April 21, 2010
STATEN ISLAND’S WAGNER COLLEGE STAGES ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’
By JODI LEE REIFER, Advance Theater Writer
“Beauty and the Beast” is big.
Just how big?
To bring Disney’s blockbuster Broadway musical to Wagner College, a cast and crew of more than 100 students pull off dozens of scene changes, follow 300 lighting cues, and maneuver in and around massive costumes.
No doubt, when “Beauty and the Beast” opened at the Palace Theater in 1994, it was the most expensive show ever produced there, costing nearly $12 million.
Wagner doesn’t skimp, either. The crew started building the sets a year ago. The costumes — made of wood, plastics, cloth, rubber and wire — are rented from the Maine State Music Theater.
Still, the show’s high production values aren’t larger than its story, says Drew Scott Harris, a longtime guest director for Wagner, taking the helm of the production now on the school’s Main Stage.
“The point of this show is, No. 1: Beauty is something that’s internal in the heart and soul of a human being,” says Harris. “No. 2: Love is transforming. And it’s all told without being preachy.”
The Oscar-winning film is widely considered one Disney’s greatest animations. The movie’s music was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman (the duo also teamed for “Little Shop of Horrors”).
The stage version — which won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical — adds four more songs in addition to incorporating all of the movie’s original tunes, including “Be Our Guest.”
Wagner’s resident musical director Lauri Young leads an orchestra of seven musicians, while Carissa Bellando serves as guest choreographer.
As in the flick, expect to see giant, dancing forks, plates, a cheese grater, grandfather clock, feather duster, and a tea pot, among other lifelike household items — all of whom are actually cursed servants.
Harris, who recently directed a national tour of “Beauty and the Beast,” describes the show as “extremely ethical,” delivering a much-needed reality check about true beauty.
“There seems to me a really strong trend in America that beauty is external,” Harris says, “that if you’re going to be successful, you have to have plastic surgery. Your body parts have to be in certain proportions.”
Senior Joe Donnelly stars as Beast with seniors Kevin Callaghan as Maurice, Chris DeRose as Lumiere, Graham Keen as Cogsworth, Alison Maresco as Wardrobe and Caitlin McGee as Babette. Rounding out the cast are juniors Billy Cardone as Gaston, Sammi Cohen as Mrs. Potts and Jacqueline Nuzzo as Belle.
The co-eds were just toddlers when the film was released in 1991. Stage manager Brendan O’Brien says it’s one of the first Disney movies he remembers seeing.
“I loved the movie when I was a kid,” says the 22-year-old theater major with a concentration in design and technology management. “It’s always had a special place in my heart.”
No doubt, it’s a challenge for him to direct backstage traffic, but he and the rest of the team are up for the task, says O’Brien. “It’s a beast of a show, from a technical standpoint. But it’s my senior year, my last show. I wanted it to be a big show.”
When: 8 p.m. April 21-24, 28-30 & May 1; 2 p.m. April 24 & May 1-2
Where: The Main Stage at Wagner College, 1 Campus Rd., Grymes Hill
How much: Tickets are $15-$27
More information: Call 718-390-3259 or visit www.wagner.edu.
Character breakfast: The cast and crew will be serving continental breakfast and taking tykes on walk-throughs of their “enchanted” castle, April 24, 10-11:30 a.m. on the second floor of Main Hall. Cost: $5 per child. For more information, e-mail Samantha Vallone.
“Beauty and the Beast” is a tale as old as time, as Angela Lansbury sang for the soundtrack of Disney’s 1991 film that served as the inspiration for the musical. Based on a traditional fairy tale, Mickey Mouse’s version centers on beautiful, bookish Belle, who is bored with her small town. Her father, Maurice, an inventor, stumbles upon a castle where he is taken prisoner by the Beast, aka a cursed prince. When Belle offers to trade places with her dad, Beast accepts. Eventually, she sees past his gruff exterior.
