“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” the musical stage production of the animated film, is coming back to Philly Feb. 16-21. The classic story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town who encounters a prince trapped in the body of a beast by an evil spell, has been a hit with audiences of all ages.
Out actor David Grindrod, who is an ensemble cast member in the sprawling show, said the stage production of “Beauty and the Beast” made a huge impact on him when he first saw it.
“It was one of the first Broadway shows I saw,” he said. “My parents took me. I was in love with it. This is what it’s about. For a kid seeing the show, it’s captivating. When I was cast in the show, we did a read-through and I was so surprised at how funny it was for adults and what a strong message it has for adults. For people my age, in their 20s, this is the princess we grew up with. So there’s a special place in our hearts for Belle.”
Like many of Disney’s live-action shows that are based on classic films, Grindrod said, this show stays faithful to the film, although it does feature some added content to flesh out the characters.
“It’s very close,” he said. “The woman who wrote the movie also wrote the musical. It translates very well to the stage. They added a few more songs just so they could delve more into the hearts of Belle and the Beast and some other characters. But it’s the same story and the same characters, just a little bit richer and deeper, which I think we all crave from the movie.”
Grindrod added that, aside from being a classic fairy tale, the show offers a message of acceptance that audiences of all ages can appreciate.
“I think the theater community has always been accepting to a bunch of different kinds of people and celebrating their differences,” he said. “The show especially just pinpoints it and says you can’t judge a person based on their appearance. That’s the Beast. On the other hand, we have Belle and the whole opening number is the entire village discussing how beautiful this girl is but she’s so strange because she likes to read. She’s not the same as the rest of us and they are outcasting her because she is so different.”
The Kimmel Center presents “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” Feb. 16-21 at the Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-790-5800.