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Beauty and the Enchanted Beast

Author: Dan Matuszak

Information

Date
23rd November 2024
Society
Hartlepool Stage Society
Venue
Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre
Type of Production
Pantomime
Director
Peter Rowlands
Musical Director
Christine Langridge
Choreographer
Liz Marshall
Written By
Peter Rowlands

Panto is never easy to do but this company took it in their stride, and you could clearly see they were loving every minute of it. As indeed where the audiences.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favourite Musicals. I have to admit, to me, it isn’t one that works tremendously well as a pantomime but that did not deter me from the performance. Especially when I found out that this particular version, ‘Beauty and the Enchanted Beast’ had been conceived and written by Hartlepool’s own Peter Rowlands who also took on the lead role of Prince Pierre/Beast. What I particularly liked about his portrayal of the Beast, was the fact he wasn’t overly scary like he needs to be in the Musical. Peter managed to keep within the parameters of Pantomime which is essentially for children. Well done.

The role of Beauty was very sweetly portrayed by Jordan Grylls. She had exactly the right amount of sweetness that the role requires but also the right amount of sass when needed. Her relationships with every character was spot on, even the repulsiveness needed for the Beast early on in the production.

The duo of good and evil could not have been better cast. Liv Kidson as the Rose Fairy and Hartlepool’s own powerhouse that is Liz Marshall as the Evil Enchantress. Liv was the sweet fairy that everyone expected her to be. Great stage presence and her relationship with the audience was second to none. Liz however, had the audience hating her from the moment she stepped out on stage. (this was good thing, don’t worry!) Her vocals were superb and well suited to the role.

Nathan Dippie as Dame Clarabella had the hardest task of all…..getting the audiences on side. His demeanour and characterisation were on point, typical of a good Dame and he certainly succeeded in gaining the trust of the viewers throughout the whole show.

Katie Pugh as Duke Jean-Paul seriously looked like she was having a whale of a time with this character. Every time she was on stage, we were all laughing. Her stage presence was second to none and she gave a commandingly funny portrayal of the Duke, who we were supposed to not really like, but couldn’t help feeling sorry for haha!

Other notable characters to mention for their great performances were Pam Gretton (Madame Dubois), Lotus MacDonald (Lampleigh), Chris Toth (Jackie), the duo of Merlot and Shiraz, played by Lisa Surtees and Abbie Bate.

The trio of Beauty’s, namely Hannah Coulson / Elsie Jardine (Child Beauty), Honey Pidd (Teenage Beauty) and Jordan Grylls (Beauty) gave a very sweet yet powerful rendition of ‘I Know It’s Today (Shrek the Musical). It worked very well with how it was staged and each performer hit every note effortlessly. Not an easy task with this particular number.

Even though I cannot name everyone individually, I would just like to say that you ALL looked like you were enjoying yourselves on that stage. All of you gave brilliant performances in your own rights and you should be very proud.

Set was effective as is usual with this Society. Projections from the superbright LED TV Wall at the back of the stage were complimented by stage scenery and props.

Lighting was effective as was the use haze which really embossed the streams of light.

Music was mainly tracked however Musical Director Christine Langridge added to the production with her skill on the keys.

Overall, a great production with no weak links in my opinion.

Thank you to you all for a great night at the Theatre and thanks to the committee for making myself and my wife feel very welcome.

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