Near the end of the first act of Beauty and the Beast, a hungry Belle wanders into her captor’s kitchen and is treated to the production number “Be Our Guest.” Projections highlight the enchanted castle’s opulent qualities, frequently morphing into dazzling geometric patterns. Oversized plates, cups and utensils dance in elaborate, Busby Berkeley-like routines.
Forget the slow, deliberate setup to the plot that preceded it. This is what the audience is here for. On opening night of the seminal musical’s local tour stop, presented by Broadway Dallas, one could sense the mood shifting as the spectacle unfolded on stage. “Be Our Guest,” featuring servants who have been transformed into household objects welcoming Belle to the castle, doesn’t so much stop the show as launch it into another universe. Tell me again what it’s about?
Written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, the song first made a lasting impression in the 1991 animated film version of Beauty and the Beast, garnering Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. It’s considered one of Disney’s most iconic tunes and has been parodied on The Simpsons and in the South Park musical Bigger, Longer and Uncut. There’s even a restaurant at the Magic Kingdom named for it.
The lead-up to the startling sequence sets up the personality and circumstances of a provincial French teenager who likes to read. A kind of proto-feminist, Belle repeatedly rejects the advances of the oafish brute Gaston. Ultimately, she has a nicer one waiting for her in the woods, though it will take until the second act for her to find out he’s really an ultimately lovable prince cursed for his selfishness.
The action shifts between the lively town square and the Beast’s dark castle, where his servants have been transformed into a candelabra, clock, teapot, feather duster and wardrobe as part of the spell. When Belle’s father, Maurice, gets lost in the woods and winds up imprisoned by the Beast for trespassing, she offers herself in exchange for his release.
With a voice as clear as a bell, Kyra Belle Johnson beautifully embodies the heroine’s complex nature while Caleb McArthur, an understudy who appeared as the Beast, owns the role as if he were performing it every night.
But the real stars of the show are Danny Gardner (Lumiere), Javier Ignacio (Cogsworth), Kathy Voytko (Mrs. Potts), Cameron Monroe Thomas (Babette) and Holly Ann Butler (Madame) as the Beast’s servants. They provide a large share of the comedy as they suffer through the afflictions imposed upon them.
The designs, especially notable during “Be Our Guest,” are by Stanley A. Meyer (scenic), Ann Hould-Ward (costume), Natasha Katz (lighting), Jim Steinmeyer (illusions) and Darrel Maloney (projection and video), with director Matt West also creating the brilliant choreography.
The first Disney stage musical, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994 and ran for 13 years, helping revive a brand that had reached a particularly low critical and commercial point in its history. A lot of the credit goes to the extravagant realization of one song.
Details
Through Jan. 4 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 First Ave. $50-$214. broadwaydallas.org.
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