A theater that would take on “Beauty and the Beast” would have some fairly high expectations to live up to, but none of the magic was lost at all in Paradise Theatre’s telling of the age-old tale that Disney made so popular with its animated film in 1991. In fact, this adaptation is just as action packed and romantic as the movie, so you will not be disappointed when you go see this play.
The story follows the adventure of a young, beautiful girl named Belle living with her inventor father in a French town. Belle yearns for “so much more than a provincial life” and gets more than she bargains for when events lead her to be the prisoner of a cursed Beast who was once a spoiled prince. Love blossoms between the two as the Beast learns to open his heart and Belle sees the caring person he is.
Paradise Theatre’s version stayed pretty true to the movie. It included all of the classic songs found in the film as well as added new tunes. All of the actors did a wonderful job and sang beautifully, especially Katin Jacobs-Lake as Belle. The costumes and sets were exquisite and elaborate. The beautifully constructed and painted backdrops actually looked very much like those in the film. In addition to the surroundings, the scenes were very intricate, especially the “Be Our Guest” scene. It wasn’t just the characters dancing and singing, some of the actors were performing acrobatics. My main focus of these amazing feats were two little girls who represented sugar cubes. When they first came out, they were doing cartwheels and back flips. These little darlings not only brought something different to the scene, they also raised the energy of the audience.
Although I loved every character in the movie version, my favorite characters have always been supporting characters like Gaston’s loveable buffoon sidekick LeFou (Taylor Herbstritt) and the castle fixtures. Within the group of castle fixtures, my absolute favorite was Lumiere (James Knickerbocker). When Lumiere came to the stage, my eyes lit up and I had a constant smile on my face with every scene he was in. Another character that caught my eye was Herbstritt’s LeFou. Herbstritt has tremendous comedic timing. His stylings remind me of Lucille Ball.
Paradise Theatre’s “Beauty and the Beast” is choreographed by Executive Artistic Director Vicki Richards, directed by Jeff Richards, and music done by Alan Menken.
“Beauty and the Beast” plays through Aug. 23. Paradise Theatre, which is sponsored in part by the City of Gig Harbor, is located at 9911 Burnham Dr. N.W. in Gig Harbor. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for military and seniors, and $10 for students. The theater is wheelchair accessible. For more information or to order tickets, call (253) 851-7529 or visit http://www.paradisetheatre.org.
Commenting rules
Tacoma Weekly is happy to provide a forum for commenting and discussion. Please respect and abide by the house rules:
Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic, be responsible, share your knowledge, and please suggest removal of comments that violate these standards.
Read full commenting rules