By Erin Goldberg
From the moment we entered Desert Star Playhouse in Murray to an Old West Vaudeville theme to see Beauty and the Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Him, it was obvious I was about to experience a show unlike any other. Beauty and the Fantastic Beast is an original musical satire written by Ben Millet, updated for this run by Scott Holman, with additional lyrics written by Ben Mayfield.
Beauty and the Fantastic Beast, as all do at Desert Star, begins with an accompanist entering and warming the audience up. They introduce you to the unique experience of audience participation and breaking the fourth wall you are soon to witness.
The sets (designed by Ken Lineberry, Louis Bitterman, Brian Tolman, Timothy Riggs, and Remington Sorenson) are very simple, but exquisitely painted, allowing the cast to truly shine in every way. Music Director Mayfield, working with Choreographer Allison Cox and Costume Designers Lynn Funk and Lee Daily present Beauty and the Fantastic Beast as a retelling of a classic fairytale–sort of.
After introducing the audience to the unique participation concepts, the story itself begins with Grandma JK (Sara McDonald) telling what begins as a classic tale of true love finding a way even under the toughest circumstances. The focus then shifts to the remainder of the cast performing the actual story as Grandma JK is recounting it. The two main characters are Beauty (Melissa Cecala/Francesca Mintowt-Czyz) and her younger sister, Average (Larissa Villers/Madison Bartell). Their names alone tell us how the sisters were raised, but the story opens by explaining that Beauty was the golden child and Average was the average child. As so many fairytales begin, their mother died when they were young and they were raised by their father. The story itself truly begins with Average, who also plays Hillarhinoseros-lamenting to her beau, Michael Buble (Todd Michael Thompson/Rick Miller), that she is not allowed by her father to wed him until Beauty is wed. As such, she plots to wed Beauty off to the Duke (who is greeted with boos, hisses, and, “dun dun duns,” from the audience upon entry to the theater).
Ultimately, Beauty flees into the forest to escape marrying Duke. Once in the forest, she stumbles upon Beast’s castle. Beast is nothing but entertaining in his role. The actor who plays Beast (Dan Larrinaga/Justus Jorgensen) also plays Duke. Edward is played by the same actor who plays Michael Buble as well. When Beauty, who is impossible to look away from when she is onstage, arrives at the castle, she is greeted by Edward. Edward is a spoof of Edward Scissorhands, although rather than being stuck with scissors as hands, he is able to change his hands out to various household items, in a clear homage to the servants from Beauty and the Beast as well as Edward Scissorhands. Edward is incredibly entertaining, and was my personal favorite in the show. Interspersed throughout the show, they change focus back to Grandma JK, who is frequently interrupted by her Visiting Teacher/Ministering Sister (Camee Faulk/Jamie Haderlie), who then transfers herself into the story “magically,” in an impressive display of interruption. Sara McDonald as Grandma JK also plays Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks.
Meanwhile, as Beauty is-of course-falling for Beast, Duke is at home, insisting that because Beauty’s father promised her his daughter’s hand in marriage, he will simply “take the other one,” noting that it’s not as though he’s handsome anyway. Average is devastated by this and works to find a solution, but the family needs the money from marrying Duke to rescue their poodle farm. She sees no alternate way out, so accepts his proposal.
The show is meant to be a cross between Beauty and the Beast and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; however, beyond Beast’s magical fanny pack that arbitrarily is full of magical creatures, and a few JK Rowling/Harry Potter jokes, it’s definitely more Beauty and the Beast than Fantastic Beasts. There are plenty of musical numbers, all with lyrics changed to make more local jokes.
We ate dinner before we went, but did get dessert. We ordered our chocolate lava cake before the show and it was delivered at intermission. I personally love being able to sit and enjoy my Diet Coke through a show, so dinner theaters always win me over. Desert Star has a full dinner menu, from appetizers to pizza and snacks, and serves complimentary popcorn at every table. They also serve liquor, with specifically crafted mixed drinks for each show.
I would caution that this show has plenty of questionably appropriate jokes and dialogue. They are “equal opportunity offenders,” but the LDS church takes the vast majority of hits. There are also quite a few themes that are not exactly respectful of women (read: quite sexist). There are several jokes made toward the beginning of the show about, “no means no,” and is a recurring theme that is made to be a joke throughout. I caution against taking younger kids who are unlikely to catch much of the humor anyway. A young tween/teen girl seated near us was very clearly bored before intermission even began. (They do not allow children under 3 to attend, and very strongly discourage those under 5 from attending. They will not hesitate to ask young children to leave if they are not behaving appropriately.)
There is also an olio after the show, in this case Zombie/Halloween themed. The olio is full of the stars of the show performing and singing hit songs that fit whatever the theme of the olio is.
If you’re looking for an evening of puns, dad jokes, poking fun at local culture, audience participation, and dinner, and will not take offense at some political harping, and jokes about LDS culture, Beauty and the Fantastic Beast at Desert Star is exactly what you’re looking for.
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