BRO Music and Arts contributor Hannah Gordon:
Shea’s Performing Arts Center is welcoming 580 costume pieces, 81 wigs, and 59 people this week for 8 performances of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The musical will run from April 29 through May 4.
The show, which ran for 13 years on Broadway, has been performed in 22 countries for more than 35 million people in 9 different languages.
Despite sharing a name, characters, and plot, the musical is not a replica of the feature film from 1991. The musical score contains six songs featured in the film, one that was cut from the film, and six original pieces written for the musical.
The show, which is known to attract Disney fans of all ages, comes to life on stage. A bit of imagination is required to see Lumiere as a talking candlestick, despite being human-sized.
The cast is led by Hilary Maiberger and Darick Pead, who star as Belle and the Beast. Pead is completing his second year on the tour. Maiberger has been touring for 18 months. This production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast launched in February 2010 and has played over 1,000 performances in all 50 United States and 6 Canadian Provinces.
Show times are: Tuesday-Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Run time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
Lead image: Hilary Maiberger as Belle and the cast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Photo by Joan Marcus.