Latest / The BSB Podcast / 'Beauty and the Beast' Music and Stagecraft | The Box Seat Babes Podcast

Transcript

'Beauty and the Beast' Music and Stagecraft | The Box Seat Babes Podcast · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  back listeners, we see you've arrived before Gaston and his angry mob.
• 0:04
  Come right in, there's much to discuss as we continue exploring Beauty and the Beast, this time talking about the music and stagecraft.
• 0:10
  But before the last pedal falls, if you could like, follow, and subscribe to us on all major social media platforms to stay up to date on news and reviews from here in Michigan
• 0:17
  and the larger theater community, that'd be greatly appreciated.
• 0:21
  Spoiler warning, if you haven't seen the North American touring production of Beauty and the Beast, the musical, and wish to remain unspoiled about what you'd expect, then run
• 0:29
  away faster than Philippe.
• 0:31
  And return once the spell is broken.
• 0:33
  However, if you're still here, get ready for the most beautiful and beastly show on tour.
• 0:38
  RJ, fellow Box Seat Babes we're back.
• 0:41
  Part two.
• 0:43
  rip, Philippe.
• 0:46
  Rip Philippe and the dog stool.
• 0:48
  My favorite, one of my favorite lines from Beauty and the Beast, and unfortunately now you all have to hear this story.
• 0:53
  One of my favorite lines, and I will walk around frequently and say it, like just, will be one of my favorite catchphrases is sit in the master's chair, pet the pooch.
• 1:02
  And they said sit in the master's chair.
• 1:04
  And I was like, they can't say pet the pooch.
• 1:06
  There's no dog.
• 1:06
  And they didn't.
• 1:07
  And I was disappointed.
• 1:10
  That was my one thing.
• 1:11
  like, I want that.
• 1:12
  Like you have to say sit in the master's chair and pet the pooch.
• 1:15
  Like it goes hand in hand.
• 1:17
  I mean, come on, that's a classic line.
• 1:19
  I mean, I understand, if they were gonna take out the wolves, they were gonna take out the pooch.
• 1:23
  But the pooch deserves to stay.
• 1:26
  But how do you do the pooch?
• 1:27
  You know, I think that's the interesting, if we're talking about stagecraft here, how do you pull off a magical stool pooch on stage?
• 1:34
  That's probably extending the magic a little too much.
• 1:37
  a literal dog.
• 1:40
  Touché.
• 1:42
  So those who are just joining in, last episode we talked about the story and the acting of Beauty and the Beast, the classic story that we all know and love from Disney's 1991
• 1:52
  animated film or the live action version, depending on what your favorite um iteration is.
• 1:59
  But uh Belle goes to live with the Beast, falls in love within three days and Boom, Bob's your uncle.
• 2:04
  um
• 2:05
  But now we're going to turn towards the music, the stagecraft, the costumes.
• 2:10
  We want to talk about everything that is not the story and the characters.
• 2:14
  And so even though last episode we talked a little bit about the music, RJ, I'm going to throw this back to you because you are our music man.
• 2:21
  This is the same exact music, most of it from the animated film.
• 2:27
  How do you feel that it transitioned to the stage?
• 2:31
  Like, how do you feel like that was for the show?
• 2:33
  I mean, again, recreating the animation down to what the village houses look like and the little bridge, uh very cartoony, very chic in its own light, helped assist with the
• 2:52
  relatively small ensemble that the show had.
• 2:56
  Although I guess I shouldn't say relatively small because there was what a dozen of them about.
• 3:01
  uh
• 3:03
  I think it felt small because a lot of times it was just the men and then it was just the women.
• 3:11
  Like very rarely was everyone on stage at one time, but I digress.
• 3:16
  The music, the key songs, the pieces that everyone expects, I mean, from the moment that the prologue hits, which I didn't realize.
• 3:27
  that there was such an introduction prior, like a little bit of an overture prior to the prologue.
• 3:34
  So that threw me a little bit, but I also understand because it gets people excited.
• 3:40
  Like you hear those up beat tunes and you're like, my gosh, it's starting.
• 3:46
  Rather than the kind of like spooky narration immediately, right?
• 3:51
  That you don't want to lose that.
• 3:54
  Cause as we all know, even though a show starts at a certain time,
• 3:58
  It takes a good five to 10 minutes for everyone to sit their butts down, if not longer than that.
• 4:05
  and just kind of clear the air and make, you know, clear the space.
• 4:09
  And you don't want to lose that original narration five minutes in.
• 4:14
  So, but I feel like all the songs were very true to the films.
• 4:22
  Um, obviously there are some songs.
