Beauty and The Beast

Stage Artz annual charity production, with proceeds going to The Children's Hospital at Westmead, this year was Beauty and The Beast, a great choice of show, with the company comprised of Stage Artz Performing Art School students. The lead roles showcased a talented adult lead cast who brought the magical fictional characters to life.

Directed by Sam Neaves, the fairy tale musical was full of colour - like looking inside and picture book that had come to life. The movement of the huge cast, which looked to number over 50 performers, would have been a mighty task for Neaves and choreographer Natalie Neary. The cast moved fluently through their blocking and dance numbers, which all looked terrific. The well known number “Be Our Guest” was a highlight of the production, with all cast on stage in at least some part of the song. The stage did look over-crowded, but take nothing away from the dancing in the number, with all performing to their ability, with a special mention going to the smallest and youngest of the cast playing the Sugar Cubes adding their cuteness factor.

The classic tale of Belle (Laura Sheldon) and her chance meeting with the Beast (Max Newstead) and falling in love / breaking the enchanted spell, has a great theme of love conquering all. Many of the characters at the castle and others in Belle's life are great, over the top roles and played with OTT abundance by all actors.

Laura Sheldon's Belle had some nice character moments, and her interactions with other roles mainly Levi Gardner as Gaston and Newstead as Beast were truly believable. Sheldon's vocals though could have been sweeter and with more power behind them. Newstead as Beast gave a powerful performance in all elements on stage, from the moody and growling Beast at the beginning of the show to the charismatic man that won Belle's heart. The Beast's number “If I can’t love her” to finish the first act  brought thunderous applause from the audience.

Levi Gardner and Cameron Neaves as Gaston and Lefou added the comical slapstick moments to the show, with perfect comic timing. Inside the mansion, the enchanted servants including Gideon Blinder (Lumiere), Simon Greer (Cogsworth,) Miriam Gonzaga (Mrs Potts), Mahlia Baseley (Chip), Tisha Kelemen (Madame De Le Grande Bouche) and Chaya Ocampo (Babette) all had a great sense of group chemistry. Some accents were dropped occaisionally, although this didn't distract from their great characterisation. A stand out from the group vocally was Miriam Gonzaga's, performance of the unforgettable number “Beauty and The Beast”.

The 19 piece orchestra, conducted by Alex Ash, sounded superb and didn't miss a beat. All the musical numbers really added an extra bit of magic to the loveable show.

The set design by Simon Greer and construction by Greer and team really brought you into the story book classic scene. From the brilliant structure of the Castle to the town scenery, settings including Belle's House etc, were full of colour and set changes were visibly seamless.

Stage Artz had apparently performed Beauty and the Beast previously in 2006 and it had been talked about ever since as a special one in their history. This production was another one to talk about and was certainly worth the trip to Glen Street.

James Russell