Beauty and the Beast...Musical Love
Yesterday was one of the best in a Loooong time...since returning from Japan. I went to see the ASF production of Beauty and the Beast with my parents and James. Interestingly, we had a little miracle earlier in the day so I thought the best part had already come. Then there was the amazing dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and the ride to ASF (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) that was filled with laughs. Finally, the show.
I never much cared for Gaston in the original Disney cartoon and I never thought he was handsome at all. THIS Gaston was amazing--you could identify with him as a guy who 'never quite gets it' and was overly spoiled but not evil. He was perfectly narcissistic, but also hilarious and a genius of facial expressions that almost seemed cartoon-like. At one point he looked so confused that he pulled of a great "lost puppy" look. But he could be jealous and dangerous as well...he was one of my favorite characters in this.
Cogsworth actually won my affections over Lumiere this time, shocking!!! The added lines about all of Lumiere and Babette's lovers didn't help, nor did any of their scenes together that were overly saccharine and worth only a small chuckle for the best of them. The funniest part about them was their prolonged absence at the end--James joked that it was intentional since this B&B had more adult humor. That made mom and dad laugh ^_^ Also surprising was that the "Gaston Love" (cheering up Gaston) scene in the bar was way more entertaining than "Be Our Guest." The whole audience was grinning!! Moreover, when the play was over the Gaston song was the only one that kept popping up in my head--I guess that is fitting since after a performance there is that "high" feeling that is very peppy and excited.
Also well-loved in this performance was the rug. He proves that there are no small roles because he had absolutely no lines and only a few appearances but we talked about him much of the ride home. His excitement and the way he maneuvered his body were remarkable. James jokes that he wants to go as the rug for Halloween.
Alas, that's all I shall say for now. A group of audience (including my family, James, and me) waited after the play to hear the orchestra and then applauded, which made the conductor surprised but happy. He talked to some kids and James and me for a bit and then thanked us warmly for coming. We had thought he was singing along with all the songs but he was "actually" mouthing all the words so that he could tell where the breaths where and could better match the actors. Hehe, even if that's the case he seemed to really enjoy it and added to the whole experience.
I never much cared for Gaston in the original Disney cartoon and I never thought he was handsome at all. THIS Gaston was amazing--you could identify with him as a guy who 'never quite gets it' and was overly spoiled but not evil. He was perfectly narcissistic, but also hilarious and a genius of facial expressions that almost seemed cartoon-like. At one point he looked so confused that he pulled of a great "lost puppy" look. But he could be jealous and dangerous as well...he was one of my favorite characters in this.
Cogsworth actually won my affections over Lumiere this time, shocking!!! The added lines about all of Lumiere and Babette's lovers didn't help, nor did any of their scenes together that were overly saccharine and worth only a small chuckle for the best of them. The funniest part about them was their prolonged absence at the end--James joked that it was intentional since this B&B had more adult humor. That made mom and dad laugh ^_^ Also surprising was that the "Gaston Love" (cheering up Gaston) scene in the bar was way more entertaining than "Be Our Guest." The whole audience was grinning!! Moreover, when the play was over the Gaston song was the only one that kept popping up in my head--I guess that is fitting since after a performance there is that "high" feeling that is very peppy and excited.
Also well-loved in this performance was the rug. He proves that there are no small roles because he had absolutely no lines and only a few appearances but we talked about him much of the ride home. His excitement and the way he maneuvered his body were remarkable. James jokes that he wants to go as the rug for Halloween.
Alas, that's all I shall say for now. A group of audience (including my family, James, and me) waited after the play to hear the orchestra and then applauded, which made the conductor surprised but happy. He talked to some kids and James and me for a bit and then thanked us warmly for coming. We had thought he was singing along with all the songs but he was "actually" mouthing all the words so that he could tell where the breaths where and could better match the actors. Hehe, even if that's the case he seemed to really enjoy it and added to the whole experience.