At Birmingham Hippodrome until 26th March 2022 is Beauty and the Beast, The Musical. A truly phenomenal show with epic scenery, effects and superb casting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My favourite childhood Disney film has always been Beauty and the Beast, so when I heard they were touring with Beauty and the Beast, The Musical, I could not wait. It was the most magical, enchanting experience and I am sat writing this review with a huge smile on my face and a warm heart. Tonight I saw my favourite film turned into a musical and it was phenomenal.
Beauty and the Beast follows the story of Belle, an inventors daughter who is an avid book reader. The entitled and vain town bully Gaston, believes he is destined to marry Belle and sets upon making her his own. When Belle’s father gets lost in the forest, Belle sets out to rescue him and comes across a Castle with a secret.
For this evenings performance, Belle was played by Grace Swaby-Moore, a talented actress and singer who was perfect for the role. Her stage presence, spectacular vocals and beauty made her performance utterly enchanting and her relationship with the Beast (Shaq Taylor) had everyone mesmerised.
Lumiere (Gavin Lee) was hilarious and gave me the most laughs with his comedic mannerisms, one liners and dance moves and I loved the rapport and repartee between Lumiere and Cogsworth (Nigel Richards). The audience continually broke into laughter with the two on stage.
Everyone’s favourite from the film, Mrs Potts was played in the musical by Sam Bailey and the audience (and myself) were in love. Her vocals, accent and presence on the stage were superb and I am still unsure how Chip was performed in the Tea Trolley. How did the actor fit in it? This is another huge thing I love about Disney productions, they are magical in every way. I always go away and think “How did they do that?”. I’m still not over trying to work out how the bed flies in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. If anyone knows, please do let me know.
Every one on the stage this evening was the epitome of talented. Every role, perfectly performed. Every song, every word, every dance move.
But the talent does not end with the cast. The brains behind the scene design (Stanley A.Meyer), Costume design (Ann Hould-Ward), Lighting design (Natasha Katz), Sound design (John Shivers), Illusion design (Jim Steinmeyer), Projection and Video design (Darrel Maloney), Hair and Make-up design (David H.Lawrence), Dance arranger (David Chase), Choreographers (Matt West, Chandon Jones, Nick Winston and Kella Panay), Musical director (Jonathan Gill) and all the many other Managers, Supervisors and Directors.
Everything worked tremendously well together and tonight will be a night that I remember for a very very long time. I could talk about this show for hours, but I want to leave some of the magic for you to experience yourself.
Do check out the fabulous merchandise stand whilst in the theatre. I may have treated myself to a blanket, water bottle and tote bag.
For more information on the show and to see what available tickets remain, please take a look here: https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/
Disclaimer: I was invited along to the Press/Media Event. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.