Last night, my fella and I went to see Beauty and
the Beast at the Synetic Theater. Of course, I had to dress the part wearing my Heidi Daus black rose necklace and my new Betsey Johnson Chapter by Chapter clutch.
I’m included two trailers that are slightly
different and if you take a moment to view them you’ll see what they meant when
they advertised a “Gothic romance”. The theatrical effects including shadow
puppetry, the athleticism of the actors, and the gorgeous staging helped to
retell this classic story. It was dark, bewitching, and a bit eerie. Nothing of
this production felt Disney-like :D 
The story begins with a crow… a talking crow
although she reminds us that crows don’t talk. She tells the story of a girl in
the woods who draws the attention of a handsome young prince. Because she wasn’t
the “princess type”, the prince’s family is furious and asks him what he’s
done. The prince cries “witch” stating that he was bewitched into falling for
her. So the not-so-sensible royal family burns her to death! But perhaps young
Emmeranne was a witch because her energy transforms into our crow-narrator and
the prince is cursed and becomes a beast. The story then becomes somewhat
traditions—Beast must get Belle to fall for him; bookish Belle resists until…
Witch Emmeranne, who has the only speaking role of
the entire performance, really had me on her side. I mean, she did burn to
death because of him and they had been in love!
The ending is purposely cryptic and my fella and I
spent our drive home and parts of today discussing *what really happened*… of
course Belle falls for the Beast but is it too late? There is a great deal of
time overlap and what may have been reality but then it may have been a fairy
tale. In all Beauty and the Beast versions, I’m always fussy about when the
Beauty falls for the Beast he transforms into a prince or king (blah blah blah…
how banal!) I want the Beast to stay the Beast and be loved just the way he is.
But no, that isn’t how this story goes… or is it? There is a dying scene and
Belle does appear to arrive too late… but then there is a transformation with
the Beast becoming a king and dancing with Belle… but then Witch Emmeranne ends
just how she begins. “Fairy tales aren’t real. Neither are talking crows”.
Oh wow, sounds like a great time! You are so lucky you were able to go see that
ReplyDeleteI am lucky! We were supposed to go with friends on Jan. 2 but my fella was sick. Thankfully we were able to change our tickets by just paying a small fee.
DeleteI always wanted the Beast to stay how he was too, he was so cute and fluffy! You might like the book Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley.
ReplyDeleteOooh it does sound dark and fascinating, and your up in the air ending sounds exciting but frustrating!
Ha ha I LOVE vague endings :D
DeleteOooh, I just googled the book. Yes, I need to add this to my list.
DeleteBeauty beast has to be my favourite story of all time, since being a child. As I got older, I developed the Same opinion as yourself why couldn't the beast remain in his present state
ReplyDeleteI think you would have loved this production. It really went into the back story of why the Beast ends up as a beast. It made me sympathetic for the Beast and for the witch, Emmeranne.
DeleteI love your necklace. I don`t think I could manage a long performance in a theatre, but I`m glad you both had a good night out.
ReplyDeleteThanks and Thanks! This necklace is my recent obsession.
DeleteMy fella said it could have been ten minutes shorter but I was engaged the entire performance. The visuals were amazing!
Wow this looks amazing. I saw Dracula years ago performed by the Northern Ballet Company and watching these trailers has made me want to go again :)
ReplyDeleteA few years back, the Washington Ballet performed Michael Pink’s Dracula at the Kennedy Center. I splurged on box seats and they were worth every penny! That was the best. I would just die if I got to go again (ridiculous pun intended).
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