Disney’s Beauty & The Beast ready to thrill Manila

MANILA, Philippines - “I can’t wait to see Manila and perform for the Filipino audience,” gushed actress Hilary Maiberger, who plays Belle in the first-ever international tour of Disney’s timeless classic Beauty And The Beast, which will hit Manila January 2015.

“I haven’t been to Asia, but the Philippines already has a soft spot in my heart because one of my best friends Laura is Filipino,” the gorgeous California-native told The Philippine STAR at a recent press conference for the 10-country tour of the musical which kicked off last Oct. 8 in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Laura, in fact, is going to the Philippines to see me and catch the show. I’m so excited to meet the people, see the beautiful beaches and try delicious food.”

Darick Pead, who plays the Beast, is also a first-timer in Asia and is learning about the Philippines with the help of his brother, who served for two years as a church missionary in Cebu City.

“My brother has a lot of Filipino friends there and he has been telling me about the buses and jeepneys and how crazy and exciting it is to travel in the Philippines,” Pead said. “I’ve also been checking out blogs about the Philippines. So excited.”

The Manila staging of Beauty And The Beast brought to life specifically by the original Broadway creative team in celebration of the musical’s 20th anniversary will take place at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from Jan. 11 to 25, 2015.

The inclusion of Manila in the musical’s international tour is a testament to the high esteem of the theater world for the Philippines as an emerging market in staging huge productions of live entertainment, according to theater executive Liz Coops, producer for Broadway Entertainment Group, which has collaborated with Disney Theatrical Productions and NETWorks, in bringing to the Philippines and nine other countries the enthralling Disney classic.

In an interview with The STAR, Coops declared the Philippines as today’s premier Asian market in theater production, prompting Coops and her team to make Manila the first stop in the Asian leg of the international tour.

“From Milan to Manila,” she remarked, referring to the tour’s stopovers in Istanbul (Turkey), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Thessalonik (Greece), Trieste (Italy) and Milan (Italy) before heading to Manila. After the Philippines, the show is flying to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and, finally, Macau (at the famous Venetian Theater).

Coops said she has visited Manila several times to see the logistics, and she liked what she saw.

“The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a fantastic venue,” she said. “It’s a classic theater where major musicals are performed. We went there to see Wicked and a couple of other productions. We simply waited for the right time to bring Beauty And  The Beast there.”

“The overwhelming interest of the Filipino people towards theater is another big factor,” Coops said. “We have a fantastic response because we have a beautiful production of a magnificent family show. It’s magical for kids; it’s also spectacular for couples and adults because it’s a love story.”

“Disney is a very well-known brand in the Philippines, be they in films, television, publications, and it just felt it’s the right time to bring there this large-scale production,” Coops also said.

It doesn’t hurt, she added, that the Philippines is home to Broadway and international star Lea Salonga, who has lent her singing voice to two of Disney’s beloved princesses, Jasmine and Mulan, on the big screen.

It was during one of those trips to Manila, Coops said, that she met veteran concert promoter Renen de Guia, head of the Philippine-based Ovation Productions, to collaborate for the realization of the project. Ovation was the same company that brought to Manila the highly-successful show of American illusionist David Blaine.

“Manila has a lot of theater productions and it’s a fantastic market, but this will be the first Broadway and Disney production this size,” she added, referring to the laborious set design and costumes — from the 1,700 lbs. West Wing set piece to 580 costume pieces and 81 wigs, among other things.

“I’m so glad we’ve met Renen, a premier Filipino promoter,” Coops said. “This is the first production that we’re doing with them and we’re looking forward for more Broadway productions with Ovation.”

Coops hinted there’s already a next major project with Ovation Productions.

“But I can’t say at the moment,” she pointed out with a hearty laugh. “It’s still in the early stage.”

Based on the 1991 Academy-Award winning animated feature film, Disney’s Beauty And The Beast debuted on Broadway in 1994, where it was nominated for nine Tony Awards and ran for 13 years — the eighth longest-running musical in the history of Great White Way. This writer caught the Broadway show in the late ’90s and found the overall entertainment value of the fairy tale mesmerizing and worthy of every penny.

The musical is the classic story of Belle, a young woman imprisoned in a castle by the Beast, who is really a dashing prince trapped in a spell placed by an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will become a prince again. But with time running out, the Beast must learn his lesson soon, or he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast boasts music by Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tangled) and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), with additional songs with music by Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice (The Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar). The book is written by Linda Woolverton, screenwriter of The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland and the recently-released Maleficent.

The international tour is directed by Rob Roth, who received a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway directorial debut with the musical.

Roth said it took him almost a year to complete the 60 members of the traveling company, including the 30 cast and 11 musicians.

He also confirmed adding six original songs, plus one song cut from the film version that has been restored for the international tour.

Even the formidable choreographer Matt West said he had to add or revise some of the original choreography to adapt to changing times. 

“The choreography has become a little more complicated this time,” West said. “The audiences are getting more demanding and are expecting for more.” 

The international tour is also using the original lavish costumes designed by Ann Hould-Ward, who won a Tony award for her work in the musical.

Completing the team of original creators who are behind the international tour are Natasha Katz, lighting design; Stanley Meyer, scenic design; John Petrafesca Jr., sound design; and Michael Kosarin, music supervision.

Tickets to the Manila staging of Disney’s Beauty And The Beast are out now through all ticketworld.com.ph outlets and on online. Visit ovationproductionsmanila.com or call 532-8883 or 0917-8481185 for particulars.