‘Beauty and the Beast’ is set to enchant you in Singapore in December
The world has been enchanted by Disney’s Beauty and the Beast for over 30 years now, starting with the original animated film that hit theaters in 1991 and became the first animated movie to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
I was 11 when the movie made it to the cinemas in the Philippines. I remember sitting in a packed theater, eyes wide, feeling completely enthralled by the story of Belle and the scary-but-ultimately-lovable Beast. I loved the songs, I loved the cute little teacup Chip, and I wished I could have a library like Belle’s. Even decades later, I still count this tale of transformation as one of my all-time favorite Disney films.
Beauty and the Beast would find success in other forms—from the musical that became one of Broadway’s longest-running shows (it ran from 1994 to 2007) to the 2017 live-action film starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.
The musical has also toured in 37 countries around the world, and soon, a brand-new production will be at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for a limited season. It’s produced by Disney Theatrical Group and presented in Singapore by Base Entertainment Asia.
Singapore is the show’s only stop in Asia, said Chantal Prud’homme, CEO of Base Entertainment Asia.
“We’ve had a really nice, beautiful, long relationship with Disney. We’ve done Frozen, we’ve done Aladdin, and now we bring you Beauty and the Beast,” she said. “We all work very hard to bring you the best shows, and this is a very special one. It’s going to run at the end of the year, during the holiday season, so it’s a perfect title for everyone to come and watch.”
The limited season will start on Dec. 11 and, at the Asia launch held earlier this month, Chantal had good news for everyone: they were adding another week to the show’s run—it will close on Jan. 25, 2026.
Belle’s gown and red roses everywhere
The launch was held at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. We walked through a sparkling archway dotted with red roses—an important symbol in the world of Beauty and the Beast. In fact, there were red roses everywhere at the launch—at the photo area, onstage, on the giant screen, and of course, a special one encased in a glass bell jar, just like in the movies and the show.
Inside the museum, a string quartet played songs from the show. Belle’s iconic yellow ball gown was on display. According to the sign, it was inspired by the gown Queen Elizabeth II wore during her coronation. The gown, which Belle wears during the song Beauty and the Beast, was created by costume designer Anne Hould-Ward who won a Tony for Best Costume Design for her work on the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.
Matt West, who was the choreographer of the original Broadway musical and is director and choreographer of this new production, was in town for the launch of the Singapore run of the show.
“The last time I was here in Singapore was about 40 years ago... I was doing a production of A Chorus Line in a theater that doesn’t exist anymore. Being able to bring my own production of Beauty and the Beast to these audience members and to do the shows here is a dream come true for me.”
Matt recalled the beginnings of the musical. “Originally, my small team and I were working on a different musical for Disney. The animated film Beauty and the Beast opened in 1991 and Michael Eisner, who was then the CEO of Disney, called us and said, ‘What about Beauty and the Beast for a Broadway show? And we thought, well, it is a talking teapot and a candlestick—how do you do that? A few days later, he called back and said, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to try this?’ And so we said, ‘We’ll do it.’ He threw the gauntlet down so we picked it up and we ran with it.”
He continued, “It was most interesting trying to figure out how to take these objects that were objects in the animated film—a candlestick, a clock—and put them onto the bodies of actors.”
The show is close to his heart, said Matt. “Linda Woolverton, who wrote the animated film and the book to our musical, wrote this about real people in her life. So I tell the cast on the first day of rehearsal, ‘There’s a lot of real up there on the stage.’ We want it to be honest. I don’t really want to do a cartoon onstage. I want to do something that connects with people... And so that’s what I’m most excited about in this reinvention of the show.”
According to Matt, the show has grown up in many ways, including the technology, the fabrics of the costumes, the lighting, the sound design, and the magical illusions. “We bring the show to life in new and inventive ways... It still has the characters you know and love but it’s grown-up.”
Playing Belle and Beast are actors already familiar to theater audiences in Singapore. Shubshri Kandiah, who plays Belle, had previously played Jasmine in Aladdin while Brendan Xavier, who plays Beast, stepped into the role of Kristoff in Frozen the Musical.
Shubshri and Brendan also played Belle and Beast in the Australian production of the show which just ended its run in September.
“Seeing how well audiences have responded to the show in Australia, I think Beauty and the Beast is going to be an absolute hit in Singapore as well. I feel incredibly lucky to be playing such an incredible character,” said Shubshri.
