Beauty and the Beast

The story of Beauty and the Beast is well known to us all following recent movies. This home written production gained inspiration from these resulting in an entertaining family evening.

The cast was sizable and it is not possible to mention all those involved. It was however evident each member of the cast had worked hard during rehearsal and enjoyed performing their role.  It was also pleasing to see many younger members of the company involved in this production.

The chemistry between Gaston (Baz Stilinski) and Le Fou (Luke McDonald) worked particularly well with some memorable comic routines together. Neil McBride (Maurice) gave a good performance as well as narrating the opening and closing scenes.  Katie Cherry as Belle and Nick Johnson as the Beast and then Prince Adam did not disappoint the many younger members of the audience as recognisable characters.

Well worth a mention was the fight scene involving Stilinski, McDonald and Johnson towards the end of act two. This was well choreographed and realistic.  

At times, some of the dialogue could not be heard which was a shame, but with a well-known story this did not deflect from the production too greatly. The live music was well balanced and did not drown out the cast during the musical numbers.

The projection worked well throughout the show taking us from scene to scene very effectively. The minimal set was equally effective and the set changes were completed in a timely way.

Towards the end of the show some of the cast mentioned, to the delight of many in the audience, people known to those in the cast who were watching the show.

Thank you to all at Phoenix Players on providing an enjoyable evening of entertainment.  I look forward to seeing forthcoming productions.

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