Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Shining Light’s spring production this year is “Beauty and the Beast” by Disney. The musical first opened on Broadway on April 19, 1994 and ran for 5,464 performances, closing on July 29, 2007. It is based on the 1991 animated Disney movie, the show tells of a spell cast on a Prince which transformed him into a ferocious beast. He must love and be loved before the final petal falls from the rose or he will be a beast forever. Into his life comes beautiful, bookish Belle. They must learn to love each other after he makes her a prisoner in his desolate castle. Belle could melt the ice and even his heart but will she be able to see through his facade in time? Throw in many colorful characters including her inventor father, Maurice, the town strongman, Gaston, his crazy sidekick, Lefou and the numerous enchanted humans turned into household fixtures at the Beast’s castle and you have the makings for this sensational musical presentation. Director Mike Landry, musical director Alex Tirrell and choreographer Matthew Parello cast this show excellently, winning these hard working performers a resounding standing ovation at the end of the night.
Mike mixes the comic and dramatic moments together bringing you to laughter and tears at all the right moments. He makes them transform themselves with Belle from naivite to maturity, with the Beast from animalistic to warm and loving behavior and Gaston from loving to villainous behavior. Alex taught the cast all the glorious melodies and harmonies while playing lead keyboards and conducting a thirteen piece orchestra. Matthew’s splendid dance numbers include can can, tango, soft shoe and a waltz. The gorgeous costumes are by Sue Vieira while the astounding set is by Mike and his hard working crew. The leads of this show are Lisa Ziniti Palmer as Belle and Brandon Michael as the Beast. She is terrific in this role and is a pretty brunette with a strong soprano voice. Her first song is “Belle” where the audience learns she is a bookworm and the townspeople thinks she’s odd, “Is This Home?” where she laments being held prisoner in the castle and “A Change in Me” when she discovers she and the Beast might have more in common with each other. Her strong acting ability gives her the backbone to stand up to the Beast and Gaston. She is determined to control her own life and is headstrong at times but finally realizes the kind person hiding under the Beast’s gruff exterior. Lisa delivers an outstanding performance as Belle and will be playing Reno Sweeney in “Anything Goes” here in July. I was in “The Fantasticks” with her back in 1998.
Brandon Michael is splendid as the Beast with his powerful baritone voice soaring off the charts at the end of his solo at the closing of Act 1. He is frightening and threatening at first and then makes the transition to sympathetic and kind due to the influence of his servants. Brandon’s voice is authoritative as the master of the castle. His dynamic solo “If I Can’t Have Her” soars off the charts with its power and pathos, garnering empathy for his character. The transformation from Beast into Prince is marvelously done. Lisa and Brandon have a lot of chemistry together as these two leads.
Brian Wolfe-Leonard plays Belle’s absent minded inventor father, Maurice who gets lost in the woods, chased by wolves and imprisoned in the castle by the Beast. Belle agrees to take his place in the castle and when Maurice returns, he finds she’s fallen in love with a gentler and kinder Beast. and Lisa sing a heartfelt ballad called “No Matter What” about having each other to depend on at all times. Jack Cappadonnna does an excellent job as the egomaniac muscleman, Gaston who wants to marry Belle whether she wants to or not. He wowed the audience last season as Quasimodo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, giving a tour de force performance. The character is comic at first and then descends into a darker vein when Gaston decides to have Maurice declared insane and then rile up the mob to storm the castle so he can kill the Beast. Jack also shines as Gaston with his powerful voice in “Me” where he woos Belle with his conceited and loutish behavior while winning many laughs. He and the chorus do a rousing song and dance to “Gaston” and in Act 2 sings “Maison de Lunes” with Lefou and D’Arque and “The Mob” when he and the townspeople storm the castle. Jack’s constant flexing and preening is hilarious. However since this is a Disney musical, the villain must be vanquished by the Beast at last.
The silly girls who constantly chase him are well played. They and Lefou sing “Gaston” which stops the show with hilarity and the beer mug dance is splendid, too. One of the biggest scene stealers is Matt Divoll as Lefou, the sidekick of Gaston. He is beaten up, thrown around and endures more pratfalls than humanly possible in this role. His comic timing is topnotch and he wins sustained laughter while doing so. Matt leads the chorus in “Gaston”, also sings “Maison de Lunes” and “The Mob” with Jack. plays the evil D’Arque who wants to commit Maurice to the nuthouse.
The servants of the Beast are marvelously portrayed in this musical, too. Rebecca Donald plays the kindly, Mrs. Potts while clad in a teapot costume. She dotes on Belle and encourages her master to treat the girl more politely, hoping to promote a relationship between them. Becca’s lovely voice is heard in “Be Our Guest” and in the Oscar Award winning “Beauty and the Beast” where Lisa and Brandon do a grand waltz during it. She gives the role the warmth it needs. Her son, Chip is played by Rowan Esposito. As Chip, she sings in the chorus numbers but has solo lines in “Human Again.” Her line delivery is excellent at a young age. Adam Landry does a splendid job as Lumiere with his flawless French accent and strong comic timing as this ladies man. He displays his strong voice in “Be Our Guest” which stops the show with its power and punch. He also woos the sexy Babette played wonderfully by Stephanie Witz. She wins many laughs as the sexy vamp, Babette. Adam and Stephanie do a superb tango in the show. I first reviewed Adam as a child in 2006 as Snoopy and Adam is now a student at Berklee College of Music.
Brian Sands is a hoot as the constantly, worry wart Cogsworth while clad in a clock costume. He frets about everything in the castle and enjoys giving Belle the grand tour of the castle while delivering his funny one liners while doing so. The operatic voice of Ashley Lopes is heard as Madame de la Grande Bouche, the former opera singer who is now a wardrobe. She dresses up as Brunhilde to defend the castle when Gaston and the mob invade it in the second act. Ashley wins many laughs in this comic role. Kudos to one and all who worked on this spectacular musical. So be sure to catch Shining Light’s “Beauty and the Beast” at the Stadium Theatre. Also make sure you run to the box office to buy your tickets before this show is completely sold out. Tell them Tony sent you.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (4 to 13 May)
Shining Light’s Productions, Stadium Theatre, 28 Monument Square, Woonsocket, RI
1(401)762-4545 or www.stadiumtheatre.com
