By MIKE CHAIKEN EDITIONS EDITOR After all, it is called, “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.” So the musical, which was at The Bushnell May 6 to 11, was bound to show its family friendly roots. And it did that in spades with broad humor, animation inspired costumes, and brightly colored sets to appeal to the many, many, many children who turned out to see the story of the beautiful and independent Belle and her stubborn— at times, childish— and eventually gallant Beast. And for the parents and adults, it offered the stellar music of Alan Menken and clever lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. But, at times, this attempt by this production to appeal to the young and old undercut one or the other. This particular direction seemed to offer an a la carte feel to the scenes, with each having its own mood and approach. It gave one the sense that there wasn’t one hand directing and honing the final product. For instance, I laughed at the clowning around and rubbery faced acting by Jordan Aragon, who played the sidekick Lefou to the loutish Gaston—the town hunk who felt entitled to Belle’s hand in marriage. All the bouncing [...]
↧