Passamaquoddy

Last night was pretty exciting for the cultured folk of Passamaquoddy.  Rather than wasting their culture on Fishing with Roland Martin, they decided en masse to enjoy a production at the Passamaquoddy Players.  Last night’s production was a staging of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  Of course, a couple changes were made as they brought the show to town:  Changing the lyrics to “Be Our Guest” to match popular seafood plates was inspiring while changing the Beast into a large mutant lobster brought more challenges then smiles.  That one heavy claw obviously impeded the performer who performed most of the show lying prone on the stage or knocking other performers into the orchestra pit.  Passamaquoddy changes aside, let us have a look at the show.

Beauty and the Beast is the story of Belle, a smart woman in a small provincial town with dreams of adventure.   When her kooky father takes shelter in an enchanted castle and taken prisoner, Belle gets the adventure she has longed for. In a rescue attempt, she finds herself in the domain of a hideous beast with the heart of a Great White during a seal migration.  With the help of some enchanted household objects, Belle and the Beast become friends against their will.  In the end, that friendship is tested, and if it is truly love, the spell will be broken…  the enchanted objects gain back their former human (or doggie) form, the Beast becomes a surfer dude and Belle gets to marry and live in a big castle with lotsa stories and books.

The Disney film is the umpteenth version of the story and is arguably the best, garnering the first and only Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.  It had beautiful animation, an ingenious musical score and a taut story that delivered information at just the right speed. 

Beauty and the Beast was also the first story that the Disney Company transferred from the animated film into a live production on Broadway.  It was soon followed by The Lion King, Aida, Tarzan, Mary Poppins and now The Little Mermaid, many of these have already been reviewed her in Passamaquoddy. As many of those productions had shown, it is difficult to bring an animated feature to life in a static setting but with gusto, the creative team behind Beauty and the Beast was up to the job.

The first thing of note was that the theatrical B&TB was expanded to fill the two hour and twenty five minutes to justify the large ticket price of a New York theatre audience.  Songs were added, concepts were explored deeper, and the storyline shifted. New lyrics were provided by Tim Rice whose most popular work had been with Andrew Lloyd Webber previously.  His stuff was woven in with the late Howard Ashman’s words and placed with Alan Menken’s luscious musical score.  Songs like Gaston’s “Me” and “Maison Des Lunes” are now seamlessly part of the work.  While “No Matter What” and “Human Again” – which was resurrected from the film’s discarded material - prove to be mild additions.  Strongest of all are Belle’s “Home” and the Beast’s Act One finale “If I can’t love her”.  Here Beast is given a beautiful melody and lyric that brings the audience closer to the creature then ever possible before.  (Later in the run, Belle received another song called “A change in me”)

The production itself had two distinct lives.  Upon opening, the show was vast and expansive filling the stage with artistry, stage properties and pyrotechnics to enchant the eye.  When the show moved into a different theatre, the show re-opened a slimmer production, with a more efficient production.  This newer production has paved the way for the show to be performable throughout the country in community theatre venues.

The stage show differed from the cartoon in tune as the Beast is more accessible, being closer to human form and in turn, more frightening to children, especially with stage lighting keeping him playing amongst the shadows for so long.  But eventually, the kids are given a reprieve especially when magic begins to play a big part of the show:  When Chip appears as a saucer on a rolling cart, with no “visible” place for the actor’s body, adult s and children are mesmerized. And the Beasts transformation is phenomenal as the body lifts and practically explodes in the air.

The show closed on Broadway after thirteen years to make way for The Little Mermaid.  Audiences were thinning and Disney felt it best not to have Ariel and Belle, two of their most popular princesses fighting for the same audience. Of course, some people would pay top dollar to witness that bout, but I digress. As I alluded earlier, the show is now available throughout the country and plays often in smaller community based theatres.

Later I will be reviewing the “in park” version of this show which, along with all other show reviews can be found by searching for “theater” in the right menu search engine.

If the opportunity presents itself, check out Beauty and the Beast.. a Tale as old as time.

Here in Passamaquoddy, the community theatre puts on some excellent stuff.  We work hard to keep everyone informed and nobody misses a show.  Today we’re looking at one of the shows that ran for a short time. This was, of course “Dick Tracy starring in Diamond Double Cross”.  Before arriving in town it had played at the Theater of the Stars in the Disney/MGM studios from June 1990 until Sept. 1991.  People in Passamaquoddy will remember that nobody in town could find any paint in primary colors for six months as they were all bought out by the set designers.

