Matthew Murphy
Disney’s 1991 animated version of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairy tale is largely unopposed as the definitive version of the story. (Jean Cocteau, who?) At 35 years old, it has now been around for so long that it has become eligible for reinterpretation. Ten years ago, I saw a college production where the Beast was handsome, clean-shaven, and without prosthetic, while Gaston was beastly and bearded and barbaric, all designed to reinforce the material’s themes of inner beauty. Just a few years ago, the D.C. area got the much-lauded (and once revived!) Olney Theatre Center production, cast inclusively with Jade Jones, ‘a queer and plus-sized Black woman’ as Belle, and Evan Ruggiero, an amputee, as the Beast.
On the other hand, you can just … do what the movie did. And that’s not necessarily a bad idea. It’s arguably the single strongest Disney animated film, and doing that straight-up, as they did when the stage musical first opened on Broadway in 1991, should be foolproof. Unless it’s that terrible regional production I once saw where everyone laughed at the silly-looking Fosse wolves. Or the awful 30-minute version at Disney World, where the heartfelt title number is turned into a rousing kickline. Or the bland and uninspired big-screen remake that couldn’t capture the same charm …
When it comes to the North American Tour of Beauty and the Beast, now playing at D.C.’s National Theatre through April 5th, they have taken the latter, much safer approach. And it’s almost exactly what I wanted it to be. It’s the movie! The Beast is cursed to ugliness until he can find true love; the impossibly beautiful Belle can’t find happiness in her provincial town (because she reads books?); and the two, despite the threats of imprisonment (not exactly the way to woo someone) and an eternal curse, find a way to love each other thanks to some dancing cutlery. And don’t forget the best part – Alan Menken music performed by a full orchestra!
Matthew Murphy
Directing and choreographing this revival is Matt West, who choreographed the original Broadway production. He seems to understand this material more than anyone else I’ve seen attempt a non-replica, as well as highlighting the skills of his dancers (‘Be Our Guest’ is one of the finest single song stagings I’ve seen in quite some time), mining moments of physical comedy, and bringing the cinematic temperament of pace and rhythm to the stage. It’s not often I see something for the very first time (at one point, he seems to pay homage to the iconic Busby Berkeley swimming pool number … without the use of a swimming pool), and it’s even more rare that it happens two or three times in a single show. Audiences looking for nothing more than Beauty and the Beast live on stage would be satisfied with a much lazier director. West worked hard.
Belle is played by Kyra Belle Johnson (read her name again), who provides the warmth and sincerity that you and your child expect from the character. She has the sound, a strong voice and excellent control of it, and the look – when she put on her glasses to jump into another book, I swooned. A Belle who is truly a nerd! Her Beast is Fergie L. Philippe, who has a bit of an uphill battle, playing a part that’s written to be both terrifying (for most of the first act) and embarrassingly silly (once you learn what a goober he is), and I can imagine some children won’t be able to get past that first impression of a monster who lives in the shadows. Additionally, his one real song, ‘If I Can’t Love Her’, isn’t in the film at all and might be unknown to most (though if you’ve had the displeasure of attending a musical theatre BFA program in the past three decades, you’ve heard it plenty from the nineteen-year-old boys who insist on using it for every audition), and I’m not sure Philippe’s voice is a match for the lower register bravado the tune usually requires.
Stephen Mark Lukas plays the muscly Gaston, and he’s got the guns for it, though like Philippe, I’m not sure his voice is a perfect fit. After his eponymous number, he’s so out of breath he can hardly sing the reprise. To be fair, however, West’s intensely physical choreography puts him through the wringer. Danny Gardner, Kathy Voytko, Javier Ignacio, and Holly Ann Butler manage to personify a candelabra, a teapot, a mantle clock, and a wardrobe, respectively, with humor, heart, and a whole lot of household item physicality.
Matthew Murphy
If there is a misgiving, it’s the production’s over-reliance on projections to do the heavy lifting when it comes to the scenery. Projections are not inherently bad (though there are some people who just don’t like them and never will), and if deployed well, like in the aforementioned wolf attack, they can be uniquely effective. (Though when you really think about it, some staged moments, in particular the wolves, just involve someone running around a bare stage behind a scrim.) Stanley A. Meyer, the show’s scenic designer, and Darrel Maloney, the video and projection designer, work together to make the show feel particularly cinematic, which was no doubt their intention. The show has a nice kinetic flow, and some particularly successful staging of multiple locations simultaneously allows almost a cross-cutting effect. It can still, nevertheless, be disappointing when the Beast’s amazing library, filled with book after book for Belle, is just a single projection on a screen.
When I was five years old, the original tour of Beauty and the Beast came to my hometown. My mother took me, and I remember it vividly. The magic in particular was, well, just that, magical to little me. She bought me a souvenir program, which I kept in a safe place next to my Harlem Globetrotters and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey programs, and flipped through it often as a way to remember that special experience. As I grow up (let’s be honest, I’ve been grown up) and try hard to avoid becoming the stereotypical cynical theatre critic, I think it’s important to ground myself in those memories. Could I ask for some more oomph from the company that specializes in oomph? Do I wish they had spent a few extra dollars here, knowing darn well they’ve got it in the bank? Would I have preferred another performance here or another interpretation there? D, all of the above.
But there was a child there tonight who will be lucky enough to remember this for a long time. One who will read and re-read every word of their souvenir program. And that child will grow up and one day sit down to write a review like this one, which will ask all the same questions and probably come to all of the same conclusions. And that’s what Disney specializes in – memories.
Beauty and the Beast runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. Recommended for ages 6 and up. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.
Beauty and the Beast runs through April 5 at Washington DC’s National Theatre. Other cities on the tour include Hartford, Boston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Baltimore and more. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — National Tour (2026)
Disney
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
