If there’s one tale as old as time that ages particularly well, it’s Beauty and the Beast.
No matter how often my family’s VHS copy of the Disney movie played in the living room—not to mention the number of times I asked my parents to rent Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre version from the Santa Maria Public Library—I never got burnt out on the story as a kid, nor as an adult.
Maybe I’m lucky and just haven’t seen a bad adaptation yet (I also admire 1946’s La Belle et la Bête, a required viewing during my second year of French at Righetti High). It’s a gift, or a curse if someone comes along to doubt my praise for any forthcoming retellings as biased or rose-tinted—as red as the rose that carries an actual curse at the start of PCPA’s Beauty and the Beast.
This isn’t the first stage adaptation of the Disney musical I’ve seen. That title belongs to Lakeview Junior High’s 2009 production, which featured my younger brother as everyone’s favorite charismatic candelabra, Lumière (rumor has it that PCPA loaned out its Lumière suit and other costumes from a past production of the show to the middle school, at least according to my little bro).
Currently playing at Santa Maria’s Marian Theatre, PCPA’s latest foray into the world of Beauty and the Beast—from Belle’s quiet village (“There must be more than this provincial life!”) to the enchanted castle full of anthropomorphic furniture and kitchenware—is an unadulterated joy from start to finish. Led by Edella Oroz Westerfield as Belle, the show’s stellar cast is on par with its impressive mise en scène.
Performance standouts include Alexander Pimentel as the brooding Beast, Kitty Balay as Mrs. Potts, George Walker as Cogsworth, Andrew Philpot as Lumière, Molly Dobbs as Babette and the mysterious beggar/enchantress, Michael Cone as Maurice, and Cordell Cole as the hilariously vain and chiseled Gaston, who steals the show on countless occasions and takes center stage during one of the best villain numbers in Disney history.
“No one fights like Gaston/ Douses lights like Gaston/ In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gaston,” delcare the lyrics of “Gaston,” split between him and different members of his fanbase at the village’s tavern. “For there’s no one as burly and brawny/ As you see I’ve got biceps to spare!”
As for the PCPA show’s visual prowess, one of the best sequences involves a wolf outside the castle who hunts Belle after she attempts to flee from the Beast’s home, where she was initially held against her will. Some eye-catching puppetry and multiple performers masterfully bring the terrifying but majestic wolf to life, from head to tail.
After the Beast catches up with Belle and wrestles with the wolf to save her, he’s gravely wounded. This would have been an opportune moment for Belle to escape successfully. Instead, she helps the Beast return to his castle, where she nurses him back to health. If you don’t know what happens next, you probably live under a rock.
Onstage through Dec. 22, Beauty and the Beast was a smart pick on PCPA’s part, as it’s a surefire way to bring in oodles of families during the holiday season. I overheard an usher say there were more than 80 children at the Saturday afternoon performance I attended.
In the show’s program, Beauty and the Beast Director Erik Stein described the musical as a refreshing romance.
“I am so grateful to spend the holidays immersed in a story that’s not just about what we do for love,” Stein wrote, “but what love can do for us.” Δ
Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood is trying the gray stuff. Send baguettes and comments to cwiseblood@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 12-22, 2024.