BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Critics

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Reviews: 4

Audience

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LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
& McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT
THE FIFTH AND FINAL SHOW OF ITS 2018-2019 SEASON!

LAURIE VELDHEER & TODD ADAMSON starring in
Disney’s
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Musical Direction by Darryl Archibald
Choreography by Robbie Roby
Directed by Michael Heitzman

BE OUR GUEST BEGINNING FRIDAY, MAY 31
AT LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS!

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary at the theatre) are thrilled to present the fifth and final show of its season, Laurie Veldheer as “Belle” and Todd Adamson as “The Beast” starring in Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton, musical direction by Darryl Archibald, choreography by Robbie Roby and direction by Michael Heitzman. Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will preview on Friday, May 31, 2019 (with a press opening on Saturday, June 1 at 8 pm) and run through Sunday, June 23, 2019 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Step into the enchanted world of Broadway’s modern classic, Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, an international sensation that continues to amaze and delight with its captivating story of soaring romance, bright humor and thrilling adventure. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of composer Alan Menken’s (The Little Mermaid and Newsies) memorable songs from the film, plus delightful new ones. Nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, it’s a tale as old as time… given a fresh, inventive, lively new production you won’t want to miss!
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

MICHAEL HEITZMAN (Director) Upcoming: 42nd Street, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Recent: 42nd Street, Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago (Jeff Award nominee, Best Director), Newsies, Big River and Legally Blonde, Broadway Sacramento at Music Circus, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Shrek and Disney’s The Little Mermaid, North Shore Music Theater (IRNE Award nominee, Best Director). In addition, he has directed The Lucille Lortel Awards, celebrating excellence Off-Broadway, for the past 10 years. He is the director and co-writer of VICES (Jeff Award nominee, Best Director). A Dramatists Guild Fellow, he co-wrote the song “Throw That Girl Around” from the Broadway musical Swing! He and writing partner, Ilene Reid, are currently writing the musical adaptation of the novel Genius by Patrick Dennis and their original musical Solana will receive a workshop at AMTP in spring of 2020.

ROBBIE ROBY (Choreography) is delighted to be returning to La Mirada, having previously set the choreography for Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Select choreography credits: Broadway Backwards (New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC), Little Shop of Horrors (Sacramento Music Circus), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Pittsburgh CLO), Disney’s The Little Mermaid (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Hairspray (Sugar Loaf PAC). Select associate credits: The Flamingo Kid (world premiere, Hartford Stage), The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Park, NYC), Beaches (world premiere, Signature Theatre), Carnegie Hall Family Holiday Concert: NY City Pops. Upcoming: Shrek (Sacramento Music Circus, Walnut Street Theatre), Chasing Rainbows (Papermill Playhouse). As a performer, Robbie was the dance captain for the Broadway productions of Hairspray and Billy Elliot.

DARRYL ARCHIBALD (Musical Director/Conductor): The Color
Purple (2015 revival tour and Paper Mill Playhouse); Motown The Musical (Broadway 2016 and national tours); Wicked at the Pantages Theater (substitute conductor); Memphis (Broadway tour); Disney’s The Lion King (Broadway tour – vocal coach/assistant
conductor); Ragtime (Pasadena Playhouse); Dear World with Tyne Daly (VPAC); Jonathan
Dove’s Innocence (Banff Centre and Manhattan Theatre Club); Next To Normal (McCoy/Rigby); In The Heights (TUTS); Two By Two with Jason Alexander, How To Succeed… with John O’Hurley, The Fantasticks with Eric McCormack, Once On This Island with Ledisi, Li’l Abner with Cathy Rigby and Fred Willard (Reprise); Great Expectations, My Fair Lady, 1776, Camelot, and Forever Plaid (Utah Shakespearean Festival). Orchestrations include: Great Expectations (USF), The Wiz (The Muny); A Hollywood Holiday Celebration (ABC – television), The Fountain Show and Christmas Trolley Show (The Grove Los Angeles).

The Cast of Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will feature Laurie Veldheer as “Belle,” Todd Adamson as “The Beast,” Matthew Ragas as “Gaston,” Justin Charles Cowden as “Lefou,” Joey D’Auria as “Maurice,” Chelle Denton as “Madame de la Grande Bouche,” Michael Stone Forrest as “Monsieur D’Arque/Bookseller,” Josh Grisetti as “Lumiere,” Sara King as “Babette,” Kaine Koltuniak as “Chip,” Alexandra Melrose as “Mrs. Potts,” and Phillip Taratula as “Cogsworth.” The Ensemble will feature (in alphabetical order): Quintan Craig, Chaz Feuerstine, Anthony Gabriel, Chad Geiger, Veronica Gutierrez, Julie Hackett, Carly Haig, Brandon Halvorsen, Antoine Lee, Adrianna Rose Lyons, Tayler Mettra, Dylan Pass, Mackenzie Perpich and Antonia Vivino.

The Design Team for Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is as follows: Scenic Design by Front Row Rental (Brian Strauss); Lighting Design by Jean-Yves Tessier; Sound Design by Josh Bessom; Projection Design by Jonathan Infante; Costume Design by MSMT (Travis Grant); Hair Design by Katie McCoy; Makeup Design by Denice Paxton; Properties Design by Kevin Williams. The Casting Director is Julia Flores and the Production Stage Manager is Jill Gold.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will preview on Friday, May 31, 2019 (with a press opening on Saturday, June 1 at 8 pm) and run through Sunday, June 23, 2019 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm;
Saturdays at 2 pm & 8 pm & Sundays at 2 pm. NOTE: There will be additional performances on Sunday, June 9 and Sunday, June 16 at 7 pm & Friday, June 21 at 1 pm. There will be no performance on Tuesday, June 18.
There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, June 15 at 2 pm and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, June 22 at 2 pm. Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Wednesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 19.

