“Tale as old as time” perfectly describes this musical and I can’t think of one person that hasn’t watched this classic Disney movie, or most recently the remake in 2017.  Beauty and the Beast at Damascus Theatre Company under the direction of Lee Michele Rosenthal and musical direction by Marci Shegogue will leave you feeling magical and uplifted, however there are a few bumps along the path.  I must admit, this iconic Disney film is one of my favorites, not just the book written by Linda Woolverton but the score itself, music by Alan Manken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.  I haven’t witnessed a house this size at a community theatre level in some time; it was refreshing to see so many kids filled with excitement as the lights went down. 

There was an array of talent on the Historic Onley Stage.  I must say this production wasn’t as dynamic as I had hoped but none the less I was thoroughly impressed with some of the performances.  The show revolves around every little girl’s favorite princess, Belle.  Bailey Wolf has an amazing voice, one that I couldn’t get enough of.  However, when it comes to acting, I found her performance to be one dimensional.  Wolf didn’t allow me to fall in love with her.  Not to mention in such an iconic role, her wig ruined it for me (Wig design by Nikki Ottaviano and Lee Michele Rosenthal).  It was a muddy light brown color, not at all true to the iconic Belle image. 

The ensemble was a wide range of ages, from 9 years old to……well, I will not mention how old for sake of offending someone, so let’s just keep it a wide range of ages.  I wish I could have heard them more, the balance between the orchestra and the lack of microphones (when they worked) made it extremely difficult to hear the ensemble.  Some other stand out performances came from Stephanie Miller as Babette, Jennifer Georgia as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Justin Douds as Lefou, and Jason Damaso as Lumiere.  Damaso’s portrayal of Lumiere was enjoyable to watch, while he could have been more boisterous at times, he did a fine job bringing the beloved candle to life.

My three shinning starts from this production are Zoe Alexandratos as Mrs. Potts, Keith Tittermary as Cogsworth, and Clay Comer as Gaston.  Alexandratos’ development of Mrs. Potts was beautiful to watch and I could listen to her sing the theme song “Beauty and the Beast” over and over!  When it comes to Keith Tittermary’s performance of Cogsworth I’m going to sum it up with one quote from the show and it’s his line, “if it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it.”  His performance needed no fixing!  His comedic timing and delivery was impeccable.  Lastly, but I had to say, the most impressive thing about this production was Clay Comer as the “bulging” Gaston.  It was like he stepped out of the cartoon and right on to the stage.  His voice, the delivery of his lines, the facial expressions, how he was always in character made an impression on me and the talent he possesses. 

I hate to say this but the weakest portion of this production was David A. Robinson’s portrayal of the Beast.  Now, his speaking voice most certainly gave me the chill one should get from such a monster but appearance wise it was borderline comical.  He had some nice moments as the beast but overall there was no depth in his performance, and you didn’t get to see the beast grow from what everyone thought he was, a monster, to someone with a heart and is capable of love.  His wardrobe was ill fitting, and looked like they attempted to stuff him to make him less scrawny.  Some of this I’m going to chalk up to direction, but the Beast wouldn’t have perfect posture, it just wasn’t believable. 

Bill Browns set design was REMARKABLE, it truly was stunning.  The set painters should paint sets for every theatre in town because they were beautiful.  The set was designed in such a manner that it almost seemed that the scene changes were choreographed.  Major kudos to Barry Bratburd as the stage manager, you could tell backstage was run very smoothly.  I can’t tell you the last time I saw a set of that caliber at a community theatre level.  Lee Michele Rosenthal did a fine job directing this piece, especially with blocking to make it seem as if we were traveling through the castle.  Michael Page did a nice job choreographing the show with a huge ensemble, and tackling all the challenges that brings— one of which, I’m sure, was that the levels of dancing ability varied.  Personally, I would had loved to have seen more choreography and less movement in the show stopping numbers “Be Our Guest” and “Gaston”, but overall it was well done. 

I wish the lighting for this show matched the talent on stage.  Rick Swinks lighting design was less than desirable.  At times actors were left completely in the dark during scenes.  There is entirely too much talent on that stage for that to be left unsaid.  Costumes under the lead of Carol Boyle were lovely. A truly enjoyable time was had by all and by the looks of things today, get your tickets before they sell out. 

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.

Beauty and the Beast plays through November 11, 2018 at the Damascus Theatre Company on the Carl Freeman Auditorium stage of The Onley Theatre Center— 2001 Onley-Sandy Spring Road in Olney, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (866) 967-8167, or purchase them online.