Luhrs Performing Arts Center hosted “Beauty and the Beast” on Thursday, April 9. The classic Disney show brought little girls dressed in their fanciest clothing, as well as Disney princess costumes and even adults dressing to follow the theme of the night.
As the audience members walked into the theater, they could see a blue, opaque curtain designed with leaves and vines, accentuating the pink rose that glowed behind the curtain. As the time got closer to the curtain going up, the orchestra, which was hidden under a removable section in the front of the stage, began to play as the lights dimmed.
As the audience settled, a woman’s disembodied voice began to explain the legend behind how the beast became to be. Behind the opaque curtain, what looked to be a large, stone doorknocker was lit up, with a man proudly standing in front of it. The voice explained that this man was a prince and a selfish and mean one at that.
She then explained how the old haggard woman came to the castle door one stormy night. She wanted to exchange a rose for a place to stay and when he turned her away, she turned into an enchantress and cursed the castle as well as the prince, who was turned into a beast for his cruelty.
The music changed from dark, ominous and mysterious to more upbeat as the curtain rose, revealing a quaint town full of small homes and businesses. This led into the first song, “Belle” which describes the town, its townspeople and what the townspeople think of Belle, the beauty in this story.
This then led into another song, “No Matter What,” where Maurice, Belle’s father, tries to comfort Belle after she explains how she does not feel she fits in with the other townspeople. The song explained how, even though these people may see her as weird, he loves her all the same and would stand by her no matter what.
Songs like this were new for anyone who had only ever seen the movie. While the musical closely followed the movie itself, it made the audience smile to see that the characters were given more depth than many can find in the hour and a half animated film.
“No Matter What” then led to Maurice leaving home, and going into the woods -— the opaque curtain brought down to add to the tension. He ended up getting lost and chased by wolves. This is when the same doorknocker as before appeared; signifying Maurice had reached some kind of safe haven.
It was then that the audience sees Cogsworth and Lumiere, a talking clock and candlestick. The inhabitants of the castle were turned into inanimate objects, except for the fact they could talk. Each of their costumes was finely decorated with gold accents, even their hair helped to further the costume. Cogsworth’s mustache used to show the hands of the clock, while Lumiere’s was piled high, looking as though wax was melting off it.
It is here that the audience also got a better idea of the castle’s atmosphere. The furniture was very twisted and bent out of shape. The drapery was also torn and the lighting was extremely dim as well. And since the sets were in constant motion, those who were moving it were dressed as gargoyles and became a part of the set once it was moved into place.
After Lumiere and Cogsworth got Maurice settled in, the audience got to feel the full force of the beast as he growled and roared upon finding another human there. Lumiere and Cogsworth then watched as he was taken to a prison cell, which only heightened the action as the orchestra played furiously.
It then jumped back to Belle, trying to avoid advances from Gaston, singing about how great he is in a song entitled, “Me,” another song that differed from the original movie. The entire time Belle is seemingly stunned and annoyed at how entitled he feels. This transitioned into Belle longing to be “Home,” reminding the audience that “home is where the heart is” and that she felt she was not part of the town.
Belle soon realizes her father has not returned and sets off to find him, once again the curtain dropping and the lights being used to add to the danger and treachery of the journey she was taking. She found the castle and was soon face-to-face with the beast once she found her father in his prison cell. This is when she exchanged her freedom to save her father.
Once Belle was trapped, the audience saw the biggest difference from the movie to the stage. The beast was much more comical. He seemed to throw more fits and does not shout as much as he did in the movie. For audience members, this makes the beast seem more spoiled than brooding, and is more enjoyable to watch.
But what really makes the show the most enjoyable to watch is the spectacle given in the number, “Be Our Guest.” It felt as though the audience was watching a Rockettes show rather than a musical. The sets were mainly painted gold and pink, with lights glowing brightly and flashes of many different objects. It was almost hard to follow at some points because a viewer’s eyes did not know what to focus on.
But it then quickly became somber once more as the beast returns, bringing Belle to her breaking point. It is then that she leaves the castle and the curtain falls after the beast curses her and resigns to never finding love.
The curtain then rose much the same as before, to the orchestral cue and the action in the woods happening behind the curtain. Belle is attacked by wolves, only to have the beast save her, but he became wounded in the fight.
Belle then patches up his wounds and through this, they learn to not hate each other and slowly become more attached as time passes. He shows her his library and it is at this point that even the workers in the castle think they might still have a chance to become human again.
Another small thing that was used to build some character development was the threat that these people would slowly become the real inanimate object and stop acting as people.
Then came the classic scene of Belle in her golden dress, dancing across the stage with the beast, signifying feelings really had changed. The dress, similar to the movie, had its own flair with more ruffles at the bottom and her hair more decorated, rather than just curly.
Belle found out about her father being lost and she ran to save him. While doing this, she fought to protect the beast and the castle’s inhabitants from the angry mob of townspeople.
In the end, many walked away from the show with smiles on their faces, knowing that, while the stage version had its own feel, it still stayed true to the heart of the original movie and presented its own special magic.

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