Beauty and the Beast Show NODA report
5th June 2024
Noda Scotland District 4 - Show Report Written by Craig Inglis-McDonald
Show: DISNEY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Society: HARLEQUIN
Director
Assistant Director
Musical Director
Choreographer
Producer
Performance Date: 5th June 2024 Report:
Kirsty Duncan
n/a
Ronnie Hillis
Kirsty Dougall and Robyn Hanvidge Christine Kyle
What better way is there to spend a Wednesday evening, than with a little Disney magic ... delivered expertly in the form of Harlequin’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Thank you to the team for another friendly and warm welcome for Daniel and I, we love our trips to Harlequin and your hospitality is always appreciated ... we even won some Haribo to enjoy in the car on the way home! Anyway, onto the show! All the principals were well cast in their roles, and each presented and embodied their characterisations throughout the show. Emily Preston gave such a confident, controlled and impeccable portrayal of Belle, with a lovely warmth and charm fitting of a Disney Princess. Her mannerisms, dialogue delivery and fascial expressions were every inch the character. A beautiful and delightful performance as the anchor of the show, with outstanding vocals to round off a perfect Belle. Complimenting Emily were her leading men, in the form of James Lawson was a dominant, smug and assured Gaston and Sean Miller’s strong and commanding Beast. James owned his scenes with ease, giving strong vocals and lots of comedy. Sean showed strong character work changing from the Beast to the Prince and as his character softened with the progression of the story. He also showcased impressive vocals leading his solo numbers which were full of emotion. He also worked very well with Emily in their scenes capturing Belle and Beast’s developing relationship. By the end I was fully invested and routing for them to say the Love word and break the spell before it was too late, which is all in tribute to the beautiful job these two did. Gaston’s sidekick Le Fou was played by Thomas McIntyre who was fun, full of energy and worked well as a great foil for Gaston. The smooth physicality, comedic timing and of course the fab French accent of Christopher Ralph as Lumiere was brill and contrasted so well with the pomp and authority of Matthew King as Cogsworth, they made an ideal pairing and complimented each other throughout. Laura James was a composed Mrs Potts displaying a motherliness showing great care for the other characters around her, including the delightful Chip, Martha McKenzie. Concluding the main principal lineup was Sophie Lawson as Babette and Mairaid McKee as Madame de la Grande Bouche, both who provided more comedy and fabulous character work with great stage presence and fab comedic line delivery. The smaller roles of Maurice and Monsieur D’Arque played by Scott Bruce and Mathew Penman respectively enhanced the scenes in the village well, and I would also like to commend Gaston’s admirers, the Les Filles La Ville, Jenny James, Mia McLaughlan and Grace Louden who were hilarious in their parts and worked very well together. All these performances were just excellent and gave the feel of solid professional stage performances. The central characters within the story were supported by an energetic ensemble, who handled the company scenes and songs with a sense of ease, producing colourful movement and very impressive choral numbers. The harmonies were excellent and very impressive, especially considering the age of some of the younger members. One of the main things I loved about this show was the use of the staging to transform the Eastwood stage into a Disney wonderland. The main castle set was so impressive filling the stage perfectly and was complimented by beautiful cloths and smaller scenery items which smoothly moved on and off to capture the village scenes, including Belle’s cottage and the tavern. The set was used cleverly by the production team, and really boosted the polished performances of this talented cast. Congratulations to team of Kirsty, Ronnie, Kirsty, Robyn and Christine for tackling and exceptionally executing this large-scale production in such a successful way. It was another huge success for Harlequin, bringing Disney magic to Eastwood.