Tale as Old as Time… Apparently So Am I

There are certain shows that are just permanently stitched into your DNA. For me, Beauty and the Beast isn't just a musical. It's basically a family member at this point. A slightly dysfunctional family member who owns a fog machine and has very strong opinions about enchanted flatware. It was my first professional job on Broadway at the Palace Theatre, which still sounds completely insane when I actually type it. Of all the shows I could have started with, I started with Disney, Broadway, giant sets, enormous costumes and a dancing spoon. So naturally my expectations for adulthood were completely reasonable. Seeing the new production at the Pantages brought all of that flooding back. I got a $40 rush ticket and somehow ended up FRONT ROW on opening night, because occasionally the theater gods look down and say, "Fine, Erik. You've suffered enough. Here's Belle at eye level." The production is gorgeous. The projections and LED technology are incredible, and it's fascinating seeing how much theater has changed since my days with the show. Some things are completely different. Some things feel exactly the same. And apparently I can still hear the first few notes of that score and immediately become twenty-something again. For two and a half hours. I was just sitting in a theater watching the show that started everything for me. And sometimes you really do need a tale as old as time to remind you who you were before life got so complicated.

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