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La Belle et La Bete, a touring production by the French Canadian theater company, Lemieux Pilon 4D Art, opened at the Majestic Theater December 6th-9th, presented by ArtsEmerson. It was by far the most visually stunning performance I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The technology used was, quite simply, revolutionary. Holographic images of humans and animals appeared onstage and interacted with the actors, smoke emerged from mirrors, characters wrestled with their inner selves, literally: images of themselves writhed in and out of their bodies. The creeping tangle of branches and vines and the dark, looming castle background that formed, for the most part, the set, were startlingly three dimensional and lifelike. The lighting and sound were powerful and evocative; everything contributed to a dark, eerie, and monstrous feeling, from the rain and thunder, the actors disappearing in wisps of smoke, to the famous painting, “The Nightmare” by Fuseli. It was projected on a thin screen on the stage at the beginning and end of the play: a woman, naked, lying down, her arms outstretched and her eyes closed, with a hairy beast of some kind crouching, demon-like, on her pelvis. All blended to create a formidable yet melancholy mood and a haunting presence. I walked out of the Majestic feeling like I had truly been touched by magic.
 

La Belle at La Bete was translated from French and I cannot help feeling that I probably would have enjoyed it more had it remained in French. The script was awkward and often painfully cliché, and the story line unclear at times. Although most of us are familiar with the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, which this was clearly based on, this deviated quite a bit from the original plot and it was those times that I found myself confused. Not including the actress whose part was filmed ahead of time, whose holographic image appeared on stage, there were only three characters. One of the characters was half narrator and half in the story and her role in the story, her relationship to others, and her past were all unclear. The overarching theme was, of course, love, and I felt that the script revealed no new meanings or discoveries around that but rather traversed well-trodden and stale territory. As the play was so aesthetically pleasing, it was particularly disappointing that the language did not measure up. And, with such an awkward, stilted script, the acting felt similarly forced. The actress playing Belle, however, Benedicte Decary, had a glow and luminosity to her that blended well with her magnificent surroundings, her voice had a musical lull to it that was pleasing to the ear and perfect for this show.
 

A wonderful spectacle with the most mesmerizing visual effects I have ever seen onstage, La Belle et La Bete is a must-see if that is your cup of tea. If, however, you look for profound language, depth, and significance at the theater and feel cheated when it isn’t there, you might want to stay home for this one.

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​La Belle et La Bete ran from December 5-9th, 2012 in the Cutler Majestic Theater.