The document discusses the contributions of various individuals to the Disney film and stage production of Beauty and the Beast. It evaluates the significance of Linda Woolverton's screenplay, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's music and lyrics, Tim Rice finishing the lyrics after Ashman, Robert Jess Roth's direction, and Matt West's choreography. It also analyzes how technical elements like lighting, costumes, and set design can help audiences understand the changing relationships between Belle, the Beast, and Gaston. Finally, it discusses some of the technical challenges of adapting the animated film into a stage show, such as transforming characters and sets with limited space.
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Note- add to script the points made it the assessment review
3. Evaluate the contributionsmade toBeautyandthe Beast by:Linda Woolverton,AlanMenken,
Howard Ashman,TimRice,RobertJessRothand Matt West.
Linda Woolverton wrote the original film animation of Beauty and the Beast which is significantas theshow
wouldnât be possiblewithouther story. She also wrote the scriptfor the musical which is also beneficial to the
show as itallowed the original writer to look more in depth into her characters and improve them and build
them which makes the overall showbetter. Alan Menken composer of Beauty and the Beast the musical by
Disney which is penial to the production as without his music the show wouldnât be where it is today.Howard
Ashman was the original lyrists for thefilmanimation and for the production.He made the filmanimation
huge due to his lyricsas heknew the story and the feeling needed through each song. Tim Ricetook over the
Lyric writingafter Howard Ashman passed and he finished the lastfew songs which was very successful as
there is no difference duringany of the song that suggests this change and it maintains thestory. Robert Jess
Roth being the director of the show benefited the production as his visionsbroughtthe film animation to life.
Matt West choreographed the show and made the show successful asthedance number fit the mood of the
songs and the atmosphere of the show.
4. Discussthe charactersand relationshipsbetweenBelle,Beast andGaston.How can technical
aspectsof theatre helpthe audience understandthese charactersandtheirstory?
The relationship between Belleand the Beast progresses throughout the production as they become closer
and happier. The technical elements such as lightingcan help the audienceunderstand this as the lighting
could be dim and lowkey duringtheir firstmeeting and then by the songâsomething thereâ the lightingcould
be brighter to reflect their relationship with oneanother. The actorsâcostumes could showthis growing
connection between Belleand the Beast throughout the play usingthe colour blue. Belleâs main costume
would be blue and later on in the show the beast would put on a blue coat that would therefore show their
connection. The colour bluecould also bein parts of the castlesetdesign and enchanted object costumes to
further hintat the connections between Belleand the Beast. Belle also wears a pink dress which could reflect
her sudden realisation of lovefor the Beast and the yellowof the ball gown could show the happiestshe has
found with the Beast.
The relationship between Belleand Gaston is not closeor happy for Belleand this is shown though the music
and set. The music and lyrics of songs such as âMeâ helps the audience understand the way Gastonâs cha racter
is towards Belleand the way she feels about him. This could be shown through set as there could be obstacles
in the way and Bellebackingup from Gaston therefore showingher dislikein Gaston. Gastonâs costume could
be mostly/ partly black to signify his dark planningand deviousness.However this would only work if the rest
of the casthad no black in their costume.
5. Discuss someof the technical challenges of turningthe 1991 Disney animated filmof Beauty and the Beast
into a stage show.
One of the main challenges in turninga Disney animated filminto a stage showis the enchanted objects.This
is a challenge,as in the filmthe people of the castleareturned into small,real sized objects thatcan talk and
sing,so the actors in real lifewill havecomplications.In theend they can up with the idea of changingthe
mythology of the filmso that the objects in the show could be slowly becominghuman sized objects instead of
small,real sized objectas that could entail mostof the castvoicingpuppets or projections which would be less
interesting and fun to watch. Another challengewould be the transformations on stage. This is becausethe
Pricehas to transformon stage into a Beast and viceversa,which is hard due to the makeup needed for the
Beast and the huge costume. This complicates things as heneeds to gets form one costume and makeup to
another on his own- this is where the lighting,sound and SFX need to be used effectively and complicatedly to
cover he change on stage. Another challengeof this production would be the constantchanges the stet makes
and the different rooms all needed on the stage at one time. This is challengingas the set- with lots of rooms-
would need to be big and lighted separately for each room. In addition,the rooms on the stage would be small
as they would all be no stage at the same time, restrictingthe actors and use of the space.This would also
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restrictthe actors to only being upstage left or downstage rightfor full scenes and/ or songs which wastes the
