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Review: Maine State Music Theatre's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
In a colorful, imaginative retelling of this “tale as old as time,” MSMT opens its 2024 TYA series with a revival of Robin and Clark’s version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The production, directed by Betsy Puelle, not only offers a contemporary twist on the classic fairytale, but also layers onto that version another dimension of fantasy and fun. Setting the ancient story as a play within a modern play, Robin and Clark create the dual perspective that characterizes many of their musicals and allows the actors to break the fourth wall and engage the youngsters directly. The narrator, a schoolgirl named Cindy, fashion – often improvises - her version of the story, lobbies to have it produced, and eventually plays a pivotal role in the work. Employing MSMT’s exciting new video technology, a stellar cast of young professionals, and incorporating large-scale, whimsical puppetry into the mix, this BEAUTY AND THE BEAST proves the resilience of the source material and the creative genius of the company
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Feature: Lucky To Be Me: MSMT Singers Perform Around the State
“We perform in parking lots, restaurants, tents, bandshells, and lovely venues like this one,” declares Maine State Music Theatre’s Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark. He is addressing a full house in the Lunt Auditorium at Oceanview at Falmouth on May 30. It is only one of over 95 free public outreach events that MSMT offers in the course of each year, but today is special because it introduces the new 2024 crop of MSMT Singers in their second public performance since arriving in the state.
An outgrowth of the company’s former intern program, the MSMT Singers are an elite group of young (college age) professionals selected by Clark in an annual nationwide search that has holds over 3000 auditions for eight spots. “These young artists have to sing, dance and act on a scale of at least an 8 out of 10 when they come here,” Clark explains, “and when they leave, I expect that they will have grown into the stars they are going to be.”
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Review: SOUTH PACIFIC at 75: Prescient, Powerful, and Entirely Enchanting
Respectful of the show’s legacy and sensitive to contemporary context, Maine State Music Theatre has mounted a stunning revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, SOUTH PACIFIC. Marshalling the company’s considerable artistic resources, this 75th anniversary production is musically glorious, visually lush, and packed with emotion and talent.
