It’s not every day that the original creative team behind a smash Broadway musical comes back to the drawing board after more than a decade to reinvent their work. The NETworks production of “Beauty and the Beast” that at Fox Theatre Jan.12-16 reunited the creative team behind the 1994 Broadway musical that ran for 13 years.
Director Rob Roth, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, scenic designer Stan Meyer and writer of both the Disney screenplay and the Broadway stage script Linda Woolverton were among the stagecraft elders who worked hands-on with this young, cast to present a reverent version of the musical to a new generation of audiences.
“When they first were contacted to do this show in ’94, it was Disney saying ‘put the movie on stage,’” said Liz Shivener, who plays Belle.
“So they did that. Now, they’ve been given the opportunity to change things they wanted to change and to take more liberties.”
This time around, the overall look is lighter and more theatrical, Shivener said, with the themes of layers and transparency now visible in the set design and costumes as much as they are in the script.
“There used to be a huge, solid immovable castle set. It was impressive to look at, but now it’s broken up into three pieces. It’s beautiful the way the set moves and breathes around us.”
Shivener, 23, was only 4 years old when the film came out and said by the time she was 9, she knew every word.
“I was sitting on my great grandmother’s lap in the movie theater, weeping hysterically when I thought the beast had died. She was telling me, ‘keep watching, keep watching.’ One of the challenging things about doing the show was that I had to re-memorize all of the things they had changed. Belle is a really important character to me. I just love her and I love who she is underneath that big gold ballgown. My favorite thing about her is that she creates her own story.”
Multi-generational connections are important in every aspect of this touring production. Not just in the excitement around introducing children and young adults to the performance, but also between the veteran creators and the actors.
“It’s a really young cast,” said Ann Hould-Ward, who won a Tony Award in 1994 for “Beauty and the Beast.” “They were just kids when they saw this show. They were so awed by the fact that they were there with the team of people who did it, and what we loved was their pure joy and excitement over doing it.”
“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12-14; 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 15. 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 16. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., Atlanta. $25-$60. 1-800-982-2787; www.ticketmaster.com. Ticketholders who cannot make the Wednesday performance due to weather conditions may exchange their tickets for another performance through Sunday.
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