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 I
was going to ask how the show’s going but having seen some of the
rehearsal I can see that it’s going very well indeed. Are you pleased
with the progress so far Chris?
Chris B: To me the actually complexity of the show is not setting it
within the hall. The real complexity is still to come where we have
to make the show work and have a real legitimacy. It’s in good
shape. It’s not a deep, multi-layered, difficult thing to teach. But
getting it to look right is a tremendous challenge. Because of its
apparent simplicity, this is the kind of show that is bound to be a
favourite and there is the potential to see it done badly time and
time again. So to have a big production that looks really right is a
challenge.
The cast is terrific. Not only do they look fabulous but they sing
and act so well. And Whitehorse has really been fantastic. They’ve
sunk the resources into it, everybody is working as hard as you’d ever
see anybody work because they want it to succeed and they’re loving
it. It’s just drawing so many people on board.
You told me how much you’ve enjoyed being a part of
this creative team. What is it that is making this experience so
special?
Chris B: I think a big, big musical like this is to do with getting
the synergy between the creative team so that we all know where we’re
heading and the vision is the same. With all the experience within
the team this has happened instantaneously. To me there seems to be a
seamlessness between the creative team and I think that’s of huge
importance. Often you go to shows and you see outstanding lighting or
choreography or direction or singing but nothing gels. It’s like
everyone’s done their own bit.
 This
is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. How does that make it differ
from other musicals?
Chris W: From a design point of view the Disney mats, that’s the
background to all his famous old cartoons like Snow White and Beauty
and the Beast, always impressed me in terms of their art quality and
illustrated quality. And I’m mindful of that when I design. I’m
mindful of it when I do detail. It’s taking a hell of a lot of work
to make and paint at the moment. A lot of the people working on it
are at the ‘never again’ stage because once they’ve got one major
piece finished they’ve got another half a dozen in front of them.
However, that’s what it needs and I can always remember that what gave
those cartoons their richness and their imaginative power was the
wealth of detail and colour and almost super-realism. I’m hoping the
sets are going to look like that.
Philip: One of the interesting things is that, unlike many more
contemporary shows, if you were to get the cast recordings from Japan
and New York and London and Australia or wherever, you actually find a
great divergence in how the singing’s been approached. So in some
productions you have a female narrator doing the opening scene; in
some productions Belle is very chesty; in some productions the Beast
has been very much a pop tenor. We’ve steered in one particular
direction because we’re all used to the Australian cast recording
which I think is the most convincing in those styles. But that’s the
interesting thing about Beauty and the Beast compared to doing, say, a
Lloyd-Webber show or a Les Mis where the cast recordings for different
casts sound the same.
 Lynette:
I think what’s really important in a show like this is a smooth
transition. It’s such a story-telling show so that everything the
cast do should look like it’s a part of the story. So we’re always
telling them that when they’re singing and dancing it should look like
it’s a natural progression from one scene to the next. So it’s not
like “here come the dancers” and then they go off. They’re all part of
the story. And it’s a beautiful story.
John: I agree with Chris and his analogy to the cartoons. The
costumes in the cartoons seem to be very flat and monochromatic. That
doesn’t really work on stage so we have to make them textured and work
in reality but still keep that Disney colour and richness.
Chris W: In a design sense you can get away excess because Disney
almost made his colour and his atmospheres super-real – they were
better than reality. Everything glints and gleams and it should.
Chris B: When we were first considering the show we discussed whether
this was to be the Whitehorse,
Chris Bradtke
version of the show or our vision of the Disney show and we all agreed
that it had to look like the Disney version. It won’t be an exact
replica but there’s a whole expectation from the cartoon and from 15
years of the Broadway show. So I don’t think we wanted to stray too
far from the feel of the Disney version.
Can
you tell me what you’re finding the most enjoyable and/or challenging
about this show?
John: From my point of view they’re both the same thing. I’m
enjoying it immensely but everything is a challenge. The general
human costumes aren’t a problem but making clocks and wardrobes and
teapots is an immense challenge but very rewarding. I’m learning as I
go. I had to learn how to fiberglass which isn’t as hard as I thought
it would be but it was still something I didn’t know how to do. And
creating three dimensional objects from flat materials is always a
difficult thing to do but we’re learning how to do it. In total we
have about 15 people on the costume team, mostly sewers, with about
five people working on the inanimate objects.
 Lynette: Working with John on costumes for the choreography has been
fun. When we’re setting the scenes with the cutlery in Be Our Guest,
the plate looks beautiful so how can I show it off on stage? We want
to show off all the wonderful things that have been developed with the
costuming, making the choreography match the costumes.
Philip: One of the big challenges musically is putting people into a
style that they have not come to us already in. Our Belle has come
from a very classical background and it’s been fun experimenting and
toying with just how classical she’s going to be in performance and
how much more of a contemporary edge we’re going to get out of her
voice. That has been a huge thing for her because it’s ground that
she has been completely unfamiliar with. And what I like about her
classical style is that it keeps a sweetness to the character. It
brings out that gentle side of Belle very beautifully. So I really
enjoy that sort of experimentation. But as far as enjoying the show,
I just think it’s so well written. The craftsmanship is there.
People say it’s not particularly an original score and it isn’t, I
suppose. You can hear bits of all sorts of things from here, there
and everywhere but I don’t think that matters. It works in primary
colours. It’s like the cartoons in primary colours – everything is
exaggerated.
Chris B: For me the biggest challenge is drawing it all together.
The show is fully set and now we have to make it look beautiful as
well as acceptable. Lighting is going to play a huge role, special
effects and timing them, explosions, the transformation of the Beast
are all challenges.
Chris W: I guess my biggest challenge is keeping the enthusiasm up
with the people who are making the set. It’s just a hell of a lot of
building and the guys are working flat chat. It like a lot of
musicals that this company has done but multiply it by five in terms
of amount because there is something like six different full stage
sets to be made.
 Finally Chris. This is the second enormous show you’ve
done this year. What was the attraction?
Chris B: It’s nice to do a show were people aren’t cutting their
wrists and throwing themselves off balconies. It’s a lovely show and
I do like it a lot and to me it’s the first big production. I know
it’s been done before but this is as big a production as it’s going to
get for a long time. It’s such a good show. So why wouldn’t I?
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