Brendan said, “That massive journey that the Beast takes, it’s such a pleasure to get to do every night.”
The music
Music, of course, is a big part of the show. The songs of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice are unforgettable (Menke and Ashman won Oscars for Best Score and Best Song).
Musical director Luke Hunter said, “It is an iconic score—those amazing numbers that we know from the original movie. Belle, Be Our Guest, Gaston, these huge kinds of spectacles, but there are also these beautiful moments of tenderness. Alan really knows how to write a love ballad. His ballads are just so beautiful and heart-wrenching, and our orchestration by Danny Troob really brings out those nuances.”
Be Our Guest is one of the most anticipated songs in the show. “It’s an audience favorite,” said Shubshri. “It is a 10-minute-long number that is full of pyrotechnics, a whole tap section, a can-can kick line... It’s absolutely incredible, and it’s one of the things that audiences talk about as they leave the theater.”
But it’s not just the big moments of the show that people should be excited about. Matt said, “I love big dance numbers and I have turned these dance numbers into extravaganzas. The Gaston number is big, the opening number Belle... but I like the quieter, smaller moments, like when the Beast gives Belle the library, I think it sneaks up on the audience. When she finally touches him for the first time, it really hits the heart of the story. That’s the heartbeat of Beauty and the Beast. That’s what I’m most proud about. The moments that I watch arms go around shoulders, heads go on shoulders, when people get a tear in their eye. Those are the important moments to me.”
Luke said, “I think it’s a sumptuous 10-course meal because there are moments of great spectacle—fantastic, energetic, heightened choreography—but it also takes you through this beautiful love story.”
Matt added, “The show is scored like a movie… so these guys in the (orchestra) pit, they’re working their little tails off all through the show. They never stop.”
At the launch, Shubshri and Brendan sang songs from the show: A Change in Me, If I Can’t Love Her, and, finally, Beauty and the Beast—a beautiful rendition that almost brought tears to my eyes.
Shubshri and Brendan are perfect for the roles, said Matt. “Rarely, but sometimes, when an actor walks into an audition, you know it’s them. And then you hope that when they open their mouths, out comes something you want to hear. With both of them, when they walked in, they had this special glow to them. Brendan was so great because he had this wide-eyed innocence about him. I knew I wanted the Beast for this version to be younger than usual and have this youthful glow about him. He brought that, and then he opened his mouth and he nailed it. And Shub, the same thing. She came in, and she was determined, and she had a positive attitude about herself. There was a confidence about Shub in her audition, and then she sang for us, and it just melted our hearts.”
Something that melted our hearts at the launch was seeing the three young actors—local kids from Singapore—who will alternate in playing Chip. They’re yet another reason to watch the show.
Chantal said, “Come to Singapore, come to the Marina Bay Sands, come to the theater. Come and say hello. We look forward to seeing you at the theater.”
‘Seeing the Beast on a skateboard would be kind of funny’
If you could step into the shoes of any character, who would it be?
MATT WEST (director and choreographer): As a choreographer, Lumiere, because he tap-dances now and I started tap-dancing at six years old and it’s always been close to my heart. As an actor, I would say LeFou, because LeFou is the unsung hero of the piece. You don’t quite know what happens to LeFou at the end of the show. I think LeFou was hired by Belle and the Beast to work in the castle, and he becomes the head of food and beverage, and he’s in charge. I like to be in charge.
If you could bring home one enchanted object from the castle as a keepsake, which would it be?
SHUBSHRI KANDIAH (Belle): I think I would have to bring home Chip, he’s so cute.
If Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts formed a band, which instruments would they play?
LUKE HUNTER (musical director): Cogsworth is quite uptight, so I can imagine him sitting down on a harpsichord playing some Bach sonatas, and I think Mrs. Potts would probably accompany him on the flute. And then Lumiere would probably come in and try to take charge and ruin it all. I think he’s gonna play the drums very loudly and thoroughly annoy Cogsworth, and then he’ll lose interest, wander off, and Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts will happily go back to playing their Bach sonatas again.
If you could introduce a brand-new enchanted object into the castle, what would it be?
BRENDAN XAVIER (Beast): When I was a teenager, I was an avid skateboarder, so seeing the Beast on a skateboard would be kind of funny.
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Tickets are now available through marinabaysands.com, klook.com and sistic.com.sg.
