Beautyful!
By JOHN COULBOURN
Toronto Sun

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE - Beauty, we are told, is in the eye of the beholder. Well, last night, Toronto beheld. The verdict? Disney's Beauty And The Beast is a knockout. In its gala opening at the Princess of Wales Theatre, the stage adaptation of the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman movie animation leapt to opulent life, enriched by additional lyrics by Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton. Crisply imagined, lavishly appointed, energetically staged, the fairy tale makes the leap from celluloid to stage with deceptive ease, packed with magic and fairly giddy with romance.

As Belle, the Beauty of title, Kerry Butler is superb, a fresh-faced and natural girl/woman with a wit and a mind of her own. Even without the storyline, Butler would be a standout among the townsfolk who ridicule her for her odd but winning ways.

As Gaston, her belligerent suitor, Dan Chameroy does a wickedly funny turn in two very intentional dimensions, his malevolent machismo underscored at every turn by Cliff Saunders at full bumble - the only man alive who just might be able to go a round with Mike Tyson.

And speaking of Beasts - in this case, really a Prince transformed by a sorceress's spell, don'cha know - Chuck Wagner opts more for mischief than menace to round out B&B's romantic equation. He's a bratty barber-challenged behomoth desperate to be tamed - but nowhere near as desperate as his palace staff, who, residual to their master's curse, are being slowly tranformed into household hardware. There's a clock, played by Paul Brown, a duster, played by Elizabeth Beeler, a wardrobe, played by Jo-Anne Kirwin Clark, even a teapot, played by Judy Marshak. But, with this crew, the one who really lights up the stage is Andre Therien, cast as the amorous candlestick, Lumiere - a stand-up kind of guy with a burning passion for anything in skirts.

Under the direction of Robert Jess Roth, with choreography by Matt West, the cast comes together for an unforgettable evening, rising above the occasional technical problem - for $17 million, you'd think they could get a sound system that could handle all demands without going tinny - with a flare that would do Lumiere proud. In this, they are aided by both the music of the Menken/Ashman/Rice triumverate - Be Our Guest, Beauty And The Beast, Human Again, If I Can't Love Her, delicious stuff - and by a state-of-the-art technical team that seems to accomplish the impossible at every turn.

B&B isn't just flash and trash, however - or it tries not to be, extolling all sorts of virtues and painting evil with a broad brush. But for all its good intentions, it's first and foremost a romp.

Beauty is only skin deep, after all - and in this case, a flawless complexion goes a long way.

CFRB 1010 - Radio Review
By JEREMY BROWN

The heirs and assigns of the genius Walt Disney have brought to Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, a wonderfully voluptuous production of Beauty and the Beast, rooted in a timeless story of girl meets beast.

It is an explosion of spectacle. Within 15 minutes of the opening curtain, one can see and hear where the $17 million production cost went. The word "lavish" fails to capture fully the dazzling sets, the lighting, costumes and special effects.

All the power of Disney has been brought to bear on this work: multiple Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Alan Menken, the brilliant lyricists, the late Howard Ashman and Sir Tim Rice, the book by Linda Woolverton, the sets by Stan Meyer. Yet despite this formidable array of talent, the millions of dollars of pre-production, the success or failure of this show rests on the frail shoulders of one young, tiny girl, Kerry Butler, Bell, the beauty. Can she convince us of her initial naivete' , and of her growing love of the Beast?

Yes she can, and did, last night.

Her selection for the role was, itself, stuff of Disney storybook. Still a little nervous of the role thrust upon her, Ms Butler has a clear, strong voice, and the wholesomeness and determination to carry it off. The Beast must also show convincingly his profound anguish, and Chuck Wagner, the standby for the New York production, earns his right to top billing. All the theatrical pyrotechnics are empty beside the humanity of the stars.

There are highlights: the dance of the cutlery was mesmerizing, and drew involuntary gasps and spontaneous applause from the audience. The song "Be Our Guest" provokes a splendid dance. The sets sometimes dominate the stage, as they swoosh in, out, up and back. The Disney people have secured the Princess of Wales Theatre for five years. That should do it.


Mira Friedlander
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle


"Be our guest, be our guest..." with these popular lyrics Canada opened its doors to Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on Tuesday night.

The most expensive musical ($17 million) ever produced north of the world's longest undefended border, is appropriately housed in Toronto's sumptuous Princess of Wales Theatre, built a few years ago for no less a tenant than "Miss Saigon"

The question, though, is just how eager Canadians will be to play host to the classic story of Belle and her prince. You'd never know it from the sold-out, star studded opening night audience, (including film director Norman Jewison, Disney boss Michael Eisner and most of "Beast's" original creative and producing team) but advance tickets sales have been rather limp.

And some canucks are still mightily miffed that the great cartoon corporation has purchased the marketing rights to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

But be that as it may, the almost totally local company (with the exception of Americans Kerry Butler (Belle) and Chuck Wagner (Beast), is pouring its hear and soul into a production that more than stands up to its Broadway counterpart.

There are still some soft spots to be ironed out and the entire show is over-amplified almost beyond endurance, but there are also some areas in which the Toronto company outshines its New York cousin.

One such is the charismatic, high energy team of Dan Chameroy as Gaston and Cliff Saunders as sidekick LeFou, who nearly steal the show from under Wagner and Butler. Saunders is a terrific acrobat and clown, and director Robert Roth has wisely allowed the two actors to develop a kind of take-off Laurel and Hardy routine, rather than focussing on dance, as is the case down south.

Wagner and Butler do come into their own as the night wears on, building by the end a sweet chemistry that is much more involving that that of their Broadway counterparts. It helps too that Wagner towers physically over Butler and is able to lift both her and Lumiere (a charming portrayal by French Canadian Andre Thorian) over his head at will.

Ironically, on of the parts (Cogsworth the clock) which is a highlight on Broadway is played there by one of Canada's best comic actors, Heath Lamberts. And though Paul Brown is more than adequate in this production, his Cogsworth looks and feels like a somewhat pale carbon copy of Lambert's own exquisite performance.