Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Northern Stage: Not Just For Kids
What are we, two seventy year-olds long detached from fairy tales, doing at Northern Stage’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast? As it turns out, we’re having a heckuva good time. And my guess is that with kids/grandkids in tow or not, you will too. It’s been a long minute since I have been so utterly entertained.
Belle, our heroine, (Riley Noland) is thought to be eccentric by the people in her provincial town because she loves to read. She’s also beautiful, and the prey of the handsome yet loathsome Gaston (Tim Rogan). She ends up imprisoned in a nearby castle by the eerie Beast (Peter Neureuther), his beastliness the result of a punitive curse. For reasons unclear, the spell is also affecting his household staff, slowly turning them into furniture and household items like spoons and forks and teapots. Only true love can break the spell, but of course, there’s dramatic tension because time is . . . running out.
The music is glorious, the actors convincing, the action fast-paced in a set that more than serves the story. The household staff are superb in their roles, including Anthony Wayne as Lumière and his comedic partner Cogsworth (Kevin David Thomas), who keep trying to nudge the principals’ budding romance along in a game of Beat the Clock. It’s difficult to look away from the duo of Susan Haefner as Mrs. Potts and that impossible teapot dress and her daughter Chip, played by third-grader Pavla Ballou in this performance. (Each kid’s role is always covered by two alternating actors.) Special kudos to choreographer Kyle Brand for the dance numbers that impress with their energy and precision timing.
Costume designers are often unsung, but not here. Camilla Dely’s original costumes of the part-human, part-furniture household staff are stars in their own right in this production, veritable works of art. So creative. According to director Carol Dunne, Dely spent the summer trying to determine how the characters might look in a child’s imagination. The Beast is buried in layers that add to his creepiness. And a charming wrinkle (no pun intended) about Belle’s iconic yellow dress—it was echoed by a number of tiny girl aficionados in the audience, decked out in homage in their best yellow princess dresses.
This family-friendly show runs through January 1, 2005, but as in years past, it is likely to sell out. So, time to bring the kids along or show up alone or with an adult friend or two. Whatever your age, this production will bring you some much-needed joy.
Tickets are available by calling the Box Office or for purchase online here.
Photo, top, the cast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Photo, center, Riley Noland as Belle. Photo credits: Kata Sasvari
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.