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Beauty's final Broadway bow

Jul 30, 2007, 03:58 PM | by Melissa Rose Bernardo

Categories: Stage/Theater

Bb_l Being serenaded by singing silverware is not necessarily how I like to spend a summer Sunday evening. But when I was invited to attend the final performance of Beauty and the Beast, I thought, Bring on the dancing cheese grater! A run of 5,510 performances and more than 13 years is certainly cause for celebration, and the closing of a long-running Broadway show is a historic event. Even ex–Disney honcho Michael Eisner was on hand at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater to see Belle (That’s So Raven star Anneliese van der Pol, pictured) and the Beast (Steve Blanchard, left) take one last waltz around the stage. (The next tenant at the Lunt-Fontanne, the screen-to-stage adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, begins previews Nov. 3.)

From the first notes of the overture, the atmosphere was electric. Every entrance got a hand. The introduction to the dinner-dance extravaganza "Be Our Guest" was drowned out by anticipatory applause, and the song’s ending earned a standing ovation. And my what a guy, that Gaston! Donny Osmond (pictured, right) — who recently did a well-received stint as the antler-loving muscle man — made a one-night-only comeback, and the crowd ate up every flex of his biceps and flash of his pearly whites. Once the fairy tale came to its happily-ever-after conclusion — Belle looking gorgeous in her 40-pound ball gown, the Beast-turned-Prince gazing lovingly into her eyes, former candelabra Lumiere fondling the French maid — and the cast enjoyed an overwhelming standing ovation, Blanchard brought out the creative team (including composer Alan Menken), introduced a few unsung company members, and took a couple good-natured jabs at costar Osmond. The cast, crew, and guests then made their way over to Cipriani on 42nd Street for a lavish buffet, dancing (you should have seen this crowd get down to "SexyBack"!), and a seemingly endless supply of champagne.

The mood was wonderfully festive, but I can’t help but mourn the passing of this Broadway warhorse: It was Disney’s first foray into live theater — a move that truly changed the face of the Great White Way. It was the perfect first show for young theatergoers. And it even had enough charms to satisfy the 10-and-over crowd. After all, who among us can resist a dancing sugar bowl?

Andrew Sun, Sep 2, 2007 at 10:46 AM EST

It's so sad to see this show go. I saw the show with my family when it toured in 1998 and my sister went to the Broadway production in 2004 and saw Christy Carlson Romano, who does the voice of "Kim Possible" and played Ren on "Even Stevens", as Belle.

Howard Thu, Aug 2, 2007 at 12:29 AM EST

I loved the movie, and saw the show back when Deborah Gibson was Belle. It was one of the most disappointing shows I've ever seen. The movie had more energy than the stage show did, they made the Beast seem like an oaf rather than an imposing figure, and the first act was as long as the movie. You could see the stretch marks all over the place; thank goodness Menken and Ashman cut the songs that they did.

Instead of trying to recreate the movie on a stage, hopefully The Little Mermaid (also a great movie) will follow the strategy of The Lion King - namely, take the story from the film and give the show it's own unique artistic vision. That would certainly be something worth seeing.

kcholt68 Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 11:06 PM EST

OMG, EW actually said something nice about a Disney production ... amazing.

-kch, http://moviedearest.blogspot.com/

coco Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 02:20 PM EST

my first Broadway experience was last April when I went to see Beauty and the Beast. It was awesome, i cried and at then was ecstatic. Soooo glad that I had a chane to watch this musical before it ended.

redgie Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 10:33 AM EST

my sentiments exactly, eric!
i saw this last january, on my first (and only) trip to NY. im terribly sad that its closing, and pissed off that i couldnt see the last performance cause i live in l.a. but im glad i got to see it at least once.

paige Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 09:32 AM EST

the movie to beauty and the beast is my favorite disney movie and overall, one of my favorite movies ever! the play cant hold a candle (no pun intended) next to it. i was greatly dissapointed. adios, lets hope mermaid is better

Auriana Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 09:13 AM EST

This has always been one of my favorite shows. I think I've seen it about 5 times (though that doesn't break my Les Mis and Miss Saigon records) and it's quite sad to see it go. I don't know why but I enjoyed it so much more than the rest of the fare that Disney has put out. I miss the days of Les Mis (the original production), Saigon and the like. Now it seems that Broadway has gone almost Hollywood with all the movie to musical productions. The focus seems to be on shiny, flashy sets and big named stars (granted, I do still NEED to see Spamalot as a Python fan) while quieter musicals are overshadowed. One of the best musicals I've seen in a long time, Jane Eyre, was quiet and beautiful and if I recall, did get nominated for a couple of Tonys but it opened the same year as Producers and was forced to close relatively short into its run for lack of ticket sales. I was at the second to last performance. Sad.

FLIPPER Tue, Jul 31, 2007 at 08:19 AM EST

I'm still waiting for the film version to be released again.

Eric Mon, Jul 30, 2007 at 09:29 PM EST

I saw this show during my first (and so far only) trip to New York in July 2006. The show was great! Osmond was not in the cast at that time, but the the entire cast was great. My girlfriend and I really enjoyed it. Sorry to see it go, but I am really glad that I got to see it.

Barbara Mon, Jul 30, 2007 at 04:54 PM EST

Thanks to Beauty and the Beast for a wonderful run.. it was my first broadway experience .. and thanks to Donny Osmond for a wonderful Gaston at the end...

NineDaves Mon, Jul 30, 2007 at 03:49 PM EST

it changed the face of the great white way... but i'm not sure if that was for the better.

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