A hauntingly beautiful love story and mob-style witch
hunts—Dracula, Phantom and yes, my pretty ones, the timeless classic, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. B&B hits the Orange County Performing Arts Center on November 16 through November 21 and stars Justin Glaser in his beak- through role as the hideous and ferocious Beast.
The Rage Monthly: What’s it like playing a Beast all across America? Justin Glaser: Sometimes I describe the role of Beast as juggling 18 different balls in the air at the same time—the technical and physical requirements, the emotions, the costume. It’s a great opportunity to be center stage and develop a character over the long haul.
Rage: Tell me about your transformation process from Justin into the Beast. JG: The process for my hair and make-up takes about 35 minutes. I have a Wig Mistress who also travels with the show, then it takes about 15 minutes to get into my costume. After that, I do my physical and vocal warm-up. The complete transformation, both physically and mentally takes about two hours.
Rage: How do you balance ferocious vs. gentle? Beast is both. JG: That is the terrific challenge of this character; physically, vocally and emotionally.
Beast starts in a very dark, angry, lonely place and then slowly a new layer is revealed or stripped away and we see all the sides and colors to his character. His true heart is what Belle sees. Audiences expect that. They expect to re-experience the magic of the film in a live version and the production delivers that. But the stage version is also alive in its own way, the characters and their relationships are more developed.
Rage: Is this a kid’s show? JG: It is for all generations. Sure it’s a great first show for children, the songs are catchy,
but it’s also a great date night experience. There is this sweet and sensitive relationship that develops, Belle and Beast really talk to each other. They have passion and trust—a very adult, mature thing happens and the Beast has these dark, anguished, lonely mo- ments that adults can appreciate. On top of all of those deeper layers, there is broad humor; the clowning of Gaston and Lefou and the antics of the castle objects.
Rage: I’m not afraid to admit, I am from the Beauty and the Beast generation, the kid that memo- rized every song and joke in the animated film. What surprises are in store for me; how is this Disney stage production different than Disney’s animated film? JG: The animated film is about 90 minutes and the stage show is almost two and a half hours. When it originally opened on Broadway, it had six new songs compared to the animated version. For this new version, the original creative team, the ones that created it for Broadway and put it up all over the world revisited it and created a new production. We have a new design for the set and the costumes. Two of the songs from Broadway were cut and new scenes written in their place. Linda Woolverton, who wrote the book, made adjustments here and there. It’s exciting, we are part of an original production, but it’s been done with the same story. The original creative genius has re-envisioned it.
Rage: How did you land the title role for this tour? JG: I had a contact, an Assistant Casting Director who I had worked with in Commu-
nity Theatre. We met when I was playing Judd in Oklahoma. I had a day job at a movie company, but I tried to perform as frequently as I could to keep my skills sharp. I was
Justin Glaser as Beast in Beauty and the Beast Photography by Joan Marcus
casted in an ensemble role in the national tour of Annie. Then I was an Apostle in the tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ted Neeley. After that, I thought, “What am I going to do next?” Then I got an e-mail from a woman inviting me to a call for Beauty and the Beast. I did a few songs and scene readings for the Beast. They kept me throughout that day and told me how interested they were in casting me. They hired me the second day they saw me.
Rage: Wow! That’s like an American Idol story, someone who was working a day job, singing by night when they could; and then next thing they know, their starring on stage in a national tour. JG: That’s how I feel. Like I have been just stumbling along and then somebody
recognized something in me, so I followed that through. Follow through is key. I do my best to recognize areas that need improvement. That’s what enables me to keep growing and to be recognized. I love doing theatre so much. There is always vast room for improvement. You can always be better in everything. Unless you decide to settle for something less than what you are most capable of.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Orange County Performing Arts Center November 16-21
Ocpac.org 714.556.2787
NOVEMBER 2010 | RAGE monthly 17
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