Tickets range from $27 – $99 (prices subject to change) and can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre’s website, www.lamiradatheatre.com or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310.

Student and group discounts are available. $15 Student Tickets available for the first 15 performances of the production. LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue where the 91 and 5 freeways meet. Parking is free.

CALENDAR LISTING:
Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton

Musical Direction by Darryl Archibald
Choreography by Robbie Roby
Directed by Michael Heitzman

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

OPENS: SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 at 8 pm
and runs through SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2019

PREVIEW: Friday, May 31 at 8 pm

PERFORMANCES: Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm and 8 pm; Sundays at 2 pm.

There will be additional performances on Sunday, June 9 and Sunday, June 16 at 7 pm & Friday, June 21 at 1 pm. There will be no performance on Tuesday, June 18.

There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, June 15 at 2 pm and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, June 22 at 2 pm.
Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Wednesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 19.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada, CA 90638.
Tickets range from $27 – $99 (Prices subject to change)
$15 Student Tickets for the first 15 performances of the production.
For tickets, please call (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310 or buy online at www.lamiradatheatre.com. Student and Group discounts are available.

Arrive Early To Find Best Parking — It’s Free!

The Tony-nominated LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (BT McNicholl, Producing Artistic Director) has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the best Broadway-style houses in Southern California.” This beautiful state-of-the-art theatre has been presenting quality productions since 1977, co-producing several national tours. The recipient of Tony, Emmy and Ovation Award nominations, La Mirada Theatre won the won the 2012-13 L.A. Stage Alliance OVATION AWARD for “Best Season of the Year.” The theatre is located at 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, California, near the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue. Parking is theatre-adjacent and free. For further information call 562-944-9801 or visit www.lamiradatheatre.com.

Celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary season at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (MRE), is one of the world’s premier theatrical production companies. Headed by Executive Producers Tom McCoy and Cathy Rigby, MRE has produced over one hundred musicals, plays, and concerts featuring some of the biggest stars in the industry today.

In addition, MRE has launched several Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated Broadway, international, and national touring productions including: ASIA- Dreamgirls (Japan), Miss Saigon (China), Peter Pan (China) CANADA- Peter Pan (Vancouver) USA- Seussical the Musical, and Annie Get Your Gun, starring Cathy Rigby; Jesus Christ Superstar starring Carl Anderson and Sebastian Bach; Camelot starring Michael York and Lou Diamond Phillips, Happy Days written by Gary Marshall and Paul Williams. BROADWAY: ‪Frank Wildhorn‬‬’s Jekyll and Hyde starring American Idol contestant and Tony Award nominee ‪Constantine Maroulis‬‬ and Grammy Award nominee Deborah Cox. Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby has made four stops on Broadway and received four Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical. The A&E TV network premiere of Peter Pan received one Emmy Award and four Emmy Award nominations.

Reviews

This is a Disney spectacle at its finest and most sumptuous — perhaps off-putting to some theatrical purists, but excessively entertaining nonetheless.

sweet - Chris Daniels - The Show Report - ...read full review


Directed by Michael Heitzman with musical direction by Darryl Archibald, the production is nearly perfect. The scenic design by Front Row Theatrical is flexible and fittingly gloomy or glamorous, and the entire production team does a bang-up job. Let’s not forget choreography by Robbie Roby, who turns music into melodic movement. All in all, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST remains a crowd-pleaser.

sweet - Elaine Mura - Splash Magazines - ...read full review


Director Michael Heitzman brings out the special qualities required to give this story its emotional core as special effects take center stage...

This is a show that draws children and adults to the theater with happy anticipation, and La Mirada delivers all that could be hoped for.

sweet - Melinda Schupmann - ShowMag - ...read full review


Laurie Veldheer and Todd Adamson are simply sublime in La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment’s Disney Beauty And The Beast, the all-around best and most spectacular of the six big-stage regional productions I’ve seen so far.

sweet - Steven Stanley - StageSceneLA - ...read full review


This is a Disney spectacle at its finest and most sumptuous — perhaps off-putting to some theatrical purists, but excessively entertaining nonetheless.

sweet - Chris Daniels - The Show Report - ...read full review


Directed by Michael Heitzman with musical direction by Darryl Archibald, the production is nearly perfect. The scenic design by Front Row Theatrical is flexible and fittingly gloomy or glamorous, and the entire production team does a bang-up job. Let’s not forget choreography by Robbie Roby, who turns music into melodic movement. All in all, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST remains a crowd-pleaser.

sweet - Elaine Mura - Splash Magazines - ...read full review


Director Michael Heitzman brings out the special qualities required to give this story its emotional core as special effects take center stage...

This is a show that draws children and adults to the theater with happy anticipation, and La Mirada delivers all that could be hoped for.

sweet - Melinda Schupmann - ShowMag - ...read full review


Laurie Veldheer and Todd Adamson are simply sublime in La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment’s Disney Beauty And The Beast, the all-around best and most spectacular of the six big-stage regional productions I’ve seen so far.

sweet - Steven Stanley - StageSceneLA - ...read full review