• 4:26
  Dependent on the variation there are some that weren't in the animated some that weren't in the live-action uh And vice versa there were some that were originally in the the
• 4:38
  original Broadway production that didn't make it all the way to this touring production so Yeah, some interesting some interesting choices, but I wasn't particularly upset with any
• 4:52
  of them except maybe one
• 4:54
  For a second there, I did not know where you were going when you were just like, yeah, the sets.
• 4:57
  And I was like, he misheard me.
• 4:59
  And now I look like, and then he brought it back to the music and I was like, okay, wait a second.
• 5:03
  We got there.
• 5:04
  Cause I was like, he thought I was talking.
• 5:07
  But yes, I think like, if we're going to talk about the music, I think we do have to talk about that opening overture.
• 5:11
  I also wasn't expecting that.
• 5:13
  Again, as somebody who wore out three VHS's of Beauty and the Beast in his lifetime, bought the special edition DVD.
• 5:20
  Probably if watched that more than times than I would like to admit.
• 5:23
  And if you looked at what I watched on my Disney Plus account would probably be quite embarrassing.
• 5:28
  All that to say, I was expecting to just start with the prologue because that's what the story does.
• 5:32
  It starts with the prologue and the films.
• 5:35
  And so when like, as soon as the screen, cause when we walked in there, it has the promotional image of Belle and the beast and all the roses as the dress.
• 5:43
  And so when the roses started spinning, I was like, we are going into the prologue.
• 5:47
  It's starting.
• 5:47
  And then those roses kept spinning.
• 5:49
  And I was like, okay, when is this beginning?
• 5:53
  because it was not just an instantaneous start.
• 5:57
  But I think what you said is very interesting too, because um for anybody who was there that night, and I'm sure it's been like that every time, every show, it was the longest
• 6:07
  queue to get into the theater that we've had for a show ever since doing this.
• 6:13
  And then maybe that's a bold statement to be making, but like there was legitimately probably a good five minute.
• 6:20
  wait before you even got your ticket scan before you even got into security because there were so many people that are just abusing the beast that it makes sense that there was a
• 6:26
  little bit of that wiggle room before the story began.
• 6:30
  Yeah, like a natural built-in buffer, um which I'm sure is much like any other overture, but all the nature of Ha Ha the Beast.
• 6:43
  um Like, you know that this show is bringing in children.
• 6:49
  You know that it's bringing in families.
• 6:52
  While I do not have either of those things, I know, just based on the people around us,
• 6:59
  that it is a feat to crawl across people in pitch darkness with three children and the drinks and the toys and the food and you know, like, and then find your seat in the
• 7:14
  darkness.
• 7:16
  And so I do think it was a generous amount of time um and probably an intentional overture choice.
• 7:28
  Even in the intermission, there was, it was a longer intermission than normal and people were still getting back late.
• 7:34
  while, and you had the merch line.
• 7:36
  Like there have been some shows where you don't see anybody buying anything, but leave it to Disney, right?
• 7:42
  Like you're going to have great merch.
• 7:45
  You're going to have a long line.
• 7:46
  You know, you know that.
• 7:48
  And as someone who has worked at Disney show, when I, when I was living in Grand Rapids, I worked Aladdin and you just know, you know, it's going to be probably twice as long at
• 7:59
  intermission.
• 7:59
  Um,
• 8:01
  And they know that too.
• 8:02
  Like all of this information is coming from backstage.
• 8:05
  uh And you know that there's bathroom weights and you know that, you know, Jim and John have to go get the beast doll at the stand.
• 8:20
  So yeah, it makes sense to me.
• 8:24
  I think you meant RJ and Brian had to go get the beast doll during intermission.
• 8:28
  Ryan definitely had to go.
• 8:31
  ah I thought about it and then that line was so long.
• 8:34
  said, you know what?
• 8:34
  I don't have to be that person.
• 8:36
  ah But I truly, truly, truly thought about it.
• 8:39
  ah So that being said, we have all of the quintessential Beauty and the Beast songs.
• 8:45
  We have Belle, we have Be Our Guest, Beauty and the Beast, Gaston, Mob Song.
• 8:50
  Of the ones that we know without like, like from the animated films.
• 8:57
  Which one really hit the notes for you?
• 9:00
  Or like which one struck you as like the maybe the most changed?
• 9:04
  Because I know there's one that was the most changed, but.
• 9:08
  well, I think like the quintessential beauty and the beast, like it was, you could have just put it in a track with the movie, right?
• 9:16
  Like you basically, it was exactly copy paste, which is what everyone wants.
