A lyric in the enchanting and haunting musical Beauty and
the Beast calls it a tale as old as
time and a song as old as rhyme.
Not too far off - if one allows for dramatic license.
The first identifiable text of the fairy tale dates back to
the 1700’s but the story existed in a variety of forms much, much earlier.
What gives this beloved classic such a long bookshelf life?
Academic studies of fairy tale plotlines have often found
deeper implications in seemingly simplistic stories.So too, it would appear, with this one – for Beauty
and the Beast seems to hold great sway over
the public imagination.
Myth, message and metaphor meet in this tale which can be interpreted
on several levels.It delights and
engages all ages.So, it is no
surprise to see grandparents, parents and children seated side by side - all
equally enthralled at the retelling of the beast tale and his “beauty” - who
saves him.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was a smash hit and the only animated film ever to be nominated in the
honored Best Picture Oscar category. The current Broadway musical version, which opened in 1994, has
recently past its 5000th consecutive performance!Success like that leaves no doubt about
the enormous appeal and popularity of this show.
Waltham’s Reagle Players is presenting this classic musical
August 10 – 19 starring two highly gifted Broadway performers.
Sarah Pfisterer plays the independently minded, bright and
brave Belle.Ms. Pfisterer won an
IRNE Award last year as Best Actress in a Musical for her leading performances
in Carousel and The Sound of
Music at Reagle.She also played the leading role of Magnolia in the Hal
Prince revival of Show Boat on
Broadway for two years and was the leading lady, Christine, in The
Phantom of the Opera for three years.
The Beast is portrayed by Fred Inkley, the original Beast in
the first national tour of the production.Reared on Cape Cod, Mr. Inkley was also seen on Broadway in
the leading role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables and most recently in Rodgers and Hart’s, The
Boys from Syracuse.
Fred Inkley in the 1st National Tour as The Beast
Beauty and the Beast
abounds in delightful supporting characters like the egotistical, narcissistic “clown
prince” Gaston and his toady sidekick Lefou.
In the cursed Beast’s castle lives his retinue – each trapped
in equally non human forms.
They include; the motherly cook turned teapot, Mrs. Potts
and her cracked teacup offspring, Chip, a Chevalieresque candlestick named Lumiere,
a babbling French feather duster appropriately called - Babette, a once famed
diva aptly titled Madame de la Grande Bouche – now an ornate grande dame
of a dresser and Cogsworth, all twitches and tics as the wall clock.
Songs and dances abound in this Academy Award nominated score
touting an Oscar winning Best Song.Standout moments include the bewitching title song and a choreographic culinary
extravaganza called Be Our Guest – a
fantastical and gustatory Ziegfeldian tribute to the art of dining!
Beauty and the Beast
is a show alive with stage magic.Spells are cast and grand transformations appear before one’s eyes.Ingenious costumes create all of the characters
condemned to living life as familiar household objects, until the magic of love
releases them – once again - into human form.Delightful and colorful sets, technical wizardry in make-up
magic and artful, adroit and canny costuming are familiar hallmarks of this
winning show.
A tale as old as time - is worth telling again.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast plays at the
Robinson Theatre, 617 Lexington Street in Waltham from August 10-19.Ten performances only!Tickets range from $48 - $35; Senior
Discount - $1.00 off per ticket; Child Rate $25.00 in any section for ages 5
-18.Special group rates are
available. Box office is open Mon. through Sat.Call the box office at 781-891-5600 or buy tickets online at
the Reagle web site www.reagleplayers.comDirections on web site. Air
conditioned.Plenty of free
parking.Wheelchair accessible.
Kate Swan started performing professionally in musicals at age 8.
Her dance studies in the Dallas area included training at the Etgen-Atkinson
School of Ballet (Dallas Metropolitan Ballet), Dallas Ballet Academy,
Krassovska Ballet Jeunesse, and the Chamberlain Ballet Company. Kate studied
for two summers in New York City at Lee Theodore's American Dancemachine, a
company dedicated to preserving Broadway theatre dance. After graduating from
Northwestern University with a degree in theatre, Kate worked as a performer in
Chicago briefly before being cast in the European tour of West Side Story with
stars from Jerome Robbins' Broadway and A Chorus Line: The Movie.
Shortly after moving to New York, Kate was hired as a
swing in the original Broadway company of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. She
moved up to dance captain the national tour and then the Broadway company. She
eventually became the Associate Choreographer for all productions worldwide,
mounting and/or maintaining the Broadway, US third national tour, UK tour,
Korea, and Brazil companies.
Kate has kept up a healthy and varied choreography career
since college, where she directed and produced Graffiti Dancers, a versatile
concert dance company. Her first co-choreography credit after graduating was
the World Premiere of Schoolhouse Rock Live!, which ran Off-Broadway shortly
thereafter. Kate works regularly at Wings Theatre in the west Village and at
the Fireside Theatre in Wisconsin. Her other regional work includes the
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Surflight Theatre,
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, and Purdue University Theatre.
Kate is also an avid teacher of theatre dance. Her classes
and seminars are based largely on the training she received as a teenager at
the American Dancemachine, emphasizing the popular and theatre dance styles of
the late 19th and 20th centuries. She is a constant student of all types of
theatre dance styles and choreographers, past and present, so that she can
create good, story-telling theatre dance for the future.
Kate is married to director/choreographer David Swan
(http://web.mac.com/dswandirector), resides in New Jersey, and has a daughter
and a cat.
