Leave it to Cal State Fullerton’s musical-theater majors to give audiences a Disney’s Beauty And The Beast that tops just about every professional production I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a bunch.

It helps enormously that Martie Ramm’s direction is the very definition of inspired, that William F. Lett’s choreography adds its own fresh originality, and that Colby Nordberg’s LED projections give this Beauty And The Beast a spectacularly gorgeous new look.

Still, it’s once again the Department Of Theatre & Dance’s Broadway/regional theater-bound juniors and seniors who prove themselves the evening’s brightest rising stars, with Lauren Bollard (Belle), Jack O’Leary (Beast), and Dillon Klena (Gaston) delivering lead performances that can hold their own against virtually any professional production’s leading players.

It’s hard to believe that over a quarter-century has passed since Disney’s take on the fairy-tale classic made movie history by becoming the first full-length animated feature to score a Best Picture Oscar nomination.

Those who haven’t yet experienced Disney’s Beauty And The Beast live on stage may wonder how its 1994 Broadway adaptation managed to recreate with living, breathing actors the animated film’s Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts, servants transformed by an enchantress’s spell into items of furniture, especially in production numbers like “Be Our Guest.”

Suffice it to say that Disney’s Beauty And The Beast’s book writer Linda Woolverton and the show’s creators came up with ingenious solutions likely to surprise those who may have thought it couldn’t be done.

The 84-minute film’s original songs (music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman) have been supplemented by a number of tuneful additions (lyrics by Tim Rice) which serve to flesh out and enrich Woolverton’s characters, and though the stage musical’s longer running time will test the attention span of children under five, this is ideal family entertainment for elementary school-aged and up, the kind that adults can enjoy every bit as much as the kiddies. (Indeed there was hardly a child in attendance at Wednesday’s evening performance, whose adult audience gave the production quite possibly the most rousing standing ovation I’ve seen in over ten years of attending Cal State Fullerton productions.)

Bollard is everything you want Belle to be, lovely of face, spunky of heart, and exquisite of voice, and O’Leary isn’t just a 6’4” brute, his tantrum-prone Beast combines the hurt and heart of a wounded child, rich vocals, and more than any other Beast I’ve seen, transforms into a bona fide Disney prince once divested of makeup, horns, and mane.

As for Gaston, not only is Klena a unabashed scene-stealer as the most full-of-himself muscle-bound poser in small provincial town history, he scores bonus points for his transformation from big-ego, big-biceped, big-voiced comic relief to the most despicable of villains, and Steven Ruvalcaba’s gloriously goofy comic sidekick of a Lefou gives Klena the most adoring of human punching bags to punch around.

Supporting roles are brought to vivid life by one absolutely terrific student performer after another, from James Meske, who makes Lumiere a joie-de-vivre-filled mix of Maurice Chevalier and Yves Montand (look them up!) to Gabriel Manley’s deliciously prim-and-proper (and veddy British) Cogsworth to Kaden Nary’s sweetly paternal Maurice to Jessica Pierini’s warmly maternal Mrs. Potts to Corinn Szostkiewicz’s saucy, spicy Babette to Natalie Giannosa’s high-note-hitting diva of a Madame De La Grande Bouche to Seann Altman’s Interview With The Vampire-ready Monsieur D’Arque, to dance captain Brianna Clark, Taylor Evans, and Brooke Gatto’s giddy trio of Silly Girls, to Samantha Dorfman’s boyishly bubbly Chip.

Lett’s ebullient choreography (his show-stopping “Gaston” featuring hilarious new takes on the number’s trademark steinography) gives Titan triple-threats Gabrielle Adner, Sidney Aptaker, Damien Arteaga, Amanda Domb, Allison King, Helen McCormick, Jonah Meyer, Amanda Neiman, Katherine Paladichuk, Marlon James Magtibay, Kai Rosales, Ramon Solis III, Maddie Stirrett, William Hawkes, and Ailie Wood their own opportunities to shine while harmonizing to Corey Hirsch’s expert musical direction and the ten-piece orchestra he conducts. (Did I mention that this Beauty And The Beast shows off Flying By Foy in several moments of gravity-defying wonder?)

 Last but not least, townsfolk Felicity Bryant, Jessica Bustios, Destiny Denny-Ellis, Layla Elefante, Audrey Forrester, Maya Elizabeth Garza, December Hassler, Jessica Kilgore, Sarika Mande, Alana Ruhe, and Casey Wathen give this B&TB a “cast of thousands” look.

And speaking of looks, Fred Kinney’s storybook sets and Kathryn Wilson’s fairtytale costumes provided by Costume World Theatrical, Jeffrey Teeter’s vibrant lighting, Remy Fogelman’s makeup and hair designs (special snaps to Beast’s frighteningly beastly visage), and Adam Sack’s crystal-clear sound design (and appropriately booming/cavernous effects inside Beast’s castle) are all pro-quality excellent, as is Michael Polak’s to-the-death fight choreography.

Still, what makes this Disney’s Beauty And The Beast magnificently one-of-a-kind where design is concerned are Nordberg’s stunningly three-dimensional animated projections, which not only give the show’s backdrops a minutely-detailed Technicolor richness, they turn “Be Our Guest” into the first I’ve seen to match the animated original’s breathtaking brilliance, and the climactic storm sequence is a humdinger too as is Beast’s cinematic, high-flying spin into the dreamiest of princes.

Madison Walsh is stage manager and Jaclyn Gehringer, Dakota Johnson, and Kaylee Mesa are assistant stage managers. Russell Mackensen is technical director and thomas Challain and Jonathan Lay are assistant technical directors. Collin Higgins alternates in the role of Chip.

If you haven’t yet discovered CSUF’s Department Of Theatre & Dance, Disney’s Beauty And The Beast will have you wanting to come back for more. It’s one of Cal State Fullerton’s absolute best.

Little Theatre, California State University Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton.
http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/theatre/events/td_productions.php

–Steven Stanley
October 23, 2019
Photos: Jordan Kubat Photography

Tags: Alan Menken, Cal State Fullerton, Howard Ashman, Orange County Theatre Review, Tim Rice