Stage Review - Beauty and the Beast, a Holiday Panto (Centerstage Theatre)

Stage Review - Beauty and the Beast, a Holiday Panto
Presented By: Centerstage Theatre - Federal Way, WA
Show Run: November 30 - December 22, 2024
Date Reviewed: Saturday, November 30, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

What exactly is a panto, you may ask? Well, it’s what I’ve been wondering since I first spoke with Centerstage Theatre’s Artistic Director Trista Duval last Spring in our Get to Know a Theatre interview. Trista talked up Centerstage’s “Holiday Panto” as their most popular show every season, and the one show out of all in their schedule that I wouldn’t want to miss. With so many other things to see along the way, added to my love of procrastination, I put off learning about the idea of a panto until it got closer to the Christmas season and Centerstage’s holiday show was announced. When they did announce it, and let us know that it was to be Beauty and the Beast, I had even more questions. First off, I still didn’t know what a panto was and secondly, was this Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, or was it some other version of the classic 1740 fairy tale from Gabrielle-Suzanne Bardot de Villenueve? It turns out that neither of those questions are altogether easy to answer. And with Centerstage, my usual trick of being able to preview what I’m about to see by looking at the set upon walking into the theatre didn’t work on opening night either, since for the first time since I started attending shows in their Federal Way space, the curtain was drawn before the show started, offering no hints to me or any of the other audience members about what was to come. Finally, when Trista and Managing Director Angela Bayler introduced the show, and told the group in attendance that the best way to experience a panto was to let it “wash over you”, I knew that trying to encapsulate what I was about to see might be a challenge.

If I had to summarize this panto version of Beauty and the Beast, fun would be an understatement. The whole of the production reminds me of a confluence of a few different forms of entertainment. The first thing I was struck by was how it took me back to when I was younger and attended a live taping of a children’s television show, where the actors played out skits on stage, complete with audience interactions (cheers for the good guys, boos for the bad, questions for the kids in the audience to help direct the story), corny jokes, singing, and dancing. There’s also a vaudeville quality about the show, with sets that are serviceable but not altogether complicated or complex, humor that pokes fun at everything from politics to local communities, and a cast that is made up of a group of not just actors, but skilled performers. The story itself, adapted by Vince Brady, is a loose interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast we’re all familiar with. It’s the Disney version without being the Disney version, the characters are there, sort of. Their personalities are in the orbit of the ones we know from the Disney version of the fairy tale, but they’re skewed enough to make the story funny, all while keeping the thread of the plot with Belle, the Beast, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and some of the rest, strung through a larger story arc involving two fairies competing to see whose magic is stronger, dark or light. And there is music, though not the music you’d expect. Outside of one song from the Disney film, you can probably guess which one, there are a bunch of pop songs in the show, though with lyrics changed either to fit the altered plot of this version of the story, to drive the play’s comedy, or to provide more character exposition. Regardless of the purpose, the songs are all funny, the lyrics, from Vince Brady and Trista Duval, are catchy and full of humor and wit, and the musical arrangements, from Sam Peters and Daniel Wolfert, are extremely creative and fresh.

You’re probably thinking, “Did he just describe a panto?”, and if that’s what’s going through your mind, you are only partly correct. Panto, short for pantomime if you haven’t figured that out already, is an English performance style that is characterized by all of the things I mentioned above, slapstick comedy, gags involving physical comedy and clown-like behavior, music and dancing, bad jokes, some element of audience participation, and a story based on a familiar or otherwise well known fairy or folk tale. The genre relies on a back and forth between the audience and the cast, includes topical humor (the aforementioned politics and local regional jokes), and last but surely not least it contains an element of gender-bending, or cross-dressing actors. So, in short, that’s English pantomime, keeping in mind that in other countries pantomime is shortened to mime, an altogether different (and much quieter) art form, and if it sounds familiar and you haven’t seen a Centerstage panto before, you might just be a fan of Monty Python. Their skits each seem like pantos unto themselves, and like those, this production of Beauty and the Beast is a fun, raucous, meant for all ages version of a classic fairy tale that has a decent amount of song, a bit of dance, a lot of laughs, and a ton of clowning around, all coming together to provide the perfect escape from the real world and a uniquely fun afternoon or evening at the theatre.

From the story perspective, as I said, it’s mostly the story we’re all familiar with. When the play starts, good Fairy Snowflake, played by Jenna Clawson, enters the stage with her recruits, for story time, when she begins to tell the story of Beauty and the Beast. As she begins, the curtain rises and the cast begins recreating the scene where the handsome prince, Joshua Jerard, turns the enchantress away before having her infamous spell cast upon him, leaving him in his familiar beast form and the castle staff into their altered states lest he fall in love and be loved in return, unless of course all of the pedals fall from the magical rose given to him by the enchantress. All of this we know of course. But, in this story, the enchantress is Mysteria, a dark fairy played by Jasmine Flora, whose goal it is to wrestle the story away from Snowflake and prevent the happy ending from taking place. It turns out that the two know each other, of course, and they enter into a wager to see which magic is more powerful, light or dark, and as the plot of Beauty and the Beast is played out, the actual story that takes place on stage is impacted by what each of the fairies is willing to do in order to try and affect their version of the story’s ending. And while the story sort of weaves around the all too familiar arc, it’s just different enough to keep it interesting and make the audience feel like it’s something new. It’s the same with the characters. Beyond the fairies, which are clearly not in any familiar version of Beauty and the Beast, Belle, The Beast, Gaston, Lafou, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Babette are all here, as is Professor Wingnut, who, instead of Belle’s father in this story, is her mother. The beauty of the panto is in how it is cast, though, not just with actors, or singers, or dancers, but rather with performers, multi-talented individuals who can do all of these things and then some. In order to make a show like this work, the individuals need to understand how to deliver the type of humor, be it a gag, a joke, or a pratfall, and their timing has to be spot on. Beyond a grasp on the individual, the ensemble aspect to this genre cannot be overstated, how each of these actors works together, with each other, together with the ensemble, and of course with the audience, that added dimension that a panto delivers. The cast is comprised of panto veterans as well as some first timers, each lead bringing a specialty to the table, but in no way a slouch in any aspect of their performances.