• 9:21
  They want that.
• 9:22
  Um, don't mess with it.
• 9:27
  Everybody will cry.
• 9:28
  It'll be fine.
• 9:29
  Um, and I'm sure you have thoughts on this one too.
• 9:32
  Be our guest.
• 9:33
  Typically, I'm not the biggest fan, but for some reason, was like made me emotional.
• 9:43
  uh
• 9:45
  Okay.
• 9:47
  But I think it's because I wasn't expecting it to be such a spectacle.
• 9:51
  I was very curious as to what they were going to do.
• 9:55
  Right?
• 9:55
  Like we know how the animated film goes, but even the live action, obviously there's all of the CGI and what have you.
• 10:02
  So I'm like, what do you do in person?
• 10:04
  And I've even seen the Disney world version of the show.
• 10:09
  So I've seen them come out in those massive costumes.
• 10:13
  Right.
• 10:15
  But.
• 10:15
  They definitely took an approach that I wasn't particularly expecting, but was pleasantly surprised by.
• 10:23
  And I think it ramped up the production value for the show.
• 10:28
  Was this specifically the 10 minute dance number that was attached to the end of it?
• 10:32
  Wow, was it a lot?
• 10:33
  I was like, but you are making every stereotypical, like classic musical theater person so happy right now.
• 10:41
  Like I think they had every type of dance, right?
• 10:44
  Like you had kind of like ballroom and then you had tap and then you had modern and you had like, the sink.
• 10:53
  I don't even know what to call that part of it.
• 10:55
  Like, so I feel like it just hit so many
• 11:00
  different areas that you couldn't not be pleased, aside from it being so long.
• 11:06
  You couldn't not be pleased with what they were literally doing.
• 11:13
  But you were like, I was like, when is when is it gonna be over?
• 11:17
  Not that I don't love and think that you guys are doing a great job, but I'm exhausted just looking at you.
• 11:23
  I was, so I don't know if you recognized in that song.
• 11:27
  ah Unfortunately, everyone's gonna find this part out.
• 11:31
  I'm somebody that has to always get up, stretch my legs, use the bathroom during intermission.
• 11:35
  And I knew that the next song was the last song.
• 11:37
  And so I kept having my folder and I kept like handing it, like going to hand it to you.
• 11:42
  And then like, they'd go back to start tap dancing and I would like take it back.
• 11:45
  And then I'm like, okay, we're almost done.
• 11:46
  I'm gonna hand it to you.
• 11:47
  And then like, was like, no, we're...
• 11:49
  I just wanna say this.
• 11:50
  I loved that number.
• 11:51
  was long.
• 11:52
  It was long, it was really cool.
• 11:54
  I loved that they did many things with it.
• 11:56
  But man, was it long, because I was like, this is song that never ends.
• 12:00
  Like we were just kept going, they added one more thing, one more spectacle.
• 12:03
  They shot out confetti.
• 12:05
  Like it was, there was so much going on.
• 12:07
  uh I do wonder if that song is overwhelming for younger kids now.
• 12:15
  Well, and it's, yeah, there's so much happening.
• 12:19
  Um, and I'm curious.
• 12:21
  I'm now going to try to actually look up how long it is because there's so much happening and it's not just all happening in one place.
• 12:32
  Um, and there was very thrown by the, and I don't know if it was a live camera or not, but what seemingly was.
• 12:43
  an eagle-eye view of the stage with additional dance um happening.
• 12:51
  was like, I'm not sure, like, while this is very cool and very unique, um didn't need it really.
• 13:01
  I think it was trying to imitate the image that we get in the animated film, right, of all the designs and all of the things happening with all of the objects.
• 13:13
  But
• 13:13
  after basically an hour and a half of show, um people are pretty, like we had kids in front of us, we had kids in back of us, and I'll just say they were so done after,
• 13:33
  honestly not even that far in.
• 13:34
  And it could have just been those kids specifically.
• 13:36
  I am sure that there were,
• 13:40
  Children who were enthralled?
• 13:43
  But you also have Yeah, it's it's too much maybe stimulation So I do think it was way more for potentially the parents than the children The only part that was for the children was
• 13:57
  indeed the streamers the confetti that they you know come with them Which I feel like every single show that we see lately has that I'm not particularly upset about it.
• 14:08
  It's just
• 14:09
  a fad, I guess.
• 14:11
  Take a little bit of Broadway home with you.
• 14:13
  your sister would have lost her goddamn mind.
• 14:15
  yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure.
• 14:19
  I mean, what Moulin Rouge?
