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THEATER REVIEW | ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’
Belle Of Montgomery
A Thoroughly Modern Laura Shoop stands tall as ASF’s Beauty
By Alec Harvey
Published: November 19, 2006
| Laura Shoop never really thought about playing the lead in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. The actress – whose New York credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma! and Bernarda Alba– has seen the show several times, but didn’t think she was right for the role of the young girl who befriends the reclusive Beast in his castle. “I’ve always wanted to play it, but I just never pursued it that much because the Belles on Broadway tend to be short, petite women,” she says,” “I’m 5 – foot- 8 so I never honestly thought I’d get to do the part.” But here Shoop is, far from her New York home, donning frilly dresses and singing the role of Belle every night in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s production of Beauty and the Beast. It’s one of a handful of regional theater productions of the musical since the Disney organization released the rights, now a Broadway – caliber performance is just an hour away. It’s the reputation of quality work at ASF that drew Shoop to Montgomery. “I definitely knew of the theater’s reputation and spoke about the theater with several people before I came down here,” Shoop says, “ It was a common opinion that this is one of the best regional theaters in the country. I heard that over and over again.” In Beauty and the Beast, Belle goes in search of her father, who is kidnapped by the angry beast. She becomes his prisoner and teaches the beast (and his magincal talking teapots, plates, forks, lamps, and other things) about love. It’s based on the 1991 Disney film and includes songs such as “Be Our Guest”, and the memorable tune, “Beauty and the Beast”. “The Challenge as an actor …is that when people know the music so well, they usually don’t listen to it,” Shoop says. “They don’t listen to the words, and our job is to get them to listen. We’re also trying to break down that wall of it being a cartoon and a fairy tall. Our director is interested in making this a real story, as real as you can be with talking clocks and teapots.” Belle is actually on of the more “real” characters in the show. “My character is a real person, and her personality is very close to mine, so I’ve been able to investigate her as a real girl and not a fairy tale character,” Shoop says. Beauty and the Beast will play through December 23rd, a holiday treat filled with bright colors and lively dancing. And Shoop promises top quality. “The costumes are spectacular, and they are absolutely on par with the Broadway production,” she says. The actress is enjoying Alabama, but she’ll be ready to leave when the show ends it’s run. “I’m usually away for the holidays, so it will be nice to have Christmas with my family,” Shoop says. “I’m getting married in April, so I’ll be planning my wedding.” |