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Tale as old as time: 'Beauty and the Beast' comes to Albuquerquerque Little Theatre
Caleb Esquivel is the Beast and Tiana Youtzy plays Belle in 鈥淏eauty and the Beast.鈥�
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This beauty tames her beast.
The Albuquerque Little Theatre is staging 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� for the first time since the pandemic, beginning on Friday, Dec. 6. Performances run through Dec. 24.
鈥淚t was set to run in 2020,鈥� said manager Brian Clifton. 鈥淲e got three performances and then the pandemic shut us down.鈥�
Much of the cast and crew is returning from that short-lived run, he said.
Bookworm Belle lives in France. She dreams of adventure while rejecting the advances of Gaston, an arrogant hunter.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the local meathead,鈥� Clifton said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a chauvinist.鈥�
Belle has little interest in finding a husband; she鈥檚 more interested in reading and learning.
When wolves attack Belle鈥檚 widowed father Maurice, he seeks refuge in the prince鈥檚 castle. The Beast imprisons Maurice after catching him stealing a rose from the garden for Belle. Belle offers to take her father鈥檚 place as prisoner; the Beast agrees.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like this tug of war between Belle and the Beast,鈥� Clifton said.
The Beast is really a selfish and cruel prince placed under a spell by an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman. She offers him a rose in exchange for shelter from a storm.
When he rebuffs her, she reveals her true form and transforms him into a beast and his servants into a candelabra, a mantle clock and a wardrobe, among other household objects. To break the curse, the prince must learn to love someone and be loved before the rose sheds its last petal; otherwise, he will remain a beast forever.
But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the classic 鈥楤eauty and the Beast鈥� that we all know and love,鈥� Clifton said.
Eighteenth century French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve is the author of the oldest known version of 鈥淏eauty and the Beast.鈥� Disney turned the fairy tale into an animated feature in 1991 and a live-action movie in 2017 with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. The musical spent 13 years on Broadway. Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production alongside lyricist Rice, replacing Ashman, who died during the production of the 1991 film. The show鈥檚 popularity resulted in 37 productions world-wide.
