “Gaston”. That beer stein dance was just as impressive the second time around!
Probably my biggest disappointment in regards to the sets was that the big main staircase of the castle was just a mural in the background! So no climbing all over the place for this Beast. But, Grant was still able to create a very convincing beastly character – I can definitely see how he would make a great Phantom!! Luckily they still kept his revolving room for “If I Can’t Love Her”, and the way he sang it was wonderful!
I missed the way Steve Blanchard played with his tail as the Beast – I always found that endearing. But Grant was just too precious in the library scenes, and his “I told you so” was very good – maybe not quite Terrence territory, but really good nonetheless. 🙂 The “Beauty and the Beast” scene was just lovely.
They have added “A Change in Me” to the tour as well, after it was added to the Broadway production for Toni Braxton, and it’s a lovely song, and Susan did it beautifully, but…the kids in the audience were not too excited by any of the ballads, and sticking another one in there just didn’t seem necessary to me. However, the rest of the show was great…the battle scene didn’t seem quite as elaborate as it had been in Toronto, and the scene on the roof wasn’t quite as exciting either, though it was still really good.
Now, I thought I actually had it sort of figured out how they change him back to the prince at the end, but it just totally blew me away again. I have *no* idea how that works! 🙂 Grant made a very handsome Prince, and the end was wonderful – my mom even got tears in her eyes when Chip appeared as a boy again. 🙂
So, even with the changed sets and everything, the show is still just magical, and this cast was a real treat to see. Hopefully I won’t have to wait quite so long before seeing the show again!
The Quotes:
“Are we too early, or can we come in?”
Me, to the ushers … we arrived almost 2 hours before show time 🙂
The cast: (in order of appearance)
|
Enchantress |
TRACY GENERALOVICH |
|
Young Prince |
GERARD McISAAC |
|
The Beast/Prince |
GRANT NORMAN |
|
Belle |
SUSAN OWEN |
|
Bookseller |
BILLY VITELLI |
|
LeFou |
MICHAEL RAINE |
|
Gaston |
CHRIS HOCH |
|
Silly Girl |
DANYELLE BOSSARDET |
|
Silly Girl |
TIA MARIE ZORNE |
|
Silly Girl |
IVY FOX |
|
Maurice |
RON LEE SAVIN |
|
Cogsworth |
JOHN ALBAN COUGHLAN |
|
Lumiere |
RON WISNISKI |
|
Babette |
JENNIFER SHRADER |
|
Mrs. Potts |
ROBERTA WALL |
|
Chip |
JONATHAN PRESS |
|
Madame de la Grande Bouche |
MONICA M. WEMITT |
|
Salt and Pepper |
JOSEF REITER |
|
Doormat |
GERARD McISAAC |
|
Cheesegrater |
ROD ROBERTS |
|
Monsieur D’Arque |
ALAN M-L WAGER |
|
Wolves |
TRACY GENERALOVICH |
|
Townspeople/ |
DANYELLE BOSSARDET |