If You Missed Watching ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Last Season, Here’s Your Chance Now

“Beauty and the Beast” is the love story of a young woman from a provincial town and a monstrous prince.

It is not every day that you get a chance to witness a full-scale Broadway-style musical in India. So when Beauty and the Best premiered last year in Mumbai between October and December, it is no wonder that every show ran full house. Over 100 outstanding musical theatre performers enthralled audiences amidst opulent sets and magnificent costumes. It was a case of watching a fairy tale come alive in front of your eyes for the young and old alike.

Originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions and made into an Academy award winning film in 1991, Beauty and the Beast is the love story of a young woman from a provincial town and a monstrous prince. The show features music by celebrated composer Alan Menken [The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tangled], lyrics by the late Howard Ashman [The Little Mermaid, Aladdin], and additional songs with music by Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice [The Lion King, Jesus Christ Superstar].

Pulling in some of the most eminent names in the entertainment industry, Disney India’s Beauty and the Beast was developed locally in its entirety but retains the original script and memorable music of the Broadway production. Vikranth Pawar-creative head of Live Entertainment at Disney India- is in the director’s chair while composer Lesle Lewis takes over music direction. Others on board include celebrity choreographer Terence Lewis, Gavin Miguel on costume design and singer-songwriter Suzanne D’Mello in charge of vocal training.

In an interview with ROLLING STONE India, Lewis and D’Mello talk about what it takes to run one of the largest musical productions in the country, working with a Live Philharmonic Orchestra and the amount of training that goes into delivering a Broadway-style show.

How was the experience of working on the musical?

Lesle: Phenomenal.  No other musical in India has ever been presented at such a scale with such detailing. The approach was very professional but with a sense of excitement as it was the first time something of this magnitude was being approached. No other play previously has ever had the experience of using a Live Philharmonic Orchestra. And that too the best in Prague!

Suzanne: I never imagined that a stage musical could be so real and transport you to another world.  The music was just one part of this humongous puzzle. Once pieced together, the entire show was simply outstanding! The positive response from the audience in both cities on live singing of the cast was very overwhelming and as a singer and vocal coach, you learn so much about how beautifully the music has been written, both the songs and all the background music. Mr. Alan Menken is pure genius.

What were the complications and the advantages the venue provides, in terms of sound?

 Suzanne: It’s a super gigantic stage. The musical was performed in mini-arenas in Mumbai and Delhi, so managing sound was one of the key aspects. The actors have to use all parts of the stage and have to run across the main speaker system. so our biggest challenge becomes feedback.  Actors were working with in-ear monitors for the first time so getting comfortable took a little time. Since the actors were singing live in every show, they had to be trained in a way where when they are dancing and running across the stage without affecting their sound quality.

What does the vocal training of the performers involve?

Suzanne: Every character has their set of training that has been customized to suit their own voices. They all have parts assigned to them to sing at a particular time in the song. When done correctly, we hear the song as it’s been written and as it’s meant to sound.

How long did the musical prep work, training the musicians and singers take?

Suzanne: The music was the first part of the training.  Drama started after a month.  Of course-being a musical-the music was one of the biggest components.  We started with the lead characters- Belle, Gaston, LeFou & Mrs. Potts- and the rest joined in after 2 weeks. We started from ground zero and worked on vocals for 3 months.

Lesle: Prep work to the final delivery took more than 6 months. Things were happening simultaneously. Suzanne was training the vocalists while I was in Los Angeles with my team creating a ‘Midi Mockup’ – an electronic/digital recreation of the orchestral score. After all the electronic music was finalized and [our director] Vikranth Pawar was happy with it, I went ahead and recorded the final score in Prague with a full Live Philharmonic Orchestra. After that, a lot of work was done at the venues to make sure that everything sounded just right. We were working right through the days and nights, up to the very last moment of Show Day to be able to provide a magical experience to the audiences.

According to D’Mello, “Every character has their set of training that has been customized to suit their own voices.”

What were the challenges if any that you faced, any creative dilemmas given the iconic status of the musical?

Suzanne: Just the usual challenges any artist faces when they’re training for something out of the ordinary. Every performer was very forthcoming and wanted to give their best which made it a fun journey.

Lesle: The only thing I really had to do was to ensure that the final score was as required by the show. When I saw the grand set design by Varsha Jain which was absolutely wonderful, I knew I had to really get a larger sound from the Orchestra than as per the score. So I then increased the Orchestra size accordingly

Are there any similar projects that you are working on currently?

Lesle: Right now I am busy with some new projects in Bollywood and also creating some ‘new music’ for a ‘new singer’ called Lesle Lewis! [laughs] Having created so many hits in the independent music scene for so many artists, I haven’t done any music for myself as an individual. So I have started performing live with my band and it’s absolutely exciting!

Disney India’s Beauty and the Beast will run in Mumbai from May 6th 2016 to May 15th 2016 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Stadium National Sports Club of India, Worli. Get tickets here.