The show ran just over 20 minutes and included variations on a few of the songs featured in the Warren Beatty film “Dick Tracy”.  Plot wise, we meet “Big Boy Caprice” and his cohorts in crime, “Flat Top” and “Mumbles” as they plan a diamond heist.  But the heist gets confused and nobody know for sure what happened to the diamond.  Time for

“Calling Dick Tracy”.

Say that over and over again.  His sleuthing brings him into the company of the dangerous “Breathless Mahoney”.  Through song and dance, our yellow coated detective solves the crime and even proposes to his longtime girlfriend “Tess Trueheart”.  The diamond was stolen by a villainess wearing a cigarette girl costume and a brown wig to cover her bald head…  Yeah, nobody in the audience figured that one out either, especially since the cigarette girl only took to the stage for brief moments.

The show was entertaining but, like the film, didn’t cater to the youth of the day.  Face it, Dick Tracy harkened back to another time that may as well be the Jurassic period as far as kids are concerned. Kids grew restless and didn’t stick for the finale.  But the musical arrangements were pretty impressive for a “theme park” show, as were the colorful, moving set pieces.  One clever design allowed for Breathless Mahoney to run across the New York skyline, up to scale the larger buildings, down for the small.

We all remember the Diamond Double Cross fondly, even with its short run.  Like most shows put on in the theme parks, compressing it to a reasonable “attraction” length, takes away time needed to build tension and character growth beyond 1 dimension. Disney may have been trying hard to redefine their newest park as more adult fare with the show.  That didn’t last very long… neither did the show.

If you search for “On the Boards” in the right column, you’ll access other theatre reviews.

Just 2 days ago, a milestone was reached. The Broadway production of the Lion King celebrated 10 years bringing the circle of life to life. Running a first run Broadway show for 10 years is a rarity in the history of the theatre; only a select few make it. Even fewer achieve artistic and commercial success to match the longevity. Quite an achievement, especially considering how large a target Disney is. After all, Disney received a load of publicity in getting portions of Time Square “cleaned up”. This generated plenty of positive public relations, but there was also some negative publicity. As always that negative publicity was very loud. They’re still at it, but the show has eclipsed their yakking. With that in mind, The Lion King is the favorite Disney Theatrical Production for most Passamaquoddians.

The show is based on the massively successful animated film of the same name. It was taken, expanded and explored in many different directions. It was quite an experiment, headed up by artist and film director Julie Taymor. (Some of Taymor’s more interesting film work was seen in Frida and Titus) How do you transfer a human-less animated feature to a limited static stage space? Taymor’s approach to the Lion King involved taking risks at every turn. Most of those risks pay off remarkably well. But a small percentage didn’t sit well with me. Still the overall product is a smashing sensation.

The show begins with Taymor immediately addressing how she will fit an animated movie onto a limited stage. She doesn’t. The first sounds we hear are delivered from a mezzanine far from the stage. Quickly, a leopard takes to the stage, under the control of the first of many talented puppeteers. The sun rises from the stage as a fancy accordion blind. Two giraffes, created by puppeteers on large stilts emerge. Birds take to the “sky” above the audience. “Animals” use the theatre aisles to swarm upon the stage including an elephant with 4 puppeteers, each manning one leg. Pride rock swivels up and out of the stage, spiraling up as Sarabi and Mufasa make their ascension. This opening is impossible to describe beyond it being magnificent theatre. It very well could be the most spectacular first 10 minutes of any show that anyone has ever seen. The show continues on with incredible visuals and storytelling techniques, but they can never live up to that first ten. This is something I felt with the animated feature as well.

The Broadway show takes many of the songs from the film, expands them and adds a few in. The most successful additions were actually created for an earlier CD expansion on the Lion King called “Rhythm of the Pride Lands”. Some, including a new song for the hyenas called “Chow Down” are uncomfortable at best.

Still, Taymor’s vision never gives up. Her fantastic costuming and masks are enrolling. And throughout, there are moments of goose bumps and jaw dropping accomplishments. When Mufasa’s “head” comes together from several large floating shields, my eyes welled up with tears, even on a third viewing. If the opportunity comes up, or the show goes back up at the Passamaquoddy Community Theatre, I plan on making it four.

