Beauty And The Beast - The Musical - Review

London Palladium, London

*****

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice

Directed and choreographed by Matt West

Courtney Stapleton and Shaq Taylor

From Barbot de Villeneuve’s 1740 fairy tale La Belle et la Bête, through countless stage and screen adaptations, the story of Beauty And The Beast is a classic parable of good and love conquering evil. Now, following an extensive tour of the UK, director and choreographer Matt West brings his Disney entourage into the West End where the show has opened at the London Palladium.

Disney’s magic has always lain within its imagery as much as the narratives and with Stanley A. Meyer's scenic design and Ann Hould-Ward’s costume work, West is well supported. Not only were this creative trio involved with the show’s original Broadway iteration some 28 years ago, but they have ensured that audiences are treated to treasured moments of old-style along with brand new elements both in design and delivery that keep this production feeling as new, fresh and exciting as ever. It is rare that a design has such an overwhelming impact across a production and while at times the village scenes felt a little bare amidst the vastness of the Palladium’s proscenium, Meyer’s combination of projection, video, lighting and three moving rustic scrolls into multiple configurations instantly transported the tale from village to woodland and of course the enchanted castle where so much of the story takes place.

With story and songs alike engrained in the minds of many, it’s no surprise that audiences sit with baited breath anticipating those iconic moments of speech and song. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman truly wrote some of their finest numbers for this piece of musical magic, with Tim Rice also contributing as Disney’s animated hit made the transition on to Broadway. Hits such as Be Our Guest and Human Again are both sensationally led by Gavin Lee’s Lumiere whom after a stint on Broadway returns to the West End and who holds the audience in the palm of his hand with nuance, charm and charisma. 

The energy and comedic timing of Louis Stockil as Le Fou is fun, as is the delightful giggling gossiping Madame played by Samantha Bingley who has sensational chemistry onstage throughout with the equally talented Sam Bailey as Mrs Potts. While the title number doesn’t allow for powerhouse vocals from Bailey, she still delivers with the required vocal finesse with of course the timeless Angela Lansbury (who else?) voicing the show's Prologue.

West offers a fresh take on the relationship between Courtney Stapleton’s Belle and Beast played by Shaq Taylor. Stapleton is perfect and a far more strong willed heroine / princess than has been seen before with flawless vocals throughout, in particular during ‘A Change in Me’ in Act 2. Taylor equally rises to the occasion. The traditional heavy footed, thudding, growling Beast is out. Instead, Taylor brings a far more genuine and honest approach, ‘If I Can’t Love Her’ proving a vocal masterclass, instantly generating empathy for not only one but two trapped prisoners: one in a castle, the other in his own body.

It may have been only nigh-on 30 years ago but one cannot help but feel that this classic French yarn isn’t going anywhere. It’s hard to imagine the world of both stage and screen without this iconic story, truly a tale as old as time. Never has there been a more appropriate lyric for this beast of a production that is such a beauty to behold.

Runs until 17th September

Reviewed by Joe Sharpe

Photo credit: Johan Persson

The Prince of Egypt - Review

Dominion Theatre, London

**

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Philip LaZebnik

Directed by Scott Schwartz

Luke Brady

The Bible has not always had an easy relationship with musical theatre. Two notable exceptions being Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ, Superstar and that  perennial favourite Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Each of these casts a contemporary take on the scripture and features a through-sung score. A modern oratorio. At about the same time US composer Stephen Schwartz gave us Godspell, a whimsical take on the Gospels that proved just as successful and gave us memorable hits such as God Save The People and Day By Day. What Godspell lacked was staying power and major revivals have been few and far between. His musical Children Of Eden, also based on episodes from the Bible, failed to take off in 1991, despite development from the RSC.

A few years later, Schwartz scored a  hit with an animated version of the story of Moses from DreamWorks Animation, The Prince Of Egypt. It’s probably nowhere near the classic movie that the publicity would have you think, despite the noble line-up of actors providing the voices.  However Schwartz hit pay-dirt with the Academy-award winning anthem When You Believe, recorded for popular release by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

Move forward another 20 years and Schwartz has shifted the story to the stage, adding further musical numbers to the score and a book by the author of the original screenplay Philip Lazebnik. All the familiar key points are in place. There are bulrushes, a baby in the basket and a burning bush. Lazebnik’s storytelling technique manages to cram many plot points into a relatively short running time. Yet for all this speed it still manages to drag, only ever really springing to life in the musical numbers. And boy, do we pray for some of the whimsy that made Godspell so appealing in its day. Instead we get a story that’s both too leaden for family audiences and too simplistic for adults.

Kevin Depinet’s set design works on certain levels, with the projections and variegated screens capturing the burning desert or the majestic temples of the Nile with some sense of scale. However bearing in mind that this is a story steeped in mysticism and miracles, there’s very little magic on show. Sean Cheesman’s relentless choreography offers us the Twelve Plagues of Egypt via interpretative dance, which would be fine if this was Sadler's Wells or the Union Theatre. I personally want a little spectacle from a West End production, especially as the hand of God was supposed to be behind it. Instead we get polystyrene building blocks and a couple of magic tricks that wouldn’t impress a ten-year old, let alone a Pharaoh. To add to the disconcerting simplicity of the special effects and set, Ann Hould-Ward's costumes managed to look both cheap and unsettlingly anachronistic.

Schwartz has padded out the original with ten additional numbers, none of which really have the impact of When You Believe. The song Dance To The Day is given to Christine Allado's Tzipporah the captured Midian to establish her pride and independence. This turns out to be one of the best numbers in the show, proving a highlight for Allado and a shoo-in for this year’s Eurovision entry. Thankfully a woefully underused Alexia Khadime as Miriam and Allado do justice to When You Believe but it’s a long wait for this edifying anthem.

It’s good to see Gary Wilmot back in the West End in trousers, rather than his regular star turn as Dame at the Palladium panto. Wilmot has a natural warmth on stage and his musical number as Jethro, offers a little light relief from the rather worthy, soul-searching anthems that populate the score. The focus of Lazebnik’s story is, understandably, Moses played by Luke Brady and more pointedly his relationship with Rameses, the boy who would be Pharaoh, played by Liam Tamne. There’s oddly little chemistry between the two, although this may be down to Lazebnik’s script, which struggles to fashion a credible tone and ends up as conflicted bromance. Brady and Tamne each get to strut their stuff vocally, both proving they have quality singing voices but there’s little here to help establish them as West End leading men.

Schwartz appears to have added to his collection of problematic Bible-based musicals with The Prince Of Egypt, but director Scott Schwartz’s cheap and often confused looking production doesn’t actually help matters. It cuts too many corners, dumbs down Moses’ relationship with God and beefs up the one with Rameses. Who knows, in years to come a fringe theatre may manage to hit the right tone. In the meantime, this production could do with a little more creative flair and re-write.

Booking until 31st October

Reviewed by Paul Vale

Photo credit: Matt Crockett