This production was scheduled May 11-12, 2024.
Imagine a favorite children’s fairy tale come to life on the stage.
OperaSLO did just that this past weekend. It brought outstanding professional-level theatre to the Performing Arts Center SLO with its production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical.
It was difficult to track just how many little girls in attendance were dressed in the now famous yellow-layered ballgown Disney’s Belle is known for wearing. And although there was an announcement prior to the start of the show asking folks not to sing along until the finale, those kiddos didn’t care.
At each big, show-stopping number (like “Be Our Guest”) a smattering of voices—perhaps kids of all ages—could be heard gleefully joining the cast in song.
Accompanying an impeccable array of stellar performances (mostly local) was OperaSLO’s impressive Grand Orchestra, conducted by SLO County’s own Dr. Brian Asher Alhadeff, general and artistic director of the company. Also of special orchestral note was concertmaster Brynn Albanese on first chair violin—a local, celebrated artist in her own right. Her musicianship, precision, and emotionally romantic violin perfectly coupled with the warm and cozy mezzo-soprano voice of Seattle’s own Mandi Barrus. Together, they presented Mrs. Potts’ solo, the title track “Beauty and the Beast.” It was masterfully performed by both artists.
If you loved the look and sound of Belle in the animated film, you would have been enamored with the effortless skill of professional soprano Hilary Maiberger.”
In his welcome, maestro Alhadeff mentioned the relevance of this production, as it marks the first time the show has been produced at a “grand scale” on the West Coast, and the first time a West Coast opera company has produced a Disney musical as a mainstage production.
And what a production it was. If you loved the look and sound of Belle in the animated film, you would have been enamored with the effortless skill of professional soprano Hilary Maiberger. She holds the record for the most performances of Disney’s Belle for a reason. Always in the moment and committed to character, Maiberger was charming and sweet while showing the required strength of feminine resolve to save her beloved father, Maurice (OperaSLO veteran Larry Kaml) from the angry Beast.
In the second half, Belle and the Beast (award-winning velvet-voiced actor Grant Garry) survive an attack by an angry mob, led by the hilariously insufferable Gaston (played by impressive vocalist and well-timed local comic actor Eric McConnell), a character whose ego is somehow even bigger than his bulging muscles.
Notable were the seamless dancers and their choreography by Drew Silvaggio; animated actor/singer Gregory Gorrindo as the flaming Lumière; Gaston’s bumbling sidekick LeFou played by OperaSLO newbie and gifted physical comedian Aaron Ellis; Zanna Wyant, who appeared to float on air as the endearing, short-stepping feather-duster Babette; and last but not least, adorable youngster Eva Alhadeff (as Chip the tiny, broken teacup) who nailed every line with immaculate timing, singing with all the gusto of any of the adult-played enchanted objects. Job well done, Eva.
The melding of the familiar Disney music along with the professionalism of the show on every level lingered in our hearts as we filed out of the PAC after the footlights dimmed.”
Chip wins over everyone’s heart, and the Beast wins over Belle’s in the end, but only because true love breaks the evil spell cast on the Beast for being shallow and judgmental to a witch. This act of love by Belle reverts Beast back into a handsome, now compassionate, prince. The themes of rejection, transformation, and rehabilitation weave throughout the story, reminding us that no matter how beastly we may feel or appear, we all have a chance for love if we can just open up and let someone see our truest selves.
With only a one-weekend run, many missed this directorial display of enchanted storytelling that Zach Johnson and his group of pros executed with ease. The moral of this story: Buy tickets early next time OperaSLO puts on a production.
The melding of the familiar Disney music along with the professionalism of the show on every level lingered in our hearts as we filed out of the PAC after the footlights dimmed. It wasn’t just the Disney-fied happy ending that remained, however. The whole show: the cast, the ensemble, the music, the sound, the set, the lights, the costumes—all the perfected elements of theatre’s spectacle were there and they all converged at the same moment to deliver what truly felt like a world-class, Broadway show.
Magic!