{"id":20086,"date":"2016-07-22T00:46:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T07:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=20086"},"modified":"2016-07-19T17:59:59","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T00:59:59","slug":"loves-potential-centre-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/07\/22\/loves-potential-centre-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Love\u2019s potential centre stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Montgomery as Tony and Jennifer Gillis as Maria have a great chemistry and energy on stage. (photo by Tim Matheson)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Love conquers all. Then again, sometimes, it just isn\u2019t enough. Theatre Under the Stars explores the power \u2013 and limits \u2013 of love in its two productions this year: Beauty and the Beast<\/em> and West Side Story<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Love\u2019s transformative power plays front and centre in Beauty and the Beast<\/em>. The story begins at a prince\u2019s castle, where he refuses to help a beggar. It turns out the woman is a sorceress and she puts a curse on the household, turning him into a beast and all the house staff into objects. It\u2019s a slow-acting spell though, so everyone is in a state of transition, which will be complete when the last petal of a rose falls \u2013 unless the prince-cum-beast can fall in love and<\/em> be loved in return.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Belle lives in a village with her inventor father \u2013 the townspeople think he\u2019s crazy and she\u2019s odd, as she rarely has her nose out of a book. But she is beautiful, as her name suggests, and the most-sought-after man in the village, the handsome, muscle-bound and narcissistic hunter Gaston, is smitten. He is determined to have Belle for his wife.<\/p>\n

\"photo
Victor Hunter as Lumi\u00e8re, left, and Steven Greenfield as Cogsworth are a superb comedy team. (photo by Tim Matheson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the TUTS production, Jaime Piercy as Belle is the strongest singer by far, though the overall best actor in the show is, hands down \u2013 combining acting, singing and dancing \u2013 Victor Hunter as Lumi\u00e8re, the slender and bendy ma\u00eetre d\u2019 who is transforming into a candelabra; his comedy partner, Steven Greenfield as Cogsworth, the butler becoming a clock, also stands out.<\/p>\n

Dane Szohner as Gaston is hilarious and his singing is energetic and enthusiastic, if not always on key, and Sheryl Anne Wheaton as Mrs. Potts \u2013 the cook becoming a teapot \u2013 is delightful, her rendition of the title song perfect. Jewish community member Bodhi Cutler does a fine job as Mrs. Potts\u2019 young son, who spends most of the night wheeled around in a tea trolley with only his face seen in the body of the teacup into which his character is transforming. Fellow Jewish community member Julian Lokash shows his dancing skills in a few numbers, including as an unidentifiable household object in \u201cBe Our Guest,\u201d which is wonderfully performed by numerous cast members \u2013 and the orchestra, which was great throughout, led by musical director Wendy Bross Stuart, another Jewish community member involved in the production.<\/p>\n

While some of the household items are hard to discern \u2013 including one talented cart-wheeling rug (?) \u2013 and the angry wolves that beset people in the forest look more like black cats, in general, the costumes by Chris Sinosich are spot on, as per the Disney movie on which the musical is based. As Belle comes to dinner in one of the final scenes, adorned in her signature gold ball gown, one young audience member couldn\u2019t contain her excitement, happily exclaiming, \u201cShe\u2019s wearing the Belle gown!\u201d<\/p>\n

By that point in the opening night show, the Beast, played by Peter Monaghan, had settled into his role. In the first half, with only limited lines, it was hard to tell what Monaghan was trying to do with his character, his grunts and hunched-over movements not scary or funny. In the second half, however, he found his feet and his attempts to woo Belle \u2013 with the very amusing help of Lumi\u00e8re and Cogsworth \u2013 were well done.<\/p>\n