There is no Beauty and the Beast without its Belle, and in reading the recent history of Centerstage, there can’t be a panto without Jessie Selleck. This year’s Sound on Stage winner for Best Lead Actor in a Musical shows why she won that award in her performance here, between her expressive, powerful, and just exquisite vocals singing in various styles and forms, her strong execution of Taylor Davis’ fun choreography, and her overall management of the Belle character, it’s a complete performance, and this doesn’t even speak to her ability to involve and interact with the audience. Her Belle isn’t necessarily the wistful character from the movie, but she’s strong minded and determined, and absolutely disgusted by Kyle Sinclair’s Gaston. Gaston, never ashamed to show off his muscles, is just as empty-headed as you’d expect. Kyle’s portrayal is over the top, and it’s just hilarious. He has a wonderful stage presence and knows how to command the audience, the amount of boos a sure sign that he’s doing his job well. At Gaston’s side, of course, is always Lafou, played here by Meghan Ames. And while Jessie brings her fantastic vocal ability to the panto, and Kyle brings his farcical portrayal of Gaston, it’s Meghan who provides the clownish component to the show. If anyone in Beauty and the Beast has mastered the right timing with which to deliver a joke, it’s Meghan, and this performance delivers a lion’s share of the laughs, especially of the corny “dad joke” variety. And just like Jessie is so expressive in her singing, Meghan delivers their humor with more than just a voice, it’s the expressions and mannerisms, and a lot of the other subtleties that make their delivery so strong. Humor is also a big part of Joshua Jerard’s performance at The Beast, but it’s not the only part. Joshua has soul, and as The Beast, lamenting and singing to a portrait of his pre-Beast self, he’s not afraid to show it, and in the most entertaining way possible. He’s also not afraid to present his dancing chops with Jessie’s Belle in the famous ballroom scene, when the pair breaks from “that” song to do something to their own beat. These are all extremely talented performers, each of whom understand the nature of the panto, how it’s a complete and immersive entertainment experience. Rounding out the leads is Carolynne Wilcox as Belle’s mother, Professor Wingnut. First, I like that the script has Belle’s mother as the scientist/inventor parent instead of the standard father that is standard in the movies and stage musicals. Second, I like Carolynne’s performance, it’s very solid, and vocally she has a fantastic and powerful voice, and is wonderful in harmony with Jessie’s Belle.

I mentioned the ensemble component of the panto, and this show has a strong one, made up of adults, teenagers, and younger kids. Leading the ensemble are some of the household objects under Mysteria’s spell, Lumiere (Jeronimo Thomas), Mrs. Potts (Alisa Meunch), Babette (Brynne Geiszler), and Cogsworth (Tommy Shin), each with their own opportunities to show off their abilities individually, but mostly on stage together in support of the leads and the story. The quartet is extremely good, and they each add a little something to their characters that may surprise folks who are more familiar with them from the film. The rest of the ensemble, about 11 if my math is correct, are all enjoyable to watch and each do their part to add to the synergy of this show in their performances. But back to the fairy battle, between Snowflake and Mysteria. Jenna and Jasmine couldn’t play these characters more differently, which is perfect here, and when the younger ones in the audience react with cheers and boos when they should, and then the adults join in, it’s clear the two are doing their jobs well. Jasmine especially works well with the audience to build up their reactions, all negative of course. But one actor I haven’t mentioned yet, and one component of a panto I haven’t talked about, and both are perhaps more important than most. There’s the aspect of gender bending characters, and Professor Wingnut helps to tick that box, but more often than not, and especially in the modern panto, there’s always a drag queen involved somehow, and here that is Brad Cerenzia as both Dolly and Polly. One lives in the village where Belle is from and one is in the castle with the Beast, and their resemblance to each other is part of the joke. Brad is phenomenal, he’s funny, he’s boisterous, and he’s just good. And while Morgan Morgans is responsible for costuming the rest of the cast, in a wardrobe that befits the story while allowing for the kind of movement that is required by the choreography and blocking, Krista Lynn Blonski handles Brad’s Dame costumes, one a dress adorned with patches resembling Disney snacks, and one dressed in a large hot pocket container. The costumes are as big as the personalities Brad brings to his portrayals of Dolly and Polly, helping to make a show full of life to begin with that much more memorable.

The Centerstage Holiday Panto version of Beauty and the Beast is unlike any version of the story that you’ve ever seen. Sure, many of the familiar characters are there, and the plot generally weaves back and forth along that well known arc, but with a drag queen, dad jokes aplenty, and music that more resembles a top 40 radio station than a Broadway stage, it’s clear that this is not your average fairy tale, and when it comes to delivering a story in the style of the English pantomime, Centerstage has it dialed in. Cast not simply with actors, singers, or dancers, director Trista Duvall has put together a group of multi-dimensional performers, who know how to bring this fairy tale to life in a most unique way, and while it’s cheesy and it’s campy, it’s also hysterical and delightful. There’s a little something for everyone of any age, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a few hours than in the company of this group immersed in their skill as entertainers.

Beauty and the Beast, Centerstage Theatre’s 2024 Holiday Panto, runs on stage in Federal Way through December 22. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://centerstagetheatre.com/.