Beauty and the Beast is a timeless story which has been told many times and in many ways, but kids are most familiar, of course, with the Disney version. This fall, Disney will re-release their acclaimed version of Beauty and the Beast on Blu-ray in a Diamond Edition. What I didn't realize until recently, though, it that there is also a touring Broadway musical version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. We saw the show last night in Dallas at the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House (if you don't live near Dallas, check the tour schedule to find out when it will be in a city near you), and as promised, here is a follow up.
We took all three of our kids (our youngest is 2). I will admit, I was nervous about bringing a 2-year-old to a musical; however, she does sit well through other things -- like movies and church -- so I crossed my fingers and we went for it. We were among many with kids in the audience, and we could hear little outbursts from children here and there throughout the show, so that took a little of the pressure off as far as keeping the kids absolutely silent. The fact that the characters were familiar and the kids knew the story was a huge advantage. They got very excited when each character came out on stage, and they loved hearing the songs they knew sung by real people.
The musical version follows the Disney story very closely, but there is some humor and additional musical numbers added in. Quite a few times, I heard the musical sound of kids in the audience laughing out loud. I also heard a small chorus of worried or slightly fearful expressions when the Beast entered the scene, and especially at the end when Gaston goes after the Beast. We had to reassure our 5-year-old that the knife was not real, and the actors are probably good friends in real life. The musical version contains a few references to drinking, a couple of suggestive jokes and a few slightly risqué costumes, but overall is a fun and family-friendly show.
Needless to say, our kids were in heaven the whole evening. They were all able to sit through the show with only a few squirmy moments from the little one, and it was a great opportunity to expose them to the arts and teach them performance etiquette. A variety of live shows, musicals, and sometimes even symphony performances are geared toward families, and are often based on kids' favorite characters from TV or movies. These shows provide a perfect opportunity to pique kids' interests in performing arts of all kinds.
(Photo credit: Peter Coombs)
Family Films
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