• 14:23
  I'm trying to think of what the other shows we've seen that have it & Juliet.
• 14:26
  Yeah.
• 14:28
  um
• 14:32
  And I was waiting, I was just waiting for it.
• 14:34
  I was like, all right, so when are they gonna shoot the stuff?
• 14:37
  ah
• 14:38
  I was actually blindsided by that.
• 14:40
  was not expecting that.
• 14:42
  But then again, wasn't, again, I knew from talking with Harry Francis, who plays LeFou, that there was a tap number.
• 14:49
  And I was like, okay, but where's the tapping?
• 14:51
  Like I was like waiting till the song.
• 14:52
  was like, when are they tapping?
• 14:52
  They've reached the end of the song and then it started and then they did the synchronized dancing.
• 14:56
  And then there was streamers.
• 14:57
  was like, whoa, we went on an adventure.
• 14:59
  But I do think that this is interesting because it's not the only song they expanded on.
• 15:03
  Gaston also had a lot more acrobatics.
• 15:05
  a lot more dancing there was like a bigger number at the end of that attached which definitely made it feel again more of a spectacle for the show more more theatrical um
• 15:17
  which was also something i wasn't expecting
• 15:19
  Yeah, they just, because I think you do, otherwise it is copy and paste of the movie, right?
• 15:26
  So you have to make something different um that gives it that theatrical feeling and what's more theater-like than a whole lot of tapping and choreography.
• 15:39
  For sure, for sure.
• 15:42
  Of the songs that aren't in the animated film that are still in the show.
• 15:46
  So, you know, we kind of have um Home, which is a big one.
• 15:52
  We have, you know, If I Can't Love Her.
• 15:55
  You know, there's quite a few different ones.
• 15:57
  Which ones kind of spoke to you?
• 15:59
  I'm just going to this one out here.
• 16:00
  I was actually pleasantly surprised by Home.
• 16:02
  I thought that was kind of beautiful from Belle.
• 16:04
  Yes.
• 16:04
  And my memory might be completely failing me or maybe I blacked out because it was so beautiful, but I don't think they did the full version.
• 16:13
  They did not.
• 16:15
  And that is one of my favorite songs, Broadway songs, period.
• 16:23
  And so I was pretty sad that they only do like literally a stanza.
• 16:30
  I understand why, but uh just a very different placement because the original happens away at the beginning where she's contemplating.
• 16:42
  it technically she's contemplating like, I stuck here forever?
• 16:46
  Right.
• 16:47
  And basically all we get is a very, very minuscule.
• 16:52
  Glimpse.
• 16:52
  uh
• 16:53
  but we still get a change in me.
• 16:56
  So, you know, I get you can't have like too many power ballots.
• 17:00
  except you love the power ballads.
• 17:03
  I do, well, I have some of them all.
• 17:05
  I'm always curious to hear how artists will attack them, basically.
• 17:13
  So for entirely selfish reasons, but yeah, still obviously plenty to digest.
• 17:23
  But what's interesting about this show too, is how many songs they actually cut out.
• 17:27
  And I only reason I even recognized it was because we saw a local production of Beauty and the Beast.
• 17:33
  And so I knew that there were some songs that weren't showing up there.
• 17:36
  And then they even talked about how they cut some of them out.
• 17:38
  One of the ones that Harry Francis mentioned is the Maison de Lunes, which has Monsieur Dior, uh Gaston and Lefou, that was cut.
• 17:46
  There was a Beast song in between Gaston and Be Our Guest that was cut.
• 17:49
  Like there was, there's quite a few songs that they cut.
• 17:52
  And I had, I'm just like, okay, obviously that's for time, but do you think that's also for like the story structure or just like to keep the pacing tighter?
• 17:59
  Yeah, pacing for sure.
• 18:01
  Because what happens, and honestly, I just feel like I experienced this doing the show I was in.
• 18:08
  You have so many songs that are in separate scenes, which then requires you to basically change the entire stage based on that one song.
• 18:20
  And there's not really any dialogue that's happening.
• 18:22
  It's just back to back to back song.
• 18:25
  So we're going from.
• 18:28
  the village to the castle to the woods to the castle to the village and so when you take those out you're not only taking out the song time but you're taking out the transitional
• 18:42
  periods as well and something that elongates as we've experienced the thing that can elongate a show the most are those transitions even if they're just
• 18:55
  10 seconds.
• 18:56
  It feels like forever sometimes.
• 19:01
  So I could understand why I, mean, back to God, I felt like I blinked and it was over.
• 19:09
  So I think they could have kept some of that in.
• 19:13
  I did feel like everything around the mob song was just so short.
