Review: Beauty and the Beast from the Leawood Stage Company

This month, the Leawood Stage Company is performing Beauty and the Beast, the Broadway adaptation of the Disney movie of the same name. The musical features music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. It was first performed on Broadway in 1994, three years after the Disney movie was released, and starred Susan Egan as Belle.

Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle, a bookworm from a small town in France, who becomes the captive of a prince cursed into a beastly form at a young age. As the story goes on, Belle and the Beast learn that there’s more to each other than they initially thought and they must confront their feelings before it’s too late.

The Leawood Stage Company’s rendition of this musical was amazing and full of a very talented cast. Sydney Nicks was especially incredible as Belle. Her vocals were phenomenal - her performance of “Change in Me” in Act II gave me chills. I felt she was perfectly cast; she really embodied the spirit and emotions of Belle. Belle is my favorite Disney princess, and Nicks definitely did her justice.

Some other stand-out cast members were Charlie Meacham as the Beast and David Thompson as Gaston. Meacham portrayed the complexity of the Beast’s internal struggles well, and Thompson’s portrayal of Gaston had a great balance between being a comedic character and an antagonist.

As well as the main cast, there was also a talented ensemble that brought so much life to the show. The ensemble was made up of all ages, featuring ten children actors and 14 older performers. No matter what scene they were in, whether they were patrons in the local pub or enchanted forks and napkins in the castle, I could tell that everyone in the ensemble was having a good time. It made the overall performances feel so much more fun and lively.

The orchestra also deserves a lot of praise. Despite being made up of only 16 musicians, the instrumentation was stellar and had so much sound. Most of the time, I forgot that all the music was played live and wasn’t just a recording. The orchestra set the tone of every scene and accompanied the singers perfectly.

As the cast came out and bowed to a standing ovation from the audience, I couldn’t stop smiling. Each cast member got well-deserved applause, and I let out a cheer when they acknowledged the often underappreciated lights and sound crew.

People of all ages will enjoy this show. Younger children will be captivated by the Disney magic and fairytale happily-ever-afters, yet the show is filled with many nuances and themes that older audiences can appreciate. The humor isn’t too childish or too mature. Many kids in the audience laughed at the more physical antics, while I enjoyed the subtler wit.

This was my first time seeing a show by the Leawood Stage Company, but after this one, it won’t be my last.

The show has performances from now until July 23rd at the Rose Theater at Rockhurst High School in KCMO. The best part is - it’s free to watch! For more information, visit the website here.

Lyra Thompson is a senior at Bonner Springs High School and a teen intern for KC Going Places. She is a big fan of musical theater and has performed in her high school shows for the past three years.