rest of
6. Our productionof Beautyand the Beastis inthe pre-production/rehearsal stages.
Outline whathasalreadyhappenedinpre-productionandwhatisstill tobe done.The stage.
In the pre-production the rehearsal schedulehas bewritten up and the whole production team have gone
through the scriptfor their own knowledge of the show and to make notes and ideas.Each team has come
together for meetings and planningthe set and stage layoutfor the casts safety and movement across the
stage. The casthas also been auditioned and have started to stage, block and learn the lines and songs for the
show. The pre-production has consisted,and is consistingof choosingthe show, casting,licencingfor the show
and the designs havestarted for the lighting,sound,set, costumes and props.However, there are many things
that still need to be done. This includes finishingthemain blockingfor the show and finalisingit,as well as
finalisingdesigns in all theareas of the show, forming and teaching the band, full run through of the show and
a dress and technical run.
7. Give some examplesof howthe artisticintegrityof Beautyandthe Beastcan be maintained
throughhighproductionvalues.
The high production values of the production of Beauty and the Beastmaintain the artistic integrity as every
member of every department are putting in effort and takingtheir initiativesin whatneeds to be done, with
deadlines beinghit and things likeattendance being high. Also to maintain the artistic integrity means that the
production must be as good as itcan be due to the budget, facilities,timeand talent of the actors.Also it
would need to be maintained by usingthe intentions of the writer, director, producer, lyricist,composer etc.
therefore keeping to the artistic integrity of the show. Precision is thekey in maintain the artistic integrity of
the show as itneeds to be up to the highest standard possibleso production values such as lightingcues and
sound cues need to be precise. An example of a low production valuewould be the contrastin a scene with a
focus on the props- if some of the props are mimed and some are physical props then it would ruin the artistic
integrity and precision of the performance. All of this would only be possiblethrough clear communication and
team work across the entire production team.
9. Listento the musicfor the Transformation.From1â22 to 2â45.
Commentonhowthe musicsuggestshow the transformation shouldlook.
Thereâs a beat which shows the audience that the phraseBelle justspoke âI love youâ is the thing that is
coursingthe transformation high pitched twinklingsuggest that he in ascendingand the trumpets remind the
audienceof the royalty the backingvocals suggestthat he is spinningin the air.
The fastpace strings suggestthat it is buildingup for something huge- the transformation.High pitch tune-
connotes happiness which I thingsuggests that Belleis still sittingby the Beast and that she is unawareof the
happiness and the fact she savehis life.More and more instruments are added addingto the build-up as they
become more intense and the dynamics increase.This buildsup to 2:20 minutes into the song where the song
suggests that the Beast is raised from the floor and justoff the ground on in the air.This is suggested by the
huge crashes if cymbals,escalatingdynamic and the vocals- thevocals showthe transformation as itis almost
as if they are amazed at what is happeningand they make the atmosphere more intense and intriguingdueto
the strength in the vocals and how they overpower the instruments in the band apartfrom the distinctly loud
crashes thatreflect the characterâs shock- Belle. All the instruments going at different tempos and tunes add
to the atmosphere as it adds suspenseand more confusion. The instruments all on similarnotes on the same
count (2:37) suggests that the transformation is finished and italso suggests thatthere could be a huge flash
from the lightingand something physical happeningon stage- Beast is atthe highest point/ about to descend.
The final partof this section, most instruments abruptly stoppingwith some slowly fadingoutand the pace
slowingsuggests that the Beast is finished transformingand is descendingas thePrince.