By: Skip Sheffield
“Beauty and the Beast” represents the best Disney has to offer in a bright, clever, compact package. The national tour continues through Nov. 27 at Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale.
“Beauty” has all the colorful costumes, ingenious sets and split-second changes that characterize a Disney production.
The Beauty character of Belle, played by Emily Behny, has the requisite delicate, doll-like beauty one expects from the role. Behny has a larger-than-average voice and power that make her an ideal Disney heroine.
“Beauty and the Beast” is a simplified yet amplified version of the 1991 Disney animated feature, which in turn was inspired by the traditional French fairy tale that dates back to 1740.
The animated movie featured an all-star Broadway cast voicing the characters. The Broadway version has a book by Linda Woolverton (who wrote the movie screenplay) and music by Alan Menkin (ditto). For the stage, the story of an enchanted prince turned into a horrible beast and the beautiful, pure-hearted girl who learns to love him as he is, has been simplified while the soundtrack has been amplified with additional songs and dance numbers. What makes this show so entertaining is the way it is presented, with all the speed and precision of a Swiss watch.
Since you don’t look for depth of character in a show like this, you look for characters who entertain most.
It is hard to emote when your face and body are covered up with the furry, horned trappings of a beast, so what Dane Agostinis offers is a powerful, operatic baritone and a big body to match.
The paring of Agostinis and tiny Behny is almost comical, which in this case is OK. This is, after all, a romantic comedy, not a tragedy.