It’s as inevitable as a fairy tale’s happy ending: Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast’ will be staged somewhere around town from now until the end of time, now that the rights have been made available to local theater companies.
So it’s nice to see that the ambitious young Carousel Dinner Theatre in Fort Collins has set the bar reasonably high in the first homegrown production within 200 miles of Denver.
“Beauty and the Beast’ is second only to “Phantom of the Opera’ among Broadway’s currently running warhorses, ranking sixth with more than 4,500 performances over 11 years. It got to be that way not because its hackneyed love story stands the test of time, but because to see it in New York is to see an extravaganza of lights, dance, magic, costumes and pyrotechnics.
If you go in understanding that dinner theater isn’t Broadway, and not expecting that level of visual artistry, you should nevertheless be fairly impressed by what you see.
Carousel’s effort is enterprising in its own ways. Dozens of clever set pieces by designer Kirk McDonnell shuffle on and off; the costumes by Marjee Mills and Judy Ernst are clever and fanciful; and one magic trick may leave you as gullible as a 6-year-old. This production requires three stage managers to direct all the traffic.
Still, it’s modest by comparison, and that’s just fine: There’s more intimacy, more emotional connection and better storytelling.
Credit for that goes to the two lead actors. As Belle, wonderful newcomer Michelle Anton is such an elegant embodiment of classic Disney heroines that she could have been plucked right off a “Snow White’ celluloid frame. And the role of her conflicted beast has brought out the very best in area veteran David Ambrosen. Not even those mats of hair and mounds of makeup can obscure his tender character work and effective vocals, most notably on the ballad “If I Can’t Love Her.’
Anton, a Montrose native, is the latest jewel uncovered by Carousel director Kurt Terrio, who continues a remarkable streak of introducing indomitable new leading ladies, from Janelle Kato in “Jekyll and Hyde’ to Kimberly Tedder in “Cats’ to June Record in “Miss Saigon.’ Anton is impeccably sweet and sweet-sounding.
“Beauty and the Beast’ is, of course, the old yarn of a cursed prince who must learn to love, and be loved in return. Enter Belle, who has a head for books and a heart for adventure. When her kooky inventor dad (Don Kraus) is captured by the Beast, the selfless Belle takes his place.
Because the romance to follow is fated, the real fun is provided by the modified bevy of lovable minions who gradually are transforming into common household objects. Lumiere (Ryan Smykil) is turning into a candle, Cogsworth (Richard Moore) a clock, Mrs. Potts (Sharon Sheets) a teapot and her Chip (Sara Kowalski) a little bodyless teacup that still has me scratching my head.
As might be expected, all the requisite attention to the look of the piece probably robbed Terrio of time needed for some character work. But Smykil is a particularly enjoyable Lumiere (not to mention an outstanding singer), and Adam Schindler amuses as Belle’s pompous suitor, Gaston.
The difficult score has a few iconic gems, including the title song (terrifically sung by Sheets) and “Be Our Guest,’ but one forgets how ordinary the rest of it really is.
Because this is surely one of the most expensive shows in Carousel history, it is a relief Terrio has not completely resorted to prerecorded music. Still, it’s a compromise. He has a two-piece band that performs live keyboards and percussion to recorded tracks. In an odd move, the two live musicians are placed above and behind the audience, far from the singers and the speakers that are projecting the recorded portions of the score.
“Beauty and the Beast’ remains solid family entertainment, not to mention a monstrous challenge Carousel has tackled with aplomb. If anyone should attempt to match it – and something tells me they will – one might only say, “Be Our Guest.’
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
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*** 1/2
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“Beauty and the Beast’
FAMILY MUSICAL|Carousel Dinner Theater, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins|Written by Alan Menken (music), and Howard Ashman and Tim Rice (lyrics)|Directed by Kurt Terrio|Starring Michelle Anton and David Ambrosen|THROUGH MAY 29|7:45 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 1:45 Sundays (dinner 90 minutes before)|2 hours, 25 minutes|$34-$38| 970-225-2555
