Beauty and the Beast last night was an epic performance of a classic story. However, it was let down by an ongoing problem that continues to plague Perth Musical Theatre.
So much to enjoy
This show has enjoyed plenty of success in the current Australian season, and rightfully so. It is a magnificent production.
The content has been adapted from the film to the stage really well. They have, of course, kept all the big songs, and also added new ones that complement the originals nicely. Some parts of the story have been shortened, for example the asylum segment, but this works well and keeps things moving without taking anything from the plot.
The cast provided non-stop entertainment, both in the full-on and also the quieter moments. Gareth Jacobs as Cogsworth was very funny and together with Rohan Browne as Lumiere delivered consistent quality. Adam Di Martino may not have the most lines but played a critical role and adds much to the show as Gaston’s side-kick Le Fou. Jackson Head as the villain was, again, one to remember.
Brendan Xavier as Beast was incredible and my favourite last night. His character is well-written, for sure, but it still needs the actor to make the magic, and he did. It’s quite the achievement to, at the same time, be the most menacing looking figure, and also the one most likely to appeal to children in the audience with his humour and vulnerability.
The entire first half builds an anticipation around the Beast. He roars, he talks, he is terrifying; but he doesn’t sing. It’s not until the last song of Act One, the moment we have been building to, hungering for, when it happens, and when Brendan Xavier does then sing, it is brilliant. It finishes Act One with power and dumps another truckload of anticipation for what will come after Interval. The dance routines of songs like Gaston are deservedly often discussed, and indeed children near us exclaimed they “didn’t feel human” and “thought they were watching a film” after Be Our Guest. But for me, Beast singing If I Can’t Love Her is my favourite part of the show. From an artistic point of view, it was designed so well on many levels, and then, in the moment, performed by Xavier in an exceptional manner that left nothing back stage.
I enjoyed the recreation of familiar images from the original film, especially the Beast’s transformation at the end. The sets, video and projection, effects, choreography, orchestra, and ensemble all did an amazing job. The precise stage management to get dozens of important timings right was perfect.
Beauty And The Beast was everything you would hope for from a Disney Musical and I want to go back.
However…
Whilst it is hard to ever completely seperate the two, at this point, the review of the show ends, and I want to shift to the venue.
The common element to most of my recent theatre complaints has been Crown Theatre in Perth. I have seen multiple shows here and there are frequent problems. These are things very rarely seen at other theatres around Australia or in London, but for some reason on a regular basis at Crown:
Hairspray had ongoing and frequent microphone’s left off.
Lord Of The Rings also missed microphones to a lesser extent.
The music mix in Jesus Christ Superstar was poor; the singers were too quiet and near-impossible to understand without knowing the song beforehand.
Sister Act was dingily lit and included a 10 minute break due to a technical difficulty.
In Wicked, the vocal levels seemed to be set only for the times when singers were belting out the loud notes, but not increased for the quieter moments or lower register notes, consequently making those hard to hear.
And now, for Beauty and the Beast, Crown had more of the same issues. The lighting was too dark. I don’t know why this happens here, because Sister Act was the same. Even taking into account the dark setting of some scenes, one shouldn’t have to strain to see. It might be in part because Crown is such a big auditorium with large spacing between rows and therefore a significant distance between the stage and much of the audience, compared with other venues. At theatres in London, Row N in the Stalls will be great seats; in Crown it feels a long way away. I saw Mamma Mia from the front of the Dress Circle and it felt removed and hard to feel part of the show up there.
Secondly, the microphone levels of lead characters were constantly too low during important moments. This was especially true of Gaston. He is such a large and loud character and the levels need to reflect this. However, as with other characters, much of his humour lost impact or was missed due to being too quiet. This was true of speaking and singing and more than all, during the fight scene at the end, where you could hardly hear him, let alone understand. Like Wicked, the orchestra was relatively too loud and the actors couldn’t compete and their levels didn’t appear to be dynamically adjusted mid-song. No matter how talented a singer is, the mix has to be right.
I saw the exact same productions of Wicked and Beauty and the Beast in other cities and have this direct comparison. I noticed neither lighting nor microphone problems in either Sydney or Melbourne.
If you know the songs already and have seen it before, you may not notice this shortfall, but for first-time audience members or people who have done any time on a sound desk, it was clear. We should be able to simply sit and understand, without straining or too much conscious concentration required.
I am thankful for any show that makes the significant effort to journey all the way to WA. But there are common themes here and Crown needs to change something and improve. Did it make it a complete disaster? No. But it stood out, and that’s bad enough, and below the high standard enjoyed at theatres elsewhere.