Most of the princesses in the audience \u2013 several girls dressed up for the show \u2013 enjoyed the over-the-top acting, as did the adults, but there were a couple of frightening moments. At the beginning, Gaston is hunting and a gunshot goes off, which put at least one little girl into tears momentarily. And there was a lot of quiet in the audience much later, when Belle\u2019s father is almost hauled off to an insane asylum by a jilted Gaston. To stop that from happening, Belle shows the crowd the Beast through a magic mirror to prove that her father really had seen a \u201cmonster\u201d and isn\u2019t crazy. This sets the mob, led by Gaston \u2013 who is now also jealous because he realizes that Belle loves the Beast \u2013 to the castle and the ultimate fight between the two men, which leads to a dire end for Gaston and near-death for the Beast. There were audible gasps when the Beast becomes human again, as do all his servants.<\/p>\n

There is no such happy ending in West Side Story<\/em>, of course. On opening night, the Romeo and Juliet<\/em>-inspired tale of gang rivalries turned deadly was intensely and movingly acted. The reality \u2013 as much as can exist in a musical \u2013 was increased by having some Spanish-speaking actors who get to reel off several lines in Spanish and, with some exceptions (such as Jewish community member Kat Palmer as Consuelo), having non-white actors playing the Puerto Rican Sharks and their entourage, while the Jets and their friends, as well as the police, are played by seemingly white actors. Normally, color doesn\u2019t matter in casting, but the whole point of this musical is that fear and racism can be fatal, and the visual clues are helpful in sending this message home.<\/p>\n

While the acting in this production is top-notch, the only performer who is a triple threat \u2013 singing, dancing and acting very well \u2013 is Daniel James White as Riff, the leader of the Jets. The Sharks\u2019 leader, Bernardo, played by Alen Dominguez, doesn\u2019t get much chance to sing, but handles himself well in the other two departments.<\/p>\n

The doomed romantic duo, former Jets leader Tony (Matt Montgomery) and Bernando\u2019s sister Maria (Jennifer Gillis), have a great chemistry and energy on stage, and they really do seem head over heels in love \u2013 and then completely lost and distraught when the rumble between the gangs goes lethally wrong. Montgomery has a lovely tenor voice but some of his notes\/words are lost, while Gillis has some beautiful moments \u2013 Maria is a hard, high part to sing, and Gillis makes a valiant effort.<\/p>\n

On the acting front, Alexandra Lainfiesta, who plays Bernando\u2019s girlfriend and Maria\u2019s confidante, is fabulous and almost steals the show. She plays a range of emotions convincingly, from the genuine joy and mischievousness she has in the song \u201cAmerica\u201d to the defiance and anger she has in the upsetting and disturbing \u201cThe Taunting.\u201d (Parental advisory: in this pivotal scene, the Jets\u2019 sexual assault of Anita is more than implied.)<\/p>\n

As much as there is heartbreak and horror in West Side Story<\/em>, there is humor and hope. While cheesily done, this production has a young actress representing hope and her role at the end will choke people up a bit, as will the solo reprise by Daren Dyhengco of the song \u201cSomewhere\u201d for the appropriately subdued finale.<\/p>\n

Among the highlights of this production, directed almost perfectly by Sarah Rodgers \u2013 the only scene that drags is the one in which Tony and Maria declare their intention to marry \u2013 is the choreography by Jewish community member Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg. Off-kilter movements, unique body angles, more use of the hands and shoulders than usual, judicious use of slow-motion (in the scene where Tony and Maria first meet) and other Friedenbergesque touches inject life into the musical, which is heavily dance-based.<\/p>\n

Beauty and the Beast<\/em> and West Side Story<\/em> run until Aug. 20 on alternate evenings at Stanley Park\u2019s Malkin Bowl. For tickets, visit tuts.ca<\/a> or call 1-877-840-0457.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matt Montgomery as Tony and Jennifer Gillis as Maria have a great chemistry and energy on stage. (photo by Tim Matheson) Love conquers all. Then again, sometimes, it just isn\u2019t enough. Theatre Under the Stars explores the power \u2013 and limits \u2013 of love in its two productions this year: Beauty and the Beast and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[6119,4148,4462,1689,1686,6120],"class_list":["post-20086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-beaty-and-the-beast","tag-malkin-bowl","tag-musical","tag-theatre-under-the-stars","tag-tuts","tag-west-side-story"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}