Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton is at the Garden Theater through May 22, 2022.
Trapped in her provincial life, an intelligent young woman risks everything to save her father from a terrifying Beast in an enchanted castle. Belle becomes the heroine of her own story as she discovers the power in daring to be different and breaks free from the expectations of her quiet village. Filled with dancing teapots, gorgeous costumes, and theatre magic, this international best-selling sensation has been re-imagined like never before for the Garden stage.
What I love about this production, which is produced in the Don’t Say Gay and Anti-Woke Bill state, is that the theatre selected a diverse cast, including Belle, a white role in the Disney movie, instead as powerful woman of color. The show also ignored conventional gender roles or identities, as well as infused African design motifs into the elegant costuming. The wardrobe in particular was fabulously dressed and knew how to belt out the tunes. The dusters in the castle wore tight red corseted costumes as they performed their Rockettes style kick dance routines. Chip managed to steal every scene he was in riding around the stage on a small tricycle. I am delighted the the show likely ruffled a few feathers in Winter Garden.
I sketched the show from the nose bleed section shoulder to shoulder with the tech crew. I was quite relived that all the theater staff wore masks and took every COVID precaution including clear plastic shields in front of the tech equipment. From what I saw in the lobby, the audience was mostly unmasked and the show was close to being sold out. A fog machine demonstrated the movement of aerosol particles through the theater.
Another nice touch is that the Garden Theater will present an American Sign Language-interpreted performance and a Sensory Friendly performance for families that have members (both children and adults) with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and special needs.