• 19:19
  The before, the after, um, but
• 19:25
  Well, kind of looking at the list, when you're saying that, OK, so act two, have the uh the wolf chase coming like coming back from that something there, which is in the castle
• 19:34
  human again, which is in the castle, then Maison de Lune's would have been in the village.
• 19:38
  And then you go back to Beauty and the Beast, which is in the castle.
• 19:40
  So like obviously that you're right, that would have been really out of place and a really big transition to go.
• 19:45
  And now we're bringing the village back out, you know, and we're bringing out Gaston's, uh you know, the tavern.
• 19:52
  uh
• 19:53
  But if you look at it, it actually is, because I don't remember between Beauty and the Beast and the Mob Song there being both a reprise to If I Can't Love Her and a change in
• 20:01
  me from Belle.
• 20:02
  Both of those feel like that were, I feel like that was eliminated this time completely.
• 20:06
  Or maybe there was hints of it, but there wasn't like a big...
• 20:10
  Yeah, there was no- I don't think there was like a song.
• 20:13
  Um, just felt like a transition.
• 20:17
  Yes.
• 20:18
  Um, which, yeah, again, that's the way that could have stumbled, I guess.
• 20:28
  So it's kind of switching from the music.
• 20:32
  Let's talk about the staging.
• 20:34
  RJ, I know that we're not the biggest fan of digital screens.
• 20:38
  Did you think that they utilized the digital screen well with the rolling pieces in and out for Beauty and the Beast?
• 20:43
  I would say yes, minus.
• 20:45
  I cannot, I could not get over the wolf scenes.
• 20:48
  Like I just, I do not understand it at all, at all.
• 20:52
  um the, not even just like why the why, but like the projections that they chose this massive, like, and I get, they're trying to probably, again, I'm an adult, so I'm not like
• 21:08
  scared by a big projection.
• 21:10
  could, I could perceive that as they wanted to make it scary for children.
• 21:17
  and obviously you're saving time, you're saving money, you're saving actors from another costume change.
• 21:22
  I get it.
• 21:24
  But really even just having like one or two people dress up in a mask and all, all black because the rest of the stage was completely dark anyway.
• 21:33
  And God bless all of them that had to act to no one.
• 21:41
  Right?
• 21:41
  Like every time.
• 21:44
  there was a projection and Bell's like, our beast is like, whatever.
• 21:49
  I was like, this is, that's actually my worst, like my least favorite kind of acting is acting to do nothing.
• 21:58
  And so at Disney, what the heck out of all the choices, there were just some like mind blowing moments.
• 22:05
  And then there was that and you get stuck on it.
• 22:10
  But.
• 22:10
  every time that that front screen rolled down for a scene, like either.
• 22:15
  Yep.
• 22:16
  Like the wolves or like the knocking on the door.
• 22:18
  I also don't know if it was the angle we were sitting at, but I was just like, this doesn't feel the way that maybe it should be feeling.
• 22:27
  Well, but that's a good point too, though.
• 22:29
  So maybe they were trying to make it more accessible for people sitting in the balcony.
• 22:32
  We were, what, 15 rows from the front, maybe less.
• 22:38
  And so everything felt massive on those screens.
• 22:43
  just was the whole, when the whole screen is one wolf, I'm like, that, okay.
• 22:51
  right.
• 22:52
  It didn't fit the characters in because they were so small, the wolves were so big, and also the way that the film screen went in front of them, it was sometimes it hard to even
• 22:59
  like see the people on stage.
• 23:02
  Like it was like almost like looking between like a haze.
• 23:05
  It was a very literally at one point I remember thinking, is my eyesight going?
• 23:11
  Cause I don't, I think they hadn't even ever brought up the screen yet.
• 23:15
  And so I was like, why am I watching this behind a screen?
• 23:21
  because it didn't, I'm not even sure that they were utilizing the screen.
• 23:24
  They just hadn't brought it up or down yet.
• 23:29
  and I was like, I really hope this is not how this whole thing, like that was my initial fear.
• 23:34
  I was like, no.
• 23:35
  were using screens and not just one, there was what two, three uh that were stacked on top of each other.
• 23:45
  And again, I get the effect I get we're in the world of digital and technology and that's great.
• 23:51
  But when everything else wasn't, it was just so hard.
• 23:56
  Even the door, I could get over the door because it was like three seconds of a knock.
• 24:01
  I get you don't want to roll something on and off or drop something on and off for that.
• 24:06
  But you're dropping the screen anyway, so...
• 24:09
  Yes.
