Beauty & The Beast

This was my first visit to see a Danbury Players production and a delightful one.

Beauty & The Beast is such a well known story so for me it is important that any
group taking on this Disney classic stay true to the original and Danbury Players
certainly did that.
On entering the hall what struck me immediately was the impressive video wall with
beautiful projection. A really clever move to create such a visual impact in what is
quite a compact venue with a small stage. The projection was used throughout the
production, a series of sliding videos, timed to perfection by the tech team that
created each scene seamlessly. A huge congratulations to all involved with this, I
understand a lot of work was needed to get this right and the effort was definitely
worth it.
The role of Belle was superbly done by the talented Helen Dunn. She was every inch
the Disney Heroine with a lovely singing voice and a natural stage presence. A
heartfelt performance with some really lovely spotlighted solo moments front and
centre of the stage. She looked lovely in her costumes and portrayed the bookish yet
beautiful Belle wonderfully. I very much look forward to seeing what this young
Actress does next.
The Beast/Prince was confidently played and well sung by Alex Owers. It’s not an
easy task to portray the emotion required for this part while in the Beast costume as
we can’t see any facial expression but Alex did well. I think his strength may really lie
in comedy as there were some funny moments in his dialogue that were particularly
well timed, when we see the Beast trying to overcome his bad temper to win Belle’s
heart.
Another good performance came from Kevin Jarvis as the arrogant but very funny
Gaston. His characterisation was excellent and he gave the audience lots of laughs
with his over the top (if slightly misguided!) confidence. My only little niggle here was

the sometimes present American accent. I think an American accent does work for
this character, despite being the only one to have it, but it wasn’t consistent
throughout the show. That said it was still a very enjoyable performance that the
audience loved.
Kevin was well supported by James Allen as Gaston’s unfortunate sidekick Lefou.
James is a nice comedic Actor with brilliant facial expressions and clearly a master
of stage falls! I imagine he will finish this run covered in bruises! Vocally I did notice
a few pitch issues and at times I would have liked his dialogue slowed down a little
but he was well cast in this role and he and Kevin made a good comedy duo.
Steve Butler gave a suitably eccentric performance as Maurice, Belle’s Father. His
singing was good and his relationship with Belle believable but I do have another
accent issue here. While his dialogue was in an English accent it was very American
in the vocals. Just something to consider for future roles as I’m sure there will be
many!
Paris Bone gave a stand out performance as Lumiere. With a French accent that
didn’t falter throughout the show, wonderful stage presence and great comedic
timing. I loved the flirting with Babette, perfectly played by Jenny Pitcher, and “Be
Our Guest” was a real show stopper. Another notable performance came from Andy
West, as “head of the house” Cogsworth. I was surprised to read in the programme
that this is Andy’s first full scale musical as he has a good voice which could lend
itself to a number of roles. Andy’s dialogue was clear, well timed and he had some
funny one liners. Together, he and Paris made a great double act.
Lydia Rose looked fabulous as Madame De La Bouche, her make up was
exceptional. She managed her wardrobe costume very well, no mean feat entering
and exiting the stage and still looking elegant! I would just love to see Lydia project a
little more as she has a really pretty voice that I would like to hear more of and it got
a bit lost at times.
Lastly, and by no means least, Emma Rudd was a joy as the loveable Mrs Potts.
What a voice too! With the gorgeous Rosie Malthouse as Chip , her adorable tea cup
son by her side. I loved this combination. “Beauty and the Beast” is probably the
most well known song from this show and it was beautifully done – my only critique
here is I wanted to hear it again. Well done to both of you.
With a small stage choreography and spacing is going to be tricky. All of the
ensemble and dancers did really well with not a lot of room to work with. Well done
to Zoe Chivers and ILAZ Dance Company for simple yet effective routines that
worked in the space available.
The use of backing tracks throughout worked well and for the most part sound was
ok although some mic cues were late. Lighting was fine and costumes and props
were good on the whole. The ensemble sang out but I didn’t get much in the way of
harmonies coming through but that might be the score itself.

It’s not easy with a small stage but I would have liked to see some more inventive
spacing during dialogue. A lot was done in straight lines across the front of the stage.
This works for Panto but not so much in musicals.
Given the excellent use of video projection the few scene changes there were could
have been a little smoother and less noisy but I did appreciate stage crew being in
costume and there were no black outs which greatly helps the pace of a show.
Overall this was a lovely show and myself and the audience definitely felt that
“Disney magic” created by the cast and creative team.
I would also like to thank Al Pitcher for the warm welcome and for taking the time to
chat to me during the interval.
I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and very much look forward to seeing your
future productions.

Victoria Carey
Noda District 8
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