Beauty and the Beast: The magic returns
[image error]If you haven’t seen the latest “Beauty and the Beast”, let me point you to it. I saw the play performed at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre, and I was astounded. It was the first live performance I’d seen, and my young girl’s mind was infused with the magic of the story and the quality of the performance… with Belle’s voice, and Gaston’s dangerous and tempting charisma.
After that exposure to live theatre (Thank you, Kris Rabe), I attended “Phantom of the Opera”, “Saigon Suzy” or somesuch, and the “Lion King”, but none of those performances ever tempted that wishful, magic-seeking child from my inner core.
In a desire to be so touched again, I went to see “Beauty and the Beast” on ice, and returned home with a fake rose–an appropriate symbol of my disappointment. And later, I watched “Beauty and the Beast” on screen, but still, I could not seem to regain the same magical feelings of delight.
Was it because I was too old? Too damaged from a life that didn’t quite make the fairy tale grade? Or was it because I had worked in a women’s shelter and had been exposed to the theories behind “taming the beast” and the social impact of stories that encourage young girls to stay with “monsters” in an effort to find and save the man beneath? Or maybe it was because I could never experience life theatre for the first time again. That first time feeling, can it ever be recaptured?
And so, I gave up on the search for magic when it came to this story. And years ticked by.
Tick, tick, tock – Lumiere!!
In boredom one night, I flicked through Netflix and voila! The magic returned when I decided to give this Disney version of the old tale one last chance!
The actors are bang-on, the music, the effects… almost as good as that first experience. My inner-child was curling her toes in bliss as the hilarious and talented cast joined giddy and dizzying special effects to make this “Beauty and the Beast” the astounding experience I had remembered from my past.
Give it a try! You’re sure to be thrilled.