• 24:10
  And also the way it was is that there was a screen, like the projection on the back, like they could have easily had him go up to the back of the screen because it also had the
• 24:17
  castle door.
• 24:19
  And so I was like, granted, I know that that means your backs to the audience, but I think that that would have maybe felt more imposing because like the door was so big, he was so
• 24:27
  small, you're going to a place you don't know.
• 24:29
  But when it was upfront, it was hard to, there was a few times I was like, I don't know what's going on.
• 24:35
  Like I know that Gaston's going to knock on the door.
• 24:38
  And I know that's supposed to be Gaston, but it was really hard because the lights were so dark.
• 24:43
  The projection was, again, it was hazy and at best sometimes.
• 24:47
  And so it was really hard to make out like, what's going on here and what am I supposed to be seeing?
• 24:52
  Yeah, it was, we got used to it, but definitely not my favorite decision of their staging.
• 25:01
  I do have to give it to them though for the rose.
• 25:03
  That rose was beautiful.
• 25:05
  I think part of it was also projection.
• 25:06
  ah But I was in love with that rose.
• 25:09
  I thought, man, I need to get one of those from my house.
• 25:11
  That was gorgeous.
• 25:14
  But really there wasn't much of a set pieces rolling in and out, but that piece with the rose, I was in love with.
• 25:19
  Yeah, I think the rest of the set obviously like very practical, right?
• 25:23
  You needed a staircase, you needed something to allude to the enormity of this castle and obviously like it's a tour.
• 25:31
  You can't bring 17,000 set pieces with you.
• 25:35
  ah And those well, then you have three trailers, but most don't unless you're Hamilton.
• 25:45
  And so
• 25:47
  Yeah, I just...
• 25:51
  The rest of the set that they did have, I did enjoy.
• 25:53
  It was nothing crazy.
• 25:56
  I liked the beginning, I liked the village, I liked her house.
• 26:00
  em And we had a little bit of both, right?
• 26:04
  We had the projections, we had the gate, we had things like that.
• 26:07
  em But I also understand that they probably had to throw most of their budget on the special effects.
• 26:17
  Correct.
• 26:19
  And those, did, they did wow me.
• 26:22
  I was impressed.
• 26:23
  They did bring the Disney magic immediately from, from the get.
• 26:30
  And I was not expecting that at all.
• 26:32
  I mean, I was expecting the opening, but not to the degree of which they did it.
• 26:39
  So when the Enchantress pops up out of like the...
• 26:43
  I was like, what?
• 26:48
  Is this a lift?
• 26:49
  she, is she on, like, I don't want to say too much, even though I know we're giving all kinds of spoilers.
• 26:55
  But I'm just like, how?
• 26:58
  Like immediately after the show, I, and I didn't look it up, but I was like, I would like a backstage tour, please.
• 27:05
  And I would like to know all of your secrets.
• 27:07
  And I know no one will share them with me, but I want to know them.
• 27:11
  So.
• 27:11
  If anyone from Disney happens to listen to this and be like, we'll show you, we will do a whole podcast on it, because I am down.
• 27:21
  I even, things like when the beast was transforming back into a human at the end and then he was like floating and then all of a sudden he like flipped over and I like, first off
• 27:30
  that man and that like, good luck to that man in that harness.
• 27:33
  Like what the hell, that had to be hard.
• 27:36
  But there was like, I was like, how are they gonna pull this off and make it look like not cheesy?
• 27:40
  Like, cause that's in my head.
• 27:41
  like, it's gonna look cheesy when you're pulling the things off of him.
• 27:44
  And it didn't, it literally felt like magic.
• 27:46
  And I was like, there's no way to do that.
• 27:48
  But they did.
• 27:49
  Yeah, I mean, man, I was trying to analyze the shit out of that.
• 27:52
  was like, okay, so they brought that thing forward.
• 27:55
  Maybe there's like a pole in the center because it's kind of like split and maybe it's like on a rotating like pivot and that's how it's happening.
• 28:03
  I was like, but really, I have no idea.
• 28:05
  I have no idea.
• 28:07
  I mean, some of the two I was trying to figure out because like, chip is rolled out on a cart.
• 28:12
  It's using theater magic with mirrors to do it.
• 28:15
  But the thing that was blowing my mind was that the mirrors that they were using or whatever technology was actually perfectly reflecting the people's bodies to the exact
• 28:23
  degree that they were at.
• 28:25
  And I said, that's near impossible to do and make it look good.
• 28:29
  And I was like, that is just wild to me.
• 28:33
  Like those technical aspects of the show.
• 28:36
  were Chef's Kiss.