If you get the chance, take a look at the show that has taken Broadway by storm these past 10 years. You won’t regret it.

Of all the Disney theatrical productions, Mary Poppins seems to be the most natural for the stage. After all, it was written as a full musical, the songs are tried and true, and most obviously, it’s largely a cast of humans. It seemed an obvious choice. So, it came as quite a surprise for me to see that the stage production was more removed from the film than any of the other transfers. Gone are several of the popular songs and characters and in its place, several story elements that exist only in the original storybooks of Mary Poppins. In fact, the larger story arc of the film, culminating in Mister Banks realizing the importance of family time, is wrapped up pretty neatly by the end of Act One.

Disney’s New Amsterdam Theater is the perfect venue for Ms. Poppins Broadway debut. This gorgeous theater was purchased by Disney, restored and renovated in time to house the Lion King for its first several years on stage. You still feel like you are part of history as you take to your seat.

The cast and production are superb: most notably and practically perfect in every way is Ashley Brown as Mary. Even more so Gavin Lee as Bert. His boundless energy is infectious, capturing Dick Van Dyke’s performance (and cartoony accent), but also putting enough into it to make it his own. His tap dance around the stage’s proscenium arch is brilliant.

The production itself is truly magical, with a most impressive house making up a third major character in the story. Scenes take place on four separate floors of the Banks household and the different floors lift up and down as needed. Each room filled with beautiful craftsmanship. Designs that allow for Mary to pull large light fixtures out of just her carpet bag, just one of the many stunning effects that sprinkle the show.

And for the finale of the show, Mary flies up over the audience, just inches over the heads of those in the highest balcony.

One element of the story that I felt didn’t work is a recurring concept of living statues. They appear more as Cats rejects than strong story elements. Most disturbing as that they take the place of the adorable penguins from the film.

Being a Disney Production, there are some great souvenirs for sale in the lobby. Included are the typical CD recordings and program books, but also Mary Poppins umbrellas proved to be the big seller the night I was there.

If you get an opportunity to see the production, I strongly recommend it. It is a big, epic show, with a nice mix of new theatre with traditional story-telling.

Compared with other Disney properties Tarzan didn’t have much of a life on Broadway.  It closed after a year and a few months for various reasons.  It was an expensive show to produce and even a dangerous one.  Audience and critical response were lukewarm.  So, the show it shuttered.  But did it deserve its drubbing?

I saw TARZAN early in its run and found the evening entertaining and visually appealing, but it didn’t grab my heart the way the Lion King did. The director, Bob Crowley had an intriguing take on the story, but it still seemed simple compared to Taymor’s Lion King. 

The film on which the stage show is based is an excellent film, easily the best telling of Tarzan to grace the silver screen.  But it wasn’t really a musical.  Sure, it won an Oscar for Best Song, but there were only a few songs and most were not performed on screen, rather as background for montage.  Now, composer Phil Collins expanded the score to include nine new songs.  Of those nine, I found two as worthy pieces.  The strongest is Tarzan’s ‘eleven o’clock hour’ song “Everything That I Am”. 

The entire stage is draped with ceiling to floor strips of green fabric on all three walls.   This is an interesting choice as it obscures entrances, allowing someone to appear out of nowhere.  The most interesting choice in the production was the extensive use of ‘wire work’.  One expects a Tarzan to have some wiring as he swings back and forth across the stage, but Director Crowley uses his wires pretty consistently.  For much of the show, the stage is a vertical one.  Characters climb up and down, swing back and forth.  The most effective use, Tarzans shipwrecked family walks down the back wall – giving the illusion that the audience is in the trees looking down at them.  This along with stupendous scrim work make the opening six minutes awe-inspiring.

On the flipside are some risks that don’t pay off well.  Worst of these is a minute long “animated” Tarzan doing shadow puppets during “Son of Man”.

American Idol runner-up Josh Strickland is vocally strong with Phil Collins music.  His physical presence is different from other telling of Tarzan; he remains muscular, but is thin and at times, tiny.

I’m not sure of the show will ever tour the US.  I imagine if it does, it would be re-worked with less of the physical requirements that required venue design changes.  If it does tour, check it out.  It is far from perfect, but it is also much better than the anti-Disney backlash that greeted it in New York City.