disney's beauty and the beast at the CCP manila

my friend kc and i almost didn't get to see the first eleven minutes of disney's "beauty and the beast." we had made it just in time, but the first few notes of the overture was already starting to play, and the usher wouldn't let us in. we were horrified. luckily, another usher told usher number one to just let us sit on the seats close to the door; we can move to the seats we paid for during the intermission.

it didn't matter where we sat, though, as the show was highly entertaining from start to finish. i actually enjoyed being high enough to see the orchestra. as the familiar story unfolded, i tried to keep myself from singing loudly along: "there goes the baker with his tray like always..."

the voice of belle was incredibly spot on, the timbre of her voice was enchanting. gaston was appropriately annoying. initially, i was put-off by the portrayal of the beast as a whiny teenager--his movements were less than regal, a far cry from the skulking, stalking beast of the movie. but as the show went on, i came to accept this version of the beast; i also realized it made sense for him to act this way--after all, he was quite young when he was cursed by the enchantress, and being stuck in a castle with living inanimate objects probably didn't contribute much to his maturity. (sige, i-justify pa natin.)

the production design was also impressive, especially the economy of the set. there were so many things and cast members pulling double duty without sacrificing the presentation. it was all so amazing to see how they made it work.

the whole show was such a treat, kc and i enjoyed it so much. one of the numbers i was so entertained by was the beer mug dance during the "gaston" song. i also got to hear "human again," which was cut from the original movie and replaced by "something there." the song fits very well into the live production.

the entire musical ran for almost two hours, but we hardly felt it, as it was such a wonderful show. for a thirty-two-year-old like myself, seeing lumiere, cogsworth, the wardrobe, mrs. potts, little ol' chip riding on a cart tray, and even the feisty babette in the flesh (but as inanimate objects), dancing and singing the songs etched in my mind from all the rewatches, was such a thrilling experience.

i'm certainly looking forward to the next disney production coming our way.