Jim on Film: Disney’s Broadway Babies
Page 3 of 3

Prince Eric

In the film, Prince Eric was really a standard Disney prince, perhaps a little more developed than Prince Phillip but certainly less so than the Beast or Aladdin. As the film is opened up for the stage, hopefully he will be given a stronger personality to fit the new needs of the expanded story. It’s really difficult to surmise good casting for Prince Eric simply because it’s hard to gauge how his character will change.

Jose Llana

There are a number of very talented performers out there who could do very well with the role no matter how Prince Eric changes. Jose Llana, who is currently hilarious in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and can be heard on the revival cast recordings of The King and I and Flower Drum Song, has such a beautiful voice, but on stage, he would probably look too old to be a lead opposite a youthful Ariel. Austin Miller, who was a funny and romantic (not to mention well-sung) Link Larkin in Hairspray on tour, would probably be able to pull off the youth and sing the part very well, but his striking resemblance to Harry Connick, Jr. might work against him. There was an interesting performer from the road company of the Julie Andrews-directed production of The Boy Friend. In the role of Bobby van Husen was a talented dancer named Rick Faugno who was like an atom bomb in the darkness of a very energy-less matinee performance. Literally, he was electric on stage and his energy could be felt in the audience as he revived the show’s lagging energy. I don’t remember his vocal style, but he would be a great find for Disney.

Rick Faugno

King Triton

To open up the character for the stage, it is likely King Triton will become a more comedic figure, his humor probably coming from the truth of his plight—a confused father struggling with the maturing of his emotional daughter (perhaps like Leon Ames’s father in the film of Meet Me in St. Louis, who is both realistically portrayed but quite comedic as well). But he will also need to have the warmth of a father figure because all of the mistakes he makes are a result of his love for his children. Likewise he will also need to have a commanding stage presence since he is, after all, king of the sea.

Chuck Wagner, a Disney favorite as the Beast in Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast, would make for a perfect King Triton. Best known for the very comedic role as Rapunzel’s Prince in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods, Wagner was a commanding force in the tour of Frank Wildhorn’s Jekyll and Hyde. He also proved his comedic side in the tour of the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, playing General Harrison Howell. Wagner has a strong baritone voice, which would likely be a good fitting with whatever songs must have been written for the stage Triton. Most importantly, Wagner is versatile and could bring needed depth to Triton’s character, giving him a commanding, authoritative presence tinted by his fatherly foibles.

Animal Characters

As much as I loved Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, they both always felt like square pegs on the stage. In watching Beauty and the Beast, for example, you just have to accept the fact that the tea pot is over five-feet tall and that the throw rug is rather lumpy. And I know the Beast has to open wide to get out held notes on “If I Can’t Love Her,�? but I find it unlikely that even he could fit a six-foot fork in his mouth. Similarly, Julie Taymor’s brilliant, Tony-award winning vision for The Lion King still seems like, at times, that it was created to put a very successful movie on stage rather than to take a great idea for a stage musical and do it. Under the guidance of Bob Crowley, much of that was eliminated in Tarzan by Bob Crowley and Ivo Coveney’s costumes for the apes. Augmented by costumes that suggest dark hair, Merle Dandridge, Shuler Hensley, and Chester Gregory’s movements suggest apes but retain their human qualities. The most important decision in this was to take the most film-based character and to remove him from the plot. Tantor is mentioned only once and is seen on stage only in the form of a silhouette-based animation projection. Personally, I think he could have been dropped altogether without the audience noticing; I know I wouldn’t have realized he was gone had he not been mentioned.

I’m curious how a hand-sized crab and a seagull will be handled on stage. I know it will never happen since Sebastian is one of Disney’s best-loved characters, but I almost wish that Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder (if he appears here) could be altered to creatures better suited to the stage.

It’s hard to dream about casting for these three characters without knowing how they will be accomplished. For example, I bet Tony-award winner Gary Beach would be great as Scuttle, but at this point in his career, I wonder how he would feel about being engulfed in a bird costume.

In addition to this, some of these characters could become traditional stage personas. Scuttle, for example, might be given a vaudeville turn in song, which would greatly affect his casting. He could be also given a central role in a big dance number, which would require the casting of a trained dancer instead. He could also undergo the gender changes given to Rafiki and Terk, which would make Gary Beach very awkward casting. In which case, Faith Prince would make a delightful Scuttle, but again, I wonder how she would feel about being engulfed in a bird costume at this point in her career.

Closing Thoughts: Beauty and the Beast

While recently making an all-too-rare visit to my favorite place in the whole world, New York City, I remember walking around the theatre district and pondering the current state of Broadway. I was thinking how I wished Beauty and the Beast would close to open up a theatre for non-corporate shows to find an audience. After all, it could soon happen that Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid are all occupying Broadway houses, which means that there will be a bottleneck for shows trying to get on Broadway, shows that will allow new talent to get heard—the next generation of Alan Menkens, Stephen Schwartzes, Stephen Sondheims, and Will Finns. Of course, Disney needs to keep their shows running for as long as they are profitable, and I’m sure the problem will resolve itself since I think five Disney shows will begin to spread the family audience thin (since the current tourists keeping Beauty and the Beast open will have an increasing number of shows from which to choose).

However, after seeing a few shows, I recognized the important place Beauty and the Beast currently has on Broadway. Of all the shows I’ve seen either on Broadway or on tour that are currently playing on Broadway, Beauty and the Beast is really the only choice for somewhat affordable family viewing. The Lion King and Wicked are both great family shows and deservedly very popular, but those are still two of the big tickets on Broadway. Not only is it a challenge for the average person to get tickets to those shows, but there are no discounts available, leaving the top ticket price prohibitive for the average family of four. Similarly Mary Poppins, which is coming from London with great word of mouth, will probably be a hot-ticket for a very long time, and while Tarzan hasn’t been quite the hot-ticket, it has not yet regularly been available at any significant discounts to make it feasible.

To my way of thinking, there are a lot of popular shows on the boards that seem like they would be good family choices—Hairspray, The Wedding Singer, The Drowsy Chaperone, Mamma Mia!, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—but they all contain jokes, language, or blocking that would make for some awkward questions from junior after the show. Right now, Beauty and the Beast is simply the best show for the average family wanting to see a show on Broadway. There is nothing to compare to The Music Man, The King and I, Mame, or the plethora of classy classic Broadway shows that were mature but not adult (or, like Kiss Me, Kate, were suggestive without being obvious to kids). Not only is Beauty and the Beast a highly enjoyable show that is suitable for kids and adults, but there is no stress or second mortgages needed to get tickets.

I originally saw Beauty and the Beast while it was on its First National Tour, and then I took a student group to see the downsized Second National Tour which reflects its current production after its move from the Palace Theatre to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. And their response to the show mirrored my own—they were awed and inspired, moved and charmed, and excited to see more Broadway shows touring through town. I have a feeling that kids who originally sat in the seats watching the original Broadway and touring casts are probably now lining up to buy tickets to The Wedding Singer, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Drowsy Chaperone and were inspired to create art and theatre in their own home towns because of that experience. There’s a reason why Beauty and the Beast has run for so long.

So, while I do hope there aren’t five Disney shows running at the same time, there is undeniably a place and need for a Beauty and the Beast.

Discuss It!

• Discuss this article on the LaughingPlace discussion board

Related Links

• List of all Jim On Film columns

-- Jim Miles

-- Posted September 25, 2006