‘Beast’ is

‘Beast’ is

a beauty

Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ opened Wednesday night with all
the grandeur and excitement of the animated film ­ this time
with five additional songs.

By Jennifer Richmond

Daily Bruin Staff

The "tale as old as time" has become incredibly new. There’s no
doubt Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" is one big WOW!

From beginning to end the show’s stars are without question the
pyrotechnics and special effects. Opening with the Young Prince’s
transformation to the Beast in a cloud of smoke and ending with a
light show as he switches back to human form, the new musical show
pulls out all the stops when it comes to dazzle.

But pulling out all those stops doesn’t necessarily make the
show any better. At times the spectacle takes away from the
production .

"Be Our Guest" gets caught up in the stage show aspect. With all
the fire works and brightly colored costumes, the words and idea of
the song get lost. It’s no longer a number about making Belle
(Susan Egan) feel at home in this enchanted castle, it’s now about
how to amaze the audience.

A much better number that bases its applause and cheers on
choreography is Gaston. The steps are perfectly timed and Gaston
(Burke Moses) gets to prove what a "macho man" he really is. And
there’s plenty of time for that.

When he hits the line "I have biceps to spare," he alternately
flexes his biceps. Then during the song’s bridge he takes several
Hulk Hogan-esque poses just to reassure everyone he’s worth the
girls’ swoons.

But this isn’t the only time Moses’ Gaston gets to show off his
body and his manliness. He has several opportunities and uses them
to his full advantage. Because he shows off with the utmost pride,
it’s almost hard not to take his arrogance seriously.

Each and every time Moses is on stage he steals the spot-light
just by opening his mouth. He may ham up his act every so often,
but his ham fits perfectly because Gaston himself is a ham who’s
more interested in his body and what game he’s killed than the girl
he wants to wed.

This comes out clearly during one part of "Gaston" when he leads
an amazing line dance complete with bar mugs. This is where the
cheers come. A good one-third of the number is taken up by Matt
West’s beautifully choreographed line which leaves the audience
craving more.

Unfortunately these types of numbers are too few. The select
gems include Egan’s heartfelt "Home" and Terence Mann’s reprise of
"If I Can’t Love Her." These are the points when the lead actors
gets to show why they were nominated for their Tonys. Both have a
passion that makes their singing seem as easy as pie. Egan’s
clarity is crystal, fitting perfectly with Mann’s overpowering
emotion.

Although these two songs are short, they add a lot to the show.
While "Beast" stays pretty close to the original film (down to
several of the lines), writers Alan Menken, Tim Rice and Howard
Ashman have added several songs to fill in the blanks the film
left.

"Home" and "If I Can’t Love Her" are two of those songs. They
help clear things up as far as Belle and the Beast’s relationship
goes and a third addition, "No Matter What," gives more of a human
side to Belle’s father, Maurice (Tom Bosley). He’s a real person
with feelings and ideas in this version rather than a crazy
inventor the film created.

It’s songs like these that make the recent trend of movies to
musicals really worth while.

STAGE: Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast." Music by Alan Menken.
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Book by Linda Woolverton.
Directed by Robert Jess Roth. Starring Susan Egan, Terrence Mann,
Burke Moses and Gary Beach. Running indefinitely at the Shubert
Theater. Performing Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at
6:30 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 1
p.m. TIX: $25-65. For more info call (800) 447-7400.