[review] Beauty and the Beast: The Musical (2012)

So as you may remember from my read-a-thon post, I went to see the Beauty and the Beast musical last week. I’d seen it before when I was very young, but remembered nothing beyond the enchantress scene, so I was very excited to see it again. Besides, if you remember my review of Beauty and the Beast 3D, you know I’m a big BatB fan who is all like:

It was pretty difficult to separate myself from my movie expectations at first. Throughout the opening number “Bonjour” whenever something sounded slightly different from the movie my hackles would rise. But eventually I was able to relax and enjoy the musical for what it was.

While some scenes had to be cut for obvious reasons (space, time, etc.), there were some great additions that had me fangirling. A scene that I was very sad to see go was the battle between the enchanted items and the villagers. I always felt like this scene was very representative of how both sides can think they’re absolutely right in a war. (You’ll see the same thing in Pocahontas.) Even though the villagers are shown as the villains, if you look closer you realize they are acting out of fear and just want to protect their families. So many things are destroyed by ignorance and fear…

Something that was added to the play that made me super happy was a bit more enchanted items story. The castle’s servants are not only changed, but they are still in the process of changing, losing the ability to move and to think. It was an idea I wish they could have pushed further, but as it is a children’s story I understood why they couldn’t. There is also an explanation as to why the servants are punished when it was the Prince who did the act, which solved one of the issues I mentioned in my movie review.

My favourite parts of the musical was the Beast’s humour and the awkwardness between Belle and the Beast during the beginning stages of their courtship. Oh goodness, how I do love the awkward! The Beast was surprisingly funny. The actor had great comedic timing and the way he said some of the lines had me actually laughing out loud. Whoever chose to portray the Beast that way, I give them a gold star. This leads into the awkwardness between the Beast and Belle. The uncertainty of both characters came across very clearly, which I think is important because it is the first time either of them have loved. In the movie, I kind of feel that Belle is a little too calm most of the time, but in the musical you get to see a bit more of her struggle.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with this musical. Combining the added elements with my fond memories of the movie makes it perfection.