Koko McDowell
The opening night, 11/11/2022, of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast Jr. at the Brooks Theatre in Oceanside was a HIT!! Where do I begin…. The set for this production was very professional and impressive, to say the least. The setting for the castle perfectly suited the stage and space. The props that were moved on and off stage were vibrant and just enough to depict the change in environment. I loved how the settings and props afforded the cast an opportunity to create depth within their space. There was a dungeon and an upper East and West Wings, it was clear that the castle was a multi-level house and that each room was located on a different floor. As a fan of Beauty and the Beast, as soon as I saw the set, my eyes were drawn to the vibrant red rose in the glass capsule in the West Wing. I couldn’t help but wondered how the infamous rose petals would fall throughout the production as it sat untouched. Fortunately, as scripted, the last petal fell on cue and I thought, “how did they do it?”
If that wasn’t impressive enough, the costumes were A-MAZING!! I was highly impressed by the quality of each character’s costume. The enchanted objects were great and each of the actors embodied their costume and character well. I really loved the utensils, salt and paper shakers, and napkins’ costumes. The designers of those costumes are creative geniuses. The wolves’ costumes were so cute, simple, and very effective. Gaston’s costume elicited great laughter from the crowd, with his bulging biceps, pecks, thighs, and hairy chest. Bell’s beautiful yellow gown was breathtaking and yielded an audible crowd response when she entered the room, you could feel the energy it commanded. Last, but definitely not lease, the Beast’s costume was incredible. I loved that this costume was intentionally designed to look like the Beast we all know and love without the use of a mask. Great Job!! I found this costume to be the most impressive of them all.
Now on to the actors. The Duchi duo did a spectacular job overseeing a production with 63 youth, well done!! Sophia McKenna (Belle) did a great job carrying the musical from beginning to end. Antonio Cayler (Beast) executed his role very well. It was apparent that he was comfortable on stage and really owned his role. Kai DiMaggio (Gaston) also did a great job depicting his arrogant character and Conrad Cain (Maurice) played a great quirky old man. My favorite character in this production was Chase Boertje (Lumiere). Not only did he sing well, he maintained his accent throughout the production, and was very natural on stage. I was also enjoyed Ben Garon (Cogsworth). He had great energy that kept me highly engaged with his character.
As with any opening night, there are technical details that get worked out for the remaining shows. Two detail to consider are ensuring you can hear the singing over the audio tracks and encouraging the case to project a bit more when speaking. It was difficult to hear and understand the softly spoken words. Other than that, I am proud to say, this was a GREAT production. Well Done!!! I encourage all the Disney fans out there to check this one out. Bring the kids, they will love it!!
