Review: 'Disney's Beauty and the Beast' by Artful Living

Pictured above: Tullio Milini as Beast and Johanna Regan as Belle in Artful Living's production of DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND BEAST All the images by SLB Photography

Killingworth, CT - The 100 community theatre artists of Artful Living have been working for three months to put together their lavish production of DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and are presenting the finished product this weekend at the Wagner Theatre in H-K Middle School. The classic tale as old as time features music by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton; the Artful Living production was directed, produced and production designed by the always artful Christopher Solimene.

The lavish musical DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the romantic fairy tale of the Beast who could only be saved by love. Patrons of any age appreciate the unforgettable songs like "Be Our Guest" and "Beauty and the Beast," as well as the magical elements of this classic fairy tale about inner beauty and the concept of home.

What makes Artful Living productions unique is the multigenerational aspect of their casting. Children as young as eight work on the stage with senior citizens who are veteran actors, allowing audience members of all ages to have someone with whom they can identify and support. There is always a very large multiage adult ensemble and an equally impressive children’s ensemble with a fair amount of time on stage. The actors chosen to take on the leading roles in the cast of characters are talented members of the community that share their experience with the other members of the cast.

Costumes from multiple sources reflected the beauty of the fairy tale. The lighting in Beast’s castle sometimes moved from moody to bordering on too dark to see the actors, but the castle set was quite impressive. Musical direction was by Joel Spineti and the orchestra of 11 musicians conducted by Nick Stanford was simply spectacular. The choreography was designed by Paola Rarick and sound design by Jim Kane was seamless.

I loved how the introductory scene was acted out by the enchantress and the prince. Beautifully painted panels by April Chateaunouf allowed for the transformation of the Young Prince into the Beast and back again. And the duck that was shot by Gaston falling down to the stage was a fun touch.

Johanna Regan, who played Mary Poppins in MARY POPPINS, has finished her Masters degree and is now a teacher. She returns to Artful Living to don the iconic yellow gown and take on the role of the beautiful Belle. Ms. Regan never lost the strong character of this young lady who wants more than this provincial life and she used her spectacular singing voice to render a heart wrenching “Is This Home?” Kudos to her on another fine performance.

Tullio Milani looked fierce as the fearsome Beast and sang “If I Can’t Love Her” with sincerity. Stephen Michelsson took on the cartoonish role of Gaston and did very well; his signature number “Gaston” was a hit with the audience and all of his interactions with LaFou (played with great comic timing and plenty of pratfalls by Jake Lanning) were fun.

“Who has brains like Gaston?
Entertains like Gaston?
Who can make up these endless refrains like Gaston?” - “Gaston”

Matthew Carlson had a great French accent and wonderful stage presence as the candelabra Lumiere and Chris Ceplenski (THE MUSIC MAN) played his sidekick Cogsworth the enchanted clock. Long-time Artful Living participant Divinna Schmitt was a beautiful Mrs. Potts in a great teapot costume, and the head of Sophia Miller was her son, the teacup named Chip.

Standout performance for me was Michael Cartwright in the role of Belle’s “crazy” father Maurice. I knew that Mr. Cartwright had a powerful singing voice and he used it well for “No Matter What.” I was most impressed with his fine acting and the familial chemistry with the actress playing his daughter.

Simone Liberty charmed us as the coquette Babette and Patricia Barbano-Parczany, who toured with HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and was Mrs. Paroo in MUSIC MAN, showed off her operatic voice in the role of Madame Bouche. The Silly Girls included Arantza Condie, Alexis Hartman and Amanda Lyn Lucas. Dieter Parczany (MUSIC MAN) was the mysterious Monsieur D’Arque in a scene that took place among the audience and Jessica Chan played the enchantress that set everything into action. Galen Donovan appeared as the young prince and the Beast double (it’s complicated) and you can watch for him during the curtain call.

The whopping 25 members of the adult ensemble, which included many members of the same family, had lots to sing and dance. The youngest members of the cast in the children’s group, many of whom were related to older people on the stage, also did a great job of adding the charm to this production. I loved when they appeared as school children in two lines in the first production number “Belle.”

I had the pleasure of sitting next to the talented Iris Davies who played Jane Banks in MARY POPPINS and her mother. During intermission we reminisced about the fire drill that happened on the opening night of that production. The remaining performance of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is Sunday July 29 precisely at 2:00 pm. Tickets for reserved seating are $20 for adults and $15 for children and senior citizens. The fully air-conditioned (bring a sweater) and disability-accessible Wagner Theater is located within Haddam-Killingworth Middle School located at 451 Route 81 Killingworth, CT 06419.