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For
Beauty and the Beast, the musical palette was a combination
of classical romantic and the kind of hip Broadway savvy
found in 'Be Our Guest' and 'Human Again'. I like writing in
specific musical styles - opera, operetta - then
deliberately playing the lyrics against the style."The
style becomes the uniform, and the lyrics are the
'inappropriate behaviour' within the uniform."For
instance, 'Gaston' is in the style of an operetta, but the
lyrics are comedic."They give a different, humourous
point of view about he villain."They're like a wink at
the audience." 
When
I was invited to join forces with Alan Menken to develop
Beauty and the Beast, I wanted to continue original
lyricist, Howard Ashman's creative vision and to make sure
that everything we wrote was true to the spirit of the show.
We didn't need more showstoppers like 'Be Our Guest' or 'Gaston'."But
we did need songs to expand the characters and their
relationships."For instance, 'If I Can't Love Her',
deepens the Beast's character by revealing his human
longings". 
In
developing the movement for the Enchanted Objects, I wanted
to emulate the glamour of the Busby Berkley musicals, but
add a touch of humour."I did this by exploring the
objects' human side."Costume designer, Ann Hould-Ward
and I spent hours looking through kitchen shops asking
ourselves, 'how would a body move in this?' The effect I
wanted was for an object not just to be a spoon, but a
person trapped inside a spoon."The character is sharing
a little joke with the audience, saying in effect, 'yes, I'm
a spoon, but there's also a person in here! 
I
make very specific choices about the use of colour to
support and communicate the story and the spirit of the
show."For instance, the red Enchanted Rose glowing
against the castle's cold blues and purples is a constant
reminder of the Beast's story."Hot reds, pinks, and
lavenders with lime and aqua accents pump up the energy in
'Be Our Guest'."And Belle's blue dress against the
earthy tones of the village sets her apart before she's sung
even one word."We respond to colour subliminally, so
without pulling focus from the actors, the music or the
story, colour contributes to how we understand and
experience the story emotionally. 
As
we've opened new productions around the world, it's been
fascinating to see how different cultures have affected our
own visual thought process on the costume
designs."Artists in every country are affected by where
they live and the way they relate to light."The costume
colouration in the Mexico production was very different than
in Japan, for instance."We've also changed costumes to
reflect different social norms." For example, in
Vienna, there is a very refined definition of appropriate
fabrics for the winter ball season, so we adapted those
choices for the ballroom scene and finale in recognition of
that sensibility. 
Every
production is different because the individual artists bring
their own unique touches that are surprising and wonderful
and touching."Yet, it's still the same show - a
universal story that everyone connects to. For instance,
there's a moment in Act Two, when the Beast lets Belle go.
The audience is sitting in the dark, hoping, waiting to see
if he's going to say 'I love you'. It's a signature
moment."You could be in Japan, London, or New York and
feel the same response."The audience is immersed in the
world of their imagination."That's the power of this
story, and over the years, I've been privileged to have seen
audiences all over the world fall in love with it. 
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photographs of the original 2001/2002 touring cast by Catherine Ashmore
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