Beauty and the Beast: Cast Brings Life to Tale

Magic is alive and well at the Regent on Broadway, while Beauty and the Beast is being staged for the next two weekends.

"A tale as old as time", the story follows the adventures of the beautiful Belle, who must stay in the enchanted castle with "the beast" and his spell-bound servants, to ensure the freedome of her father.  The Disney musical has been staged in 13 countries since 1994 and retained its popularity with both children and adults.

The music is wonderful, the costumes amazing and the scenery simply magical, but the cast deserve the credit for bringing the magic alive on stage.

Every one of the leading roles was well portrayed but credit must be given to Mrs Potts (Sue Philips, who sings the lovely title song), Cogsworth (Mark Kilsby), Lumiere (Scott Andrew) and Madame de la Grande Bouche (Andrea Lundy) who managed to slip on and off stage with grace while wearing heavy and awkward costumes as they transform into household objects.

Belle (Louise Flynn) and the Beast (Dean O'Flaherty) are suitably sweet and growly and work well together, while the transformation from the prince to the beast and back again is achieved with fireworks and masses of smoke, all adding to the magic.

Also standing out for their characterisation and energy are the cocky Gaston (Richard Shaw) and his sidekick Le Fou (Richard Rewa) who, along with the ensemble, brought the show to life in the big production numbers.

Unfortunately on the first night, sound issues meant the audience missed some vital lines from Chip (Oliver Lodge, aged 7) and Monsieur D'Arque(Hayden Giles).

I have one criticism - not enough emphasis was placed on the magical rose, which is a pivotal part of the story, yet was all but invisible to the audience.

While youngsters will love the characters and the story, at two and a half hours the show may be too long for the very young, but the special effects and voices will be appreciated by adults.