Review: Beauty and The Beast - A musical that appeals to both adults and children

You need not watch the Disney cartoon to better understand the plot, though knowledge of some side characters and songs would enhance your experience.

The story of a country girl Belle falling in love with Beast may be fairy tale stuff, but fortunately the plot and the dialogue had enough meat to engage the adults.

The songs were catchy and were performed by a good cast ensemble, most had those old-school Disney cartoon voice.   The actress portraying Belle handled the role well, and she had a good voice.   The Beast was convincing in its role when he sang, but sounded too "clean" rather than husky when he spoke. The supporting cast provided good comic support to the performance.

True to the fairy tale setting, he production featured a beautiful set design.  At times however, certain scenes could not be seen properly if you were seated at the back as screens were placed in front of the stage.



I felt that the show ended somewhat hurriedly, in particular relating to the treatment of Gaston.   Probably the creative team did not want the children to be disturbed?

Overall a well made production with good songs, strong cast and good production standards. Recommended.

Performance continues to April 2015.  Visit www.sistic.com for ticket details.