Friday, July 9, 2010

You can't say no to the Beauty and the Beast

I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, don't you? When my daughter was small, we watched the movie together all the time. When I heard last summer that the Beauty and The Beast musical was coming to town this summer, I wanted to go. Really bad! But, I had no one to go with so I kept putting off buying tickets. Thursday night, I decided to go on line and check for tickets because the show was playing this weekend. Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances were both sold out. That left Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. There was one seat available for Friday night's performance in the orchestra section, 6 rows back and off center. Choice! The other two nights had tickets in the very back of the balcony and off to the far back sides of the lower floor. I thought about buying the fantastic Friday night ticket. A lot. But I really didn't want to go to a late night performance by myself. Of course, sometimes going solo is the best way to get a great seat. Anyway, I slept on it and checked the status of the one ticket this morning. It was still available. I couldn't say no. So I bought it. And I went to the show tonight. By myself. It was so worth it!!!

This picture is of the stage before it started. It's a giant rose. I know it's a lousy photo- my cellphone- but you can see how close I am to the stage.
It was one of the best live performances I've ever seen! All the characters sounded perfect and could they sing! Belle and the Beast were fabulous but, I confess, I love Gaston! I think he stole the show. Every time he was on stage, my eyes were drawn to him. He seemed to tower over the other actors too. He had all the raised eyebrows and smirks going too. And where I sat, I could see everything so well!

It's funny, after I bought my ticket, I set out the binoculars so that I wouldn't forget them. And then tonight, as I prepared to leave, I thought, 'I'm in the sixth row, if I can't see them normally, I am hopeless! I really don't need to see the freckles under their make-up, do I?' I left the 'binocs' home.

I really like the shuttle buses they offer nowadays for big events. I drove to the parking lot, parked my car in the first row near where the buses were loading and walked over to the bus. We waited until the bus was full, a couple of minutes at most, and then drove over to the University campus where the performing arts center is located. After the performance, I walked out with the crowds, got on the shuttle right away, got whisked over to the parking lot, walked over to my car, and drove home. Nice and uneventful.

The only bad part about going to an event alone is that there is no one to discuss it with afterwards. So, I'll have to tell you. Chip was great! You could see a real little boy's head at the top of the serving cart, but like a magician's box, the cart looked empty, so the little boy looked bodyless. Lumiere's hands lit up with flames that moved around. There were wolves too. And at the end of the show, the Beast's body raises up just like in the movie and transforms in mid air into the Prince. Don't ask me how they did it; I don't know! There was only one down side for me. In the movie, I LOVE Phillippe, the horse. In the play, there is no Phillippe. They use the father's invention, a motorized wood cutter, to go through the woods. And Mrs. Potts is much younger than Angela Lansbury, but that makes sense, because she has a young son.

There were a lot of children in the audience tonight. A lot of the little girls were wearing yellow Belle dresses. They looked so pretty and so happy! There were vendors selling dolls and things during intermission. What a magical night! It brought back memories of when I went to my first play with my family as a little girl. I saw Brigadoon. I don't remember the story, but I remember how special the event was for me.

Watch this video for a little taste of the "tale as old as time" and share with me the magic of Beauty and the Beast.

Has anyone else seen it?


You can't say no to the Beauty and the Beast - Song: Beauty and the Beast, artist: David Bowie, album: Heroes

6 comments:

phaedra96 said...

Now, aren't you glad you went, even alone? I have gone to many stage plays over the years. My oldest son did children's theatre for quite a few years. Even being children and all that, the shows were very good. Loved it. (And didn't we all dream of growing up and marrying a beast who turned into a prince?)

Leah Fry said...

I saw a live performance at Disneyland, when the movie first came out, and I, too, was charmed. I've always liked the story. And yes, Gaston is larger than life.

Achieve1dream said...

That is sooooo cool!! Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite movies growing up too. The play sounds wonderful. I wish they did fun things like that in my town. :) Kudos for going by yourself and having a good time. I hate going places by myself and that's why I missed out on seeing any fireworks on the fourth because I wouldn't go alone.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

How wonderful!

I had no idea that there even was a Beauty and the Beast Musical.

I also love going to see plays and musicals at the theater. The last one for me was Swan Lake at the Kimo last summer. I was enthralled every moment!

You should have talked your daughter into going with you to watch Beauty and the Beast, so you could relive all your special Mother-Daughter memories from when she was little.

Oh my! I don't even think my own daughter has ever watched Beauty and the Beast before. I'll have to dig it off the old VHS shelf so we can watch it together.

I'm glad you had a magical night at the theater. :)

~Lisa

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Actually, my daughter was watching Beauty and the Beast the other evening and I sat down and watched it with her. That's really what inspired me to go online and look for tickets. When I saw that I couldn't buy two, I debated but I couldn't pass up such a great seat, could I?

She went white water rafting this weekend anyway so I was glad I didn't try to get her a ticket after all.

The Wades said...

That sounds like a great musical. Now I'm wishing we attended. Too cool. I'm with Lisa--I need to dig through the old VHS tapes. Fun.