Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Hot on the heels of Georgy Girl (and making great use of the shell of that set) comes the much-anticipated, inaugural production from Encore’s newly minted Performing Arts Academy for young people. Beauty and the Beast is the perfect way to get as many youngsters on stage as humanly possible. Wrangling and arranging said kiddos is an art form unto itself and while the director undoubtedly has the vision and the final say, it’s the choreographer’s task to not only teach the kids how to move, but to create dance routines on stairs and on platforms and move the kids around and on and off the stage with the least amount of chaos possible. Lesser mortals may develop an eye twitch at the mere thought.
Teamwork definitely made the dream work. The show rolled along smoothly indeed - shout out also to stage manager - Ashley Eyles.
The leads and support ensemble were all uniformly delightful and engaging - each connecting convincingly with the audience and each other, not to mention the impressive, clear vocals all around.
Elizabeth Sexton led from the front as an enchanting Belle and Angus Richardson did well to play the menacing Beast without going over the top. Noah Jackson was the perfect poser as Gaston (whose shoulder pads were hilarious) and Harry Mowat displayed great comedy timing as Lefou. Molly Spurway captured something very special as the maternal Mrs Potts, Grace Adams was indeed graceful and elegant as Madame De La Grande Bouche, while Ruby Ball, Hamish Williams and Hazel Doyle thoroughly embodied their characters as Cogsworth, Lumiere and Babette respectively.
Special mention also to The Silly Girls: Maggie Hoffman, Roma Marin and Frankie Page, who gelled together really well, and the adorable (very focussed) young Evie Kristinsson as Chip. It was also great to see individual members of the ensemble stepping up to have their quick moment in the spotlight throughout.
All the usual elements that make Encore productions so slick: the lighting, set and sound were typically impressive. I particularly appreciated the costume selection/design also - none of them were as ‘literal’ as you can get with some productions of this show. Being totally unhampered by unwieldy, restrictive materials - these young actors more than held their own with their characterisations. All augurs well for next year, with a juniors production of Matilda and a Teen version of Heathers both in the works. The historic Princess Theatre might be closing at the end of the year, for extensive renos, but exciting times are still ahead for the academy and audiences!
Rose Cooper
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