• 28:37
  They were fantastic.
• 28:40
  And that's what the people are coming for.
• 28:42
  Like you, you, you from the get go, mean, within three seconds of that prologue, people were gasping.
• 28:50
  They were astonished.
• 28:53
  the costume changes ridiculous, like get out of here.
• 28:57
  Are you kidding me?
• 28:58
  Um, because so many things can go wrong.
• 29:01
  And obviously these people do it for a living.
• 29:03
  have teams of people ensuring that this goes right.
• 29:07
  but it still can go wrong at any literal moment.
• 29:12
  And it just makes you appreciate what's in front of you because it is magic.
• 29:17
  And to make it happen, it takes work.
• 29:21
  Speaking of the costumes real quick, know we're running out of time, I'm sorry.
• 29:23
  I'm gonna let, but like the costumes themselves, I wanted to talk about them because while they were inspired by the Disney films, they were not replicas.
• 29:35
  What did you think about those costumes?
• 29:37
  What's coming to mind specifically is Mrs.
• 29:39
  Potts' dress and Belle's ball gown.
• 29:43
  Yes.
• 29:43
  So Mrs.
• 29:44
  Potts, I think I was just honestly astonished the whole time.
• 29:49
  I was curious what mechanism or what lift or what, how her arm was staying the way it was for so long.
• 29:58
  I'm sure there's a contraption under there.
• 30:01
  uh But also I enjoyed, I thought it was a good blend of the animated and the live action.
• 30:10
  uh
• 30:11
  while modern because I did think that they were all modernized.
• 30:15
  And then obviously Bell's dress too.
• 30:18
  can't change the coloring, right?
• 30:22
  The traditional golden yellow.
• 30:24
  But I did appreciate like we weren't trying to be in the 90s, right?
• 30:29
  We weren't trying.
• 30:31
  And honestly, like probably way easier to maneuver as an actress.
• 30:36
  something that doesn't, I mean, she obviously still had some plenty of skirts to handle, but uh still equally shocking.
• 30:47
  I still, everyone when that I distinctly remember when the scrim came up again for that scene specifically, even though you had kind of seen her in the background when that went
• 30:59
  up, the audible gasp from the audience, it just was.
• 31:07
  But I can see how some people would be like, oh, like I want that same, I don't know, the dress design type.
• 31:16
  um
• 31:18
  even some of the things about that dress, like in the movie, it kind of like, it hangs off here and on the shoulders, but they added like a necklace, and I was like, that probably
• 31:25
  makes it more stable to dance in on stage without having to worry about some kind of wardrobe malfunction in front of families, you know?
• 31:33
  Yeah, yeah.
• 31:34
  the, the, again, the quick change.
• 31:41
  there is no time to ensure that, yeah, you don't want a bra slipping or, you know what I mean?
• 31:48
  Like you, in order to avoid all of these things from happening, which maybe previously they did have the dress, but it did happen so many times that they were like, we have to
• 32:01
  change it.
• 32:02
  or we have to make it lighter, we have to make it more breathable.
• 32:05
  em And I do think Disney overall, over the last few decades, has made those adjustments accordingly when it comes down to...
• 32:15
  the people representing their brand, the actors, the actresses, because they know like a lot of those costumes when they were designed, they weren't designed with real people in
• 32:25
  mind.
• 32:26
  They were designed as animation and animated people can do whatever the heck they want.
• 32:32
  They don't have to, you know, dance and sing across the stage uh in a 50 pound dress.
• 32:41
  So.
• 32:43
  Um, so one thing before we wrap it up and give our final verdicts, I do want to let people know some, let's, let's, let's do some reminders here.
• 32:51
  People, this is a show for kids.
• 32:53
  Um, parents though, let's make sure that when we bring our kids, that we are having some kind of theater etiquette and, or preparing these kids or like making sure they're old
• 33:02
  enough.
• 33:02
  also people who are coming there also remember there's young kids there.
• 33:05
  And so like, there was, I'm saying this because there was some tension in the audience going on between like,
• 33:10
  young kids on the phones making noise, people getting mad, turning around and kind of shushing them, making some comments.
• 33:16
  Like I get the theatrical experience, but I feel like from both sides, we have to remember this is a show geared for families and kids, but also let's remember that adults are going
• 33:25
  to this too and to find that balance somewhere in between that.
• 33:27
  Yeah, 100%.
• 33:30
  At the end of the day, we want everyone to enjoy it, right?
• 33:33
  And we get that everyone is probably paying a good chunk of change for their whole family, especially children, to be there.
• 33:39
  But yeah, just be cognizant of like, does your kid even want to be there?
