‘Beauty
and the Beast’ romances the audience
By Jill Thomsen
Daily-Forty Niner
It’s
a tale as old as time: girl meets boy. Boy
scares girl. Girl learns to love boy. Boy
and girl live happily ever after. And in
the meantime, there’s talking candlesticks,
strict clocks and mothering teapots.
 Disney’s
“Beauty and the Beast,” a live action musical
based on the classic animated film, is touring
throughout Southern California and making
a stop in Long Beach this week to enchant
children as well as adults with its classic
lessons of acceptance and hope.
While following the movie’s plot line to
a “T”(even managing to pull off a show-stopping
performance of “Be Our Guest”), the live
version offers seven new songs not seen
in the film which serve to elaborate on
the characters feelings as well as help
move the plot along.
Through colorful set design and out-of-this-world
costuming, the cartoon fantasy world set
in France comes to life. Although the comedy
is broad and aimed at children, as it should
be, there is always something creative or
interesting to look at while the puns run
amok.
San Diego native Danyelle Bossardet plays
Belle, the spunky daughter of the local
town inventor. Originally trained as a dancer,
Bossardet shows just the right combination
of innocence and guts that it takes to be
a match for our hero, the Beast (played
by Grant Norman under massive makeup and
hair). Marc G. Dalio has a grand time hamming
it up, complete with Elvis meets the Fonz
wig, as everyone’s favorite male chauvinist,
Gaston, Rob Lorey’s Lumiere, “the ladies
man candlestick,” has an equally good time
with his many suggestive lines and gestures.
The real scene stealer, however, is the
fabulous Monica M. Wemitt as former opera
star turned armoire, Madame de la Grande
Bouche.
Although some of the cast’s voices are not
as strong as they could be, and the unknown
lyrics to the new songs were a little hard
to decipher at times how can you go wrong
with acrobatic doormats and high-kicking
brooms?
“Beauty and the Beast” is playing at the
Long Beach Performing Arts Center’s Terrace
Theater through Sunday. The theater is located
downtown at 300 E. Ocean Blvd. For more
information and tickets call (562) 436-3661.
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