Guest Review of Beauty and the Beast

Guest Review of Beauty and the Beast

It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that Beth Tfiloh invites you to relax, pull up a chair, as they proudly present, Beauty and the Beast.

 

Beauty and the Beast is the tale of Belle, a head strong girl who dreams of life past the confines of her village, and the Beast, a hot-headed prince who was cursed because of his selfishness temper. Belle s father ventures into the woods where he is caught by the Beast and taken to the dungeon of his castle. Belle, with bold heroism, rescues her father and exchanges her life for his. As Belle spends more time in the Beast s castle, she meets the vivacious cast of talking household objects who eagerly greet and entertain. Romance, hilarity, and action ensue as Belle learns more about the Beast and the man within.

 

Ilyssa Rubin brought the character of Belle to life with a balance of childlike innocence and serene grace that connected emotionally with the audience. During  A Change in Me,  Rubin serenaded the audience with blissful high notes and her stunning vibrato that truly articulated wanting adventure in the great wide somewhere. Avishai Wilcox illuminated the stage with his energy as Lumiere as he tackled the immense challenge of singing in a French accent, which he did superbly and with clear enunciation.

 

Yehudit Varon was level-headed and compassionate as Mrs. Potts and handled an English composure and spouted a motherly aura throughout the show, especially while singing the emotionally charged  Beauty and the Beast.  Bradley Melzer deserves a hand for his performance of the tightly-wound Cogsworth and his delightful and quirky comedic timing, along with the high pitched nagging and frantic running about.

 

In the opening number,  Belle,  the villagers set the scene of the quant French village while everyone is accomplishing some small task (ie: chatting, eating bread) that adds to the believability. The villagers do a tremendous job of setting the tone of scenes; for example, during the  Mob Song  the intense facial expressions and stomping of feet created a tense and ominous mood. The enchanted object s energy was infectious during  Be Our Guest  as they paraded from end to end of the castle.

 

The kooky inventor, and father of Belle, Maurice should have equally kooky inventions; and the contraption he drove across stage exceeded that expectation. The contraption was a spectacle and had the audience wondering  how does that work?  as it smoothly glided across the stage spurting fireworks left and right.

 

The show concluded with the intense confrontation between man and furniture; and the heartfelt transformation from beast to prince. After watching Beth Tfiloh s production of Beauty and the Beast, you will be wishing you had a magic mirror so that you always have a way to look back and remember the magical performance.

 

 

by Alexander Hoover of South River