GARDEN CITY – The ongoing production of the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast by the Pickleville Playhouse is – in a word — fabulous.
The show belongs, start to finish, to Kenzie Davis.
Not only does she play the title role of Belle, but she also directed the show and does a bang-up job in both of those roles.
Young Ms. Davis has judiciously trimmed the musical’s cast to bare essentials to fit on the small-scale stage of the Pickleville Playhouse. But Beauty and the Beast still abounds with talent in the realms of performances, singing and dancing.
The show opens with Nathan Jones reading the back story of the selfish prince and the enchantress to young Ella Joy Matthews. Jones is the same actor who portrayed Maurice in the recent in the recent Music Theatre West production of Beauty and the Beast.
That set-up emphasizes that this is a fairy tale, a concept that this charming and intimate Pickleville production never forgets.
As everyone knows, Beauty and the Beast tells the story of a self-centered prince who is magically changed into a monster. To become human again, the Beast must earn the love of a beautiful young woman he has kidnapped.
The show’s opening number reveals that its young director is blessed with a small but powerful choral ensemble.
That chorus features silly girls Ally Choe, Natalie Stahl and Sara Marshall; Adam Mortison and Matthew Wangemann; and others who will double later in leading roles.
Stand-out performers in this jewel of a cast include Ryan Sammonds, who plays the egoistical buffoon Gaston with just the right mix of male bravado and oblivious stupidity.
Troy Boone appears hilariously as Gaston’s obsequious sidekick Lefou.
The staff of the mandatory enchanted castle includes Jake Mickel, who is perfect as Lumiere, milking Taylor Seth Hall for laughs as the stuffed-shirt major domo Cogsworth.
As Mrs. Potts, Eliza Kay Hall touchingly performs the show’s anthem “Beauty and the Beast.”
Betsy Sandifer is amusing as Babette, flirting outrageously with Lumiere.
All of these performers join the ensemble to make the familiar production number “Be Our Guest” a delight.
But the romance of Ms. Davis as Belle and Nathan Kremin as the Beast is, of course, what this musical is all about and it unfolds beautifully.
Kremin is memorable as the Beast. He is a minotaur-like creature, but Ms. Davis has wisely left him free of a fully masked costume to allow emotions – both rage and vulnerability – to show on his face. Kremin delivers an intriguing portrayal and his performance of the forlorn “If I Can’t Love Her” is heartfelt.
As Belle, Ms. Davis is no shrinking violet. She is, on one hand, a feisty heroine and her powerful vocals wow the audience.
On the other hand, she is every bit the Disney fairy tale princess. When she appears late in Act 2 in a sumptuous ball gown to waltz with the Beast, the entire audience gasps in appreciation.
Ms. Davis has one last trick of theater magic up her sleeve – the moment that the Beast returns to human form. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s well worth the wait.
Performances of Beauty and the Beast are scheduled at the Pickleville Playhouse in Garden City through Aug.19 in repertory with the musical melodrama New Sheriff in Town.