By Steff WillisMonday 26 Feb 2024TheatreReading Time: 3 minutes
Bonjour! Disney’s Beauty and the Beast the Musical has arrived in style at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC).
Based on the 1991 animated film, the original production of Beauty and the Beast played for more than 13 years on Broadway, remaining to this day one of the top 10 longest running shows in Broadway history, and touring to 37 countries worldwide.
The Australian production features an all-Australian cast of 34, backstage crew of 77 including musicians, an incredible 300 costumes, 119 wigs, and 80 tonnes of scenery and automation.
The principal cast includes Brisbane’s Shubshri Kandiah as Belle, Brendan Xavier as Beast, Rohan Browne in the role of Lumiere, Brisbane’s Jackson Head as Gaston, Gareth Jacobs as Cogsworth, Gold Coast’s Jayde Westaby as Mrs Potts, Nick Cox as Le Fou, Rodney Dobson as Belle’s father, Maurice, Whitsundays’ Hayley Martin as Babette and Alana Tranter as Madame.
Twenty-three x 8 tonne trucks are required to transport the impressive set to the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane for the Queensland season, where it takes a team of 70 over 15,000 people hours to load in. 30 tonnes of flying scenery and 50 tonnes of automation and staging have been unpacked and built to recreate the French provincial town, including the forest, tavern, Belle’s cottage and the Beast’s castle.
The beautiful and intricate costumes include many different elements such as embroidery, beading, hot stoning, hand printed fabrics, digitally printed fabrics, laser cutting and leather work. The original costume team sampled over 4000 fabrics and 2000 trims to get the exact right look for each character.
Shubshri Kandiah and Brendan Xavier in Disney’s Beauty and The Beast the Musical – performing Beauty / Photo by Daniel Boud (Supplied)
Adults will enjoy the nostalgic music and fantastic effects however this is a perfect musical for kids to enjoy. While not recommended for children under the age of 6 (due to the length of the production and inclusion of gun shots and fight sequences) it otherwise feels aimed at children and would make for a perfect “first musical” experience.
96five’s Nicky, Jess and Steff went along to the Brisbane Premiere and enjoyed a night of nostalgia and impressive artistry!
96five’s Nicky, Steff and Jess at the Beauty and the Beast Premiere in Brisbane
“That was one of the best musicals I’ve ever seen” Jess from 96five’s Drive Show remarked.
“I was particularly blown away by the special effects and big choreographed numbers. It exceeded all my expectations!”
“I got chills when the prologue began, Disney is so nostalgic for me” Steff said.
“While the sets and singing were world class, at times I wasn’t sure if they were going for sincerity or farce with the acting performances. The Beast often came across as more silly than scary however I think this suits younger audiences and truly, no one’s slick as Gaston! He was my favourite part, because – you’ll see!”
Beauty and the Beast the Musical is now showing in Brisbane and runs through to the 19 May 2024. More information and tickets can be purchased at beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au
Feature Image: Disney’s Beauty and The Beast the Musical – performing Be Our Guest – Photo by Daniel Boud (Supplied)