Chris George as the Beast and Seb Reade as Belle
One of the biggest challenges for a company like Shakespeare By the Sea who adapt fairy tales into new original family shows is that there are certain tales that have become so synonymous with their Disney counterparts that it can feel daunting to try to create something different, especially when it’s clear that audiences, and especially children, are emotionally attached to iconic characters like Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Moana, Anna and Elsa. Dan Bray and Garry Williams have created a brand new concept for Beauty and the Beast, playing until August 30th, 2026 at the Cambridge Battery site at Point Pleasant Park, and I think it succeeds beautifully in both telling a fresh, hilarious, and wildly creative brand new story, while also playing homage not just to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, but an array of beloved stories from the Brothers Grimm canon.
Here we are introduced to a young lady named Belle who is starting a new job on a Reality Television Show set. She is the Production Assistant (PA), and she is very enthusiastic to get to help create a show that she loves. The show is modelled on The Bachelor. The Beast must choose between three eligible princesses, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, after a series of elimination challenges, and he must find true love’s kiss before the time runs out on his rose or he will remain a beast forever. Belle runs immediately afoul of her bosses, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, especially Jacob, the director, who finds her overzealous earnestness cringe. As Belle gets to know the three princesses she realizes that this cynical world of Reality Television and Influencer culture is not an ideal fit for someone with creative goals like her. However, having the opportunity to connect with Belle in the real world instead of on their Magic Mirror tablets has an effect on the three princesses and the Beast, and Belle has to confront the possibility that there may be more to this self-obsessed Beast that she didn’t see before. From there Bray and Williams take the audience on a journey of unexpected twists and turns that cleverly explore how our culture’s obsession with chasing ratings and social media reactions is severely limiting the scope of our imaginations.
Seb Reade plays Belle as wildly engaged in the world, a writer who is curious about the world around her, and who believes in the goodness of others. Chris George’s Beast is, in many ways, her opposite. He is vain and checked out from his surroundings- preferring to immerse himself in all the dopamine available to him in his Magic Mirror. Yet, there is something about Belle that he finds intriguing, and as he tries to get to know her we see him access more and more of his vulnerability. Liliona Quarmyne’s Cinderella has found a passion beyond Princes already, but it has never occurred to her that she can create her own happily ever after. Conversely, both Siya Ajay’s Rapunzel and Rosie Callaghan’s Snow White are desperate to escape their current situation, and are hoping that the Beast will be able to provide them with a better alternative and fresh start. I wish that there had been more time to explore the nuances of Rapunzel and Snow White’s trajectories- but maybe that is a possibility for a sequel?
Patrick Jeffrey arrives on the scene late in the play as Prince Charming, a specifically Gen Z coded sweet talker exuding charisma, but not in a toxically masculine way. Matt Lacas and Burgandy Code play the Grimm brothers, and Code’s Jacob spends most of the play hauling poor hapless Wilhelm behind him like a ragdoll. Given his physical stature we often see Lacas play strong, assertive and confident characters in the park so it’s really fun to see him as a much more insecure and comedic character who is cowering under the intensity emanating from Code’s Jacob. Jacob is ruthless in his quest for ratings, and when he realizes that audiences are disengaging from the same kind of season of this Bachelor show they have already seen before he decides that he will find a reason for them to tune in with rapt attention by any means possible.
Garry Williams’ lyrics do an excellent job of being a seamless extension to Bray’s world, and Williams has carefully crafted the songs to explore plot and character development without allowing the search for a rhyme to send the characters down any random tangents. Musically, the songs are an interesting mixture of pop and musical theatre, with definite allusions to the complexities of Stephen Sondheim at times, where the trajectory of the characters is being explored in how the harmonies are constructed too. I sincerely hope that Shakespeare By the Sea gets a funding increase someday soon because I would love to see this show with a small live band- although I am looking forward to hearing the complexities of the harmonies at the library later this summer where the sound will be more contained, and it will be easier to hear it in all its nuance.
With Shakespeare By the Sea no longer doing matinee shows in the park the primary demographic of their family shows now gears more toward older children for whom the 7pm start time isn’t prohibitive. Beauty and the Beast mirrors this, as it seems to have been written for the sensibilities of children 8 or 9 years old and older, but it is also genuinely hilarious and delightful for adults. I just recently re-watched the infamous Toy Story 3, and while Beauty and the Beast won’t emotionally devastate adults it operates on a similar level where a lot of the themes and the messages seem more important for adults to consider than for kids. For the younger kids who will come to see the show at the library, director Jesse MacLean has ensured that there are lots of fun physical comedy gags peppered throughout that keep the overall tone light and silly. Jade Douris-O’Hara has choreographed the piece capturing the spirit of the high energy televised world.
For audiences of Halifax Fringe and the independent theatre scene here Dan Bray is known as a prolific playwright, and one with the unique skillset of writing hilarious culturally relevant plays within the world of a particular well-known franchise or literary realm. It’s hard to believe that this is the first time this prowess has been used to create the Shakespeare By the Sea family show, and it’s an absolutely perfect fit. Grimm’s classic may be a “tale as old as time,” but this Beauty and the Beast is the 2026 update you probably didn’t even know you needed.
Beauty and the Beast: The Fairytale-Gameshow Musical! By: Dan Bray. Music & Lyrics by: Garry Williams runs July 4th to August 29th, 2026. For more information and to buy your tickets please visit this website.
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