Touring musical is a real beauty

Looking good, and sounding good, too.

Beastly heat didn’t keep the crowds away from a beauty of a Broadway touring musical Tuesday night at the Orpheum. As you might expect, “Beauty and the Beast” was a big draw for children and families, and they didn’t go away disappointed.

The sentimental tale about a cursed prince who must love and be loved in return in order to lose his beastly exterior was faithfully told, with heaps of humor, strong vocals and plenty of visual razzle-dazzle.

True, this road show is about the least high-tech of the touring season — costumed actors shoved the palace scenery around — but it’s all gilded curlicues, swagged drapes, intricately painted backdrops and exceptional lighting. Sumptuous, color-drenched costumes, particularly for Belle and the Beast, were also more than easy on the eyes.

The familiar story had the crowd of 2,120 warmly applauding familiar tunes from the 1992 Oscar-winning movie score.

They roared loudest and longest on the big production numbers, wowed by the costumes and clever choreography. First it was the raucous tavern number “Gaston,” featuring a complex routine of clinking beer steins. Then it was the rousing “Be Our Guest,” in which dishes and eating utensils and an acrobatic rug make Belle welcome to the palace of the Beast.

Later, in Act Two, “Human Again” was a spark as the palace residents caught in the beast’s evil spell imagine returning to their normal selves.

But it wasn’t just the group numbers that hit big. Sabina Petra, as Mrs. Potts, does an exceptionally beautiful job of singing the title ballad, which many people know by heart.

Liz Shivener, with a dazzling smile and shimmering soprano voice, was the Belle every little girl dreams of being. She shone brightly on her signature solos, “Home” and “A Change in Me.”

Justin Glazer makes a fearsome and beastly beast, particularly in how he brings animal physicality to the role, and he caps Act One with a memorable interpretation of “If I Can’t Love Her.”

Nathaniel Hackmann, a tall, strapping actor with a big, operatic baritone voice, was the egotistical, posing Gaston that everybody loves to dislike.

Michael Fatica, as his long-suffering and battered sidekick Lefou, manages some amazingly acrobatic pratfalls, which made him the crowd’s favorite source of comic relief.

Merritt David Janes, as the candelabra Lumiere, and Keith Kirkwood, as Cogsworth the clock, were also big hits, along with Nebraska’s own Jen Bechter as the operatic wardrobe Madame de la Grande Bouche and Reese Sebastian Diaz as the little teacup Chip.

Kids at intermission were heard excitedly talking about the show — “That part in the forest was kind of scary!” — as they smiled ear to ear.

The evening’s only real drawbacks were a late start, a too-long intermission and the ring of a cell phone — on two separate occasions — at my elbow.

Omaha Performing Arts says none of the shows is sold out yet, but the opening crowd was unusually large. Don’t wait around if you’re planning to catch this popular Disney classic.

Contact the writer:

444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com

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