{"id":74418,"date":"2016-03-15T07:31:15","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T12:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=74418"},"modified":"2016-03-15T07:31:15","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T12:31:15","slug":"review-beauty-the-beast-high-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/03\/15\/review-beauty-the-beast-high-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: ‘Beauty & the Beast’ high quality"},"content":{"rendered":"

A. KOCH\/<\/strong>for the Van Wert independent<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cA Broadway experience with a hometown style\u201d! These words came to life with Van Wert Civic Theatre\u2019s production of Disney\u2019s Beauty and The Beast. <\/em>A Broadway-quality performance presented by phenomenal local actors and actresses, Van Wert Civic Theatre can be proud of this exceptional production.<\/p>\n

For a \u201ctale as old as time,\u201d the hardy Disney musical adaptation, based on the studio\u2019s animated 1991 \u201cBest Picture\u201d Oscar nominee, still has the ability to enchant an audience of children. And, apparently, plenty of parents or kids at heart, too, as the roar during curtain call for leads Victoria Recker (Belle) and Jared Benson (Beast) took on a distinct life of their own.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Beast (Jared Benson) and Belle (Victoria Recker) from a scene from Van Wert Civic Theatre’s production of Disney’s Beauty & the Beast<\/em>.<\/strong> (VWCT photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Credit an engaging cast who can pull some honest adult emotions from the Disney show\u2019s broad humor and cartoon roots. Recker is particularly charming: The actress has a clear voice, pretty face, and is inspiring as the resourceful and bookish Belle, who stumbles upon the cursed Beast. Belle\u2019s love has the power to lift a spell and return the horned creature to an ordinary-looking prince.<\/p>\n

Benson has just the right hint of menace to balance the jokey silliness that sometimes creeps into his role in the second act. His singing is also poignant and commanding on his showpiece number,\u00a0\u201cIf I Can\u2019t Love Her\u201d, which closes the first act.<\/p>\n

The plot thickens and comedy ensues when we meet Beast\u2019s quirky and adorable castle staff — humans turned into household objects, including a candelabra, Lumiere (Ken Markward); a teapot, Mrs. Potts (Stacy Rife), and teacup, Chip (Grace Sadowski and Tess Vonderwell); a clock, Cogsworth (Daniel Sanderson); a feather duster, Babette (Kim Warnecke); and a dresser, Madame Wardrobe (Kirsten Logan); by a sorceress who disdains the Beast\u2019s cruel arrogance.<\/p>\n

The actors are all so entertaining and likable, but Lumiere, with his consistent French accent, and Babette, with her ever growing feathers command the stage every time they appear.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0\u201cBe Our Guest\u201d\u00a0number, a festive kitchenware extravaganza, and \u201cHuman Again\u201d are the two numbers, with the entire cast on stage, youth and adult, that remains irresistible entertainment.<\/p>\n

With a cast this large, it is difficult to mention every standout character on the stage, but I have to mention the outstanding soloists: Mrs. Potts singing the signature song \u201cBeauty and The Beast\u201d was truly enchanting, while Lumiere and ensemble on \u201cBe Our Guest\u201d, <\/em>Belle on \u201cIs This Home\u201d and \u201cA Change in Me\u201d, <\/em>Beast on \u201cIf I Can\u2019t Love Her\u201d, <\/em>Maurice (Warren Bowery) \u201cNo Matter What\u201d, <\/em>Gaston (Stan Lippi) \u201cMe\u201d, <\/em>and who can forget his sidekick, Lefou (Josh Adcock).<\/p>\n

All these are accompanied by a live orchestra: Dee Fisher, piano; Tammy Landwehr, flute; Jane Stevens, clarinet\/sax; Dennis Hickey, baritone; and Elliot Mueller, percussion.<\/p>\n

There is one more weekend, March 17-20, to see this magnificent production, but I am warning you, call the Van Wert Civic Theatre box office, 419.238.9689, Monday through Saturday, 2-6 p.m., to reserve your seat: this show has been selling out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A. KOCH\/for the Van Wert independent \u201cA Broadway experience with a hometown style\u201d! These words came to life with Van Wert Civic Theatre\u2019s production of Disney\u2019s Beauty and The Beast. A Broadway-quality performance presented by phenomenal local actors and actresses, Van Wert Civic Theatre can be proud of this exceptional production. For a \u201ctale as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 19:11:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}