• 33:46
  I'll just say like, there were plenty in the audience that audibly children were begging their parents to leave.
• 33:55
  Not because they didn't like it, but just they weren't, it was not their thing.
• 33:59
  It was very clearly, and the parents stayed and it did make it incredibly distracting and difficult for everyone surrounding those folks.
• 34:10
  um And you just don't want to be that person, right?
• 34:14
  Like on either side, I don't want to have to tell anyone how to discipline their children, but I also want to be able to enjoy what's in front of me.
• 34:24
  So everybody have a little bit of grace with everybody else and just know we're all here to have a good time.
• 34:30
  And also don't let your kids watch YouTube during the show.
• 34:33
  Like that's my one, like don't let them watch YouTube.
• 34:37
  brutal.
• 34:37
  It was brutal.
• 34:38
  And I'll just say as someone who's worked in front of house before, if you have a problem with another patron, that's what we, I used to call them us.
• 34:50
  Do not hesitate.
• 34:51
  Your ushers and your front of house staff are there to support you.
• 34:55
  Literally that's their job.
• 34:57
  So even if it is during a show, I know that's uncomfortable, but like they will handle it.
• 35:02
  um That way you don't
• 35:04
  have to be.
• 35:06
  It doesn't become something that it shouldn't be.
• 35:08
  And there were a few moments where I was like, oh no.
• 35:15
  So, you know, they do have security for a reason.
• 35:17
  They do have ushers for a reason.
• 35:20
  At the end of the day, you know, that pre-show announcement, please turn off your cell phones.
• 35:27
  Not just because we don't want you taking photos that used to be the mantra.
• 35:32
  Now it is, we don't want people texting, we don't want people calling, we don't want people on the internet because it is distracting.
• 35:38
  The light is incredibly distracting.
• 35:41
  Not only to people around you, but if you look down from the balcony, you see a sea of phone.
• 35:49
  If there are phones, right?
• 35:51
  So it is just a friendly reminder to all of our fellow theater goers, no matter what age you are, please refrain from.
• 36:01
  phone and watch utilization.
• 36:04
  know some people I've seen just like sit on their watch, their Apple watch, the entire show.
• 36:12
  Like I get you're checking if your phone goes off or if you're checking the time, whatever, but just be aware.
• 36:21
  That being said, how would you kind of score this show ah letter grades?
• 36:30
  A.
• 36:34
  Okay, I'm gonna give it a B plus.
• 36:37
  I think I gotta play Devil the Havoc here.
• 36:39
  I think I was such a Disney kid that this one was like, again, I think I went into it being like the, I'm gonna hit all my favorite parts.
• 36:46
  And there was a few that I was like, okay, it's not exactly what I was expecting, but it was still really, really good.
• 36:51
  Yeah, and I think I went in it, maybe not the opposite, but I was like, I had heard previous reviews, I had, you know, maybe formed some opinions, and those kind of were
• 37:05
  squashed.
• 37:06
  So I feel like it turned out better for me than I anticipated.
• 37:10
  Would you see it again?
• 37:11
  Hmm.
• 37:12
  I want to say yes, not just I don't think I would go by myself, but I would go to watch.
• 37:23
  I would go with like family or I'd go with young people like I would, you know, when my nephew gets older, maybe take him.
• 37:31
  Just like the experience of magic.
• 37:34
  Same reason I go to Disney World, right?
• 37:36
  Like, it's not really for me.
• 37:39
  But I love seeing the joy that it brings other people.
• 37:42
  And that is the magic that Disney brings to the show as well.
• 37:46
  So how about you?
• 37:48
  That sums it up perfectly.
• 37:49
  I would go see this again, yes.
• 37:50
  I think that I would want to go see this with my family or people who haven't seen it before, people that loved it and then want to experience that, or my nieces and nephews
• 38:00
  being young.
• 38:01
  I think that would be really cool because it reminds me a lot of, I'm one those people, every Christmas morning we watch the Christmas parade, and even though everyone else has
• 38:10
  outgrown it, I haven't, but the Disney Christmas parade feels special for a reason, and that's what I got from this.
• 38:16
  this Disney experience, only being my second one, this felt special and something that I want to share with friends and family who would also be really geeked to see it.
• 38:25
  100%.
• 38:25
  So with that, have concluded our part two discussion of Beauty and the Beast, but stay tuned for future episodes of the Box Seat Babe podcast, where we'll be discussing shows
• 38:34
  both here locally and on Broadway.
• 38:36
  Thank you again for joining us here in our box seats.
• 38:39
  Till next curtain call.