Beauty and the Beast make it real

MANILA, Philippines - There are love stories and there are love stories, and then there is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which forever strikes a chord, whether you’ve seen it on screen two decades ago or on stage two decades later.

This “tale as old as time” about a prince cursed with a beastly form and a town beauty named Belle first came alive as an Oscar-winning Disney animated film in 1991 and then became Disney’s first attempt at a Broadway musical exactly 20 years ago.

Fittingly so, to celebrate its 20th-year milestone, Beauty and the Beast — one of the longest-running and highest-grossing Broadway musicals of all time — has embarked on its first-ever international tour, bringing the cast and production around Europe and Asia, including the Philippines.

The Beauty and the Beast will serve as the opening salvo of the Philippine theater scene come 2015, as it runs from Jan. 9 to 25, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater. To mount the Manila show, original Broadway producer Disney Theatrical Productions, together with seasoned theatrical companies NETworks and Broadway Entertainment Group, have partnered with top local concert producer Ovation Productions, which makes its first theater venture.

The STAR had a preview of the grand touring production and got to interview the cast during the recent press junket to Istanbul, Turkey where Beauty and the Beast officially kicked off its international tour at the Zorlu Center. As it continues to travel (it is now in Abu Dhabi and will head next to Italy), it appears that it has also become a very personal journey for its main stars, Hilary Maiberger and Darick Pead (check out their posts on their Instagram accounts). Both American actors were cast in the lead roles of Beauty and the Beast at the same time two years ago. Two years later, let’s just say that at the heart of this production is a real love story.

Hilary, who is also an opera-trained singer, considers Belle a role of a lifetime. The petite and wide-eyed beauty is tailor-fit for the character as she looks the part, and more so because she is a lifelong Disney fan.

She gushed to The STAR, “Oh my goodness, absolutely! I was definitely that girl who watched Beauty and the Beast eight times a day. I can recite the movie to you right now if you want. Actually, when I get homesick, when I’m on tour and away from my family, I put on a Disney movie, it’s kinda a comforting thing for me. Isn’t it funny?”

“But yeah, Disney is such a huge part of my life to this day. Now, I’m a Disney princess, it’s unbelievable really. Disney has rocketed my career,” added Hilary, whose theater credits include other Disney princess roles in Aladdin: The Musical Spectacular (as Jasmine) and Cinderella.

As for her leading man Darick, he relishes the challenge of emoting through a heavily-costumed character. “My first audition was for Shrek. Yeah, I like roles where I’m sweating a lot (hahaha). That’s how I’ll know I’m doing a good role,” quipped Darick. “The Beast costume is huge, you know… it’s like putting on a really heavy coat during the summertime, with all the lights and stuff. (And) that’s the hardest part — to act through that.”

Good thing, he said, they “have a great cast, great ensemble, who really, really are amazing to act with and make my job a lot easier. So even though the costume could be cumbersome, acting in it is really great.”

Both are happy and grateful to have found a place in musical theater. Hilary shared her story: “I kind of stumbled into it. I started singing when I was seven and my mom was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna sign you for voice lessons.’ I continued doing that until high school and then I decided to become a voice teacher because I was fascinated with voice, vocal pedagogy and teaching, and I just loved it. Then, I continued to get my masters in vocal performance and it wasn’t until I was 23 when I started really auditioning for opera and theater, and I was like, this is awesome, this is what I wanna do. To create, to be a storyteller, it’s just unbelievable. (So my career path) changed from being a voice teacher to being a performer.”

As for Darick, he made the big leap from his hometown in Utah to New York to pursue a full-time acting career, without any clear prospects or let alone connections. “I finished school and moved to New York because I figured that’s really one place I can find that real chance to do this (acting) for a living.” Fortunately for him, everything just fell into place and eventually led him to Beauty and the Beast. “So, I’ve been with this for two years, then they announced the international tour and that they are still going to have me,” jokingly adding, “I guess that they’re desperate (laughs) and gave me the opportunity to be part of it.”

For them, touring outside the US has been exciting and rewarding, but it is also be scary. According to Hilary, “It’s a completely different experience. It’s scary because you just don’t know how they’re gonna accept you, accept the show… (but) at the end of the day, the show transcends all cultures and all languages, which is a beautiful thing to be part of. I’m very excited to share this story with Manila. I mean who would have thought I’d be coming to Manila? I can’t wait to get to Manila!”

Darick is equally excited for another reason. “When we go to Manila, it will be exciting to go and see the sights. I heard really great things about the place because my brother, he actually served in a two-year church mission in Cebu. I think the secret is — don’t tell his wife — that I think he’s going to try and come out and see me in Manila (laughs). That would really be fun. So, I have this connection to the (Philippines) — just to know that my brother spent time there — that I’m really excited about.”

As for their Filipino audience, the suckers that we are for kilig stories, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a lot of the excitement will emanate from the palpable chemistry of the leads on stage and off it. (“Yes, they are dating,” confirmed company manager Kristin Stewart.)

Hilary said, “We both got cast two years ago and didn’t audition together, which I thought was odd. But the first day of rehearsals we met and immediately, we had unbelievable chemistry and he is one of my best friends, and we will remain friends, I think, for the rest of our lives. I got very, very lucky. I think our chemistry onstage is very powerful and I think very believable because we do care about each other very much.”

“Sometimes, you can’t help it,” Hilary readly admitted. “You get carried away (by the love story in Beauty and the Beast), and it’s totally OK.”

And who wouldn’t? According to Darick, this is why Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, even with its fantastical, fairytale elements, remains such a compelling and relatable story all these years to audiences far and wide.

“I love stories that talk about love,” he said. “Beauty and the Beast shows how selfless love truly is. It’s an amazing tale about love and how we want to be loved, 100 percent. We want people to love the ‘beast’ in us as well as the beauty, that’s what’s so cool about it. We strive to find somebody to love all of us, and I think Belle does that. She really does a great job of doing that — loving somebody so perfectly also allows that somebody to love. I think that is what’s really cool about the story that it tells.”

(Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will be staged at the CCP Main Theater on Jan. 9 to 25, 2015. It is presented by Disney Theatrical Productions, Inc., NETworks, Broadway Entertainment Group, MKFAE and Ovation Productions. It is made possible by Globe Business, Visa, The Philippine STAR, Fox International Channels and Diamond Hotel. Tickets are priced at P7,895, P6,845, P5,790, P4,740, P4,210, P3,160 and P2,105, plus applicable service charges and are available at Ticketworld outlets (891-9999) and online at www.ticketworld.com.ph, beautyandthebeast.com.ph and Facebook.com/beautyandbeastph.)