CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : Beauty of ‘Beauty and Beast’ Is Only Skin Deep

In “Beauty and the Beast,” spiritual beauty is supposed to triumph over material greed. Plain, simple, uncovetous Beauty is supposed to see through Beast’s frightful visage, and the moral is supposed to be something like “beauty is only skin deep.”

Director Blake Gould’s emphasis in the production of “Beauty and the Beast” at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, though, never transcends the material aspect of things.

Visually, the sense of spectacle is great. Lighting and effects of snow and mist combine to evoke the eeriness of a forbidden forest. The Beast’s castle, hidden deep in the woods, is a marvel of beastly good taste. Beauty’s house, though just a cottage, also is well done. And to the credit of the technical crew, the many, many set changes, some very complex, are flawlessly executed.

But there are so many set changes (some scenes last only a few minutes) that the focus is on the staging, on glitter and show. It seems more like a TV movie than a living, breathing play.

The characters don’t transcend their physicality, though Beauty’s dowager-in-the-making sisters, Iris (Diane Doyle) and Lilly (Michele Roberge), bring funny, Valley Girl interpretations to their roles. Their two suitors, Squire Gregory (Nils Anderson) and Master Hector (Eric Anderson), are appropriately smarmy and vain, and hungry for the gold that Beast had exchanged for Beauty.

No such luck with the leads, however. As played by Leo Knudson, Beast is a paper lion, not as ferocious as he looks, his roar unconvincing to boot. And as Beauty, Maria Hall-Brown’s innocence is a little contrived and, at times, hard to bear. And why does she suddenly change into a pink dress in the middle of the final scene? All it does is make her look even more like Barbie.

‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’

An Irvine Valley College and Irvine Valley Theaterfaire for Children presentation, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Adapted for the stage by Timothy Mason, from the story by Mme. Leprince de Beaumont. Directed by Blake Gould. With Maria Hall-Brown, Carlos Romero, Bill Robertson, Aaron Hendry, Diane Doyle, Michele Roberge, Teri Ciranna, Jeffrey Hendry, Martin Noyes, Marty Silva, Cynthia Tyler, Leo Knudson, Mark Downie, Nils Anderson and Eric Anderson. Executive Producer: Charlene Gould. Set Designer: Wally Huntoon. Costume Designer: Mary Ann Griego. Makeup Designers: Debbie Hays, Kim Hays. Lighting Designer: Chris Medvitz. Sound Designer: John Feinstein. Stage Manager: Laurie Miller. Today at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $8 to $11. (714) 854-4646.