Review: Kaunotar ja Hirviö

PURE ENTERTAINMENT WITH A GOLDEN EDGE

Pori Jazz director Jyrki Kangas‘ standard answer to the question of why the big names on the Skrivarholm stage so rarely had anything to do with jazz was that he used them to pay for the less crowd-pleasing jazz part of the program.
This is apparently also the reasoning of our theatre managers. Traditional spoken theatre rarely or never draws a full house, which musicals often or always do. In other words, Asko Sarkola is “forced” to put on one musical a year on the main stage in order to be able to do serious drama on the other stages.
This is not to say that the musical as a genre cannot also be “serious”. It’s all about how it’s done. The great musicals of history are great art as well as, for example, opera or classical drama, but have all too often suffered from half-realized performances, where neither text nor music has come into its own.

Sumptuous visualization

Beauty and the Beast, based on the Disney animation, can hardly be counted among the unforgettable musicals. In addition, Alan Menkens – together with songwriter Howard Ashman – is responsible for, among other things. Little Shop of Horrors – music too predictable. Lloyd Webber’s cliché in the more emotional numbers, fresher in the pastiched dance/mass scenes.
On the other hand, this current version gets almost full marks both in the way it makes use of the stage technical possibilities and in terms of the visual setting, where no effort has been spared with sumptuous costumes and imaginative, handily mobile sets.
And why not? A fairy tale should look like a fairy tale. Stunning, spiced with magical ingredients, colourfully dreamy and realistic in the right proportions and, where required, suitably eerie. And of course; morally edifying without becoming pointer-like.
All of this had been carefully taken into account by Hans Berndtsson, who had made the same musical in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and Katariina Kirjavainen in the direction and set design, which included a fruitful synthesis of Gunilla Olsson Karlsson’s well-oiled choreography and Sari Salmela’s exquisite costumes – the cast of characters included teapots, chests of drawers and sturdy clocks, as well as candles and dusters!
And as a silver lining to it all; a well-acting, well-singing, absolutely festive type gallery with Marika Westerling as an enchanting and energetic Bella, Kari Arfman as a beast that is easy to feel sorry for, and Mikko Vihma as the thief Gaston, who is at least as easy to genuinely dislike. Risto Kaskilahti is priceless as a French-breaking candle, as is Jaana Mäntynen as a chiffon with solid entertainment
opera divas.


Solid entertainment

When Henrik Wikström’s head sticks out of the orchestra pit, you can usually relax when it comes to the musical part, and this time is no exception. Menken’s well-orchestrated score was realised according to all the rules of the art, and the interaction between Wikström and the actors went smoothly.

Beauty and the Beast is a mega production in the true sense of the word Yet it never becomes megalomaniac noisy or excessively sentimental, and the idea of allowing the triumph of love to be portrayed by an intimate pas de deux (Sini Mäenpää/Kai Lähdesmäki) was significant for the performance as a whole.
Of course, it’s pure entertainment, but when it’s done with such solid professionalism and a delicate balance between seriousness and humor, you just have to surrender. And of course, there are morals to take home with you. For example, to borrow the director, to affirm tolerance and remember that the fear of the stranger can never be overcome through hatred.