Enchanting ensemble cast steals the show in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast musical

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast

Base Entertainment Asia
Sands Theatre
Dec 13

The story about an unlikely romance between a pretty young woman and a monstrous creature with a message to not judge a book by its cover is a tale as old as time.

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast musical, now showing at Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands, is based on the Oscar-winning 1991 Disney animated film of the same name. Singapore is the only Asian stop for this Australian run of the popular stage production.

The narrative is straightforward. Belle, played by Indian-Australian actress Shubshri Kandiah, is a bookworm who dreams of freedom, adventure and enchanted castles.

Beast, portrayed by Brendan Xavier, who is of Indian and Dutch descent, is the selfish prince, cursed to remain hideous until he learns to love and finds true love in return.

The curse also afflicts his household staff, who are transformed into objects: Lumiere (Rohan Browne), the debonair candelabra; Cogsworth (Gareth Jacobs), the tightly wound mantle clock; Mrs Potts (Jayde Westaby), the maternal teapot; Babette (Hayley Martin), the flirtatious feather duster; and Madame (Alana Tranter), the operatic chest of drawers.

These five cast members deliver the show’s best moments with their comic timing and ensemble performances.

The showstopper is definitely the fan-favourite song Be Our Guest. The flamboyant number by the entire ensemble is a homage to old-school cabaret, featuring feathers, chorus lines, tap dancing and acrobatics.

Jackson Head is also fabulous as Gaston, the narcissistic antagonist. His self-titled set piece is fun, energetic, hilarious and pompous. Head embraces the audience’s long rounds of applause so matter-of-factly, fully embracing his chauvinistic alpha male persona.

While both leads are charming and have good chemistry, their romance feels rushed in the short second act.

Kandiah puts her bell-like higher register to good use, delivering songs with bright-eyed wonder as a Disney princess would. Fittingly, the theatre actress launched her career in 2018 as another Disney princess, Jasmine, in the Australian tour of Disney’s Aladdin.

Xavier is the show’s weakest link. Perhaps it is a deliberate direction from director-choreographer Matt West, but Xavier’s Beast comes across as childish, amplifying his amateurish acting. Instead of a fearsome creature who is a romantic at heart, Beast mostly becomes a comic act.

His saving grace is his powerful and passionate solo If I Can’t Love Her, the strongest vocal performance of the musical.

The nostalgic tunes by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice are delivered excellently by the live orchestra led by Luke Hunter. When Mrs Potts starts crooning the Oscar-winning ballad Beauty And The Beast, it is hard not to sing along.

The musical is also a visual treat. Thirty seconds in, there is a collective wow from the audience when the old hag, snubbed by the prince, transforms into a shimmering sorceress mid-air.

The many “how did they do that” magic show-like moments, courtesy of the detailed set design and moving props, make the whole experience immersive and truly enchanting.

Book it/Disney’s Beauty And The Beast

Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue
When: Till Jan 25. Depending on the day, performances can be at 1, 2, 6.30 or 8pm
Admission: $70 to $340 via Marina Bay Sands (

str.sg/bdNK

), Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to

str.sg/DHBg

) and Klook (

str.sg/rf4P

)