When two fairy tales took the grown-ups back to their childhood
When two fairy tales took the grown-ups back to their childhood
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
TT Bureau
Published 16.02.18, 12:00 AM
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
From artificial wild mushrooms to elaborate bird feathers, the props made the stage lively. The lights were bright and colourful and an LED backdrop showed stunning visuals.
Disney films make up most of our childhoods and the audience got a chance to relive those days, with their tots in tow of course, at Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, in association with t2 at Kala Mandir on January 22 and 23. In their third year of presenting musicals on stage for children, Fun Pickle, a city-based event management company presented the play with Mumbai-based Vishaal Asrani and Jiji Subi from the Vishaal Asrani’s Institute of Performing Arts (VAIPA). Interspersed with lessons for children, the musicals did not only entertain but also educated. Snapshots...
A teacher at La Martiniere for Girls, Simran Chopra attended the musical with her sons Aryaveer (right) and Shaurya (second from right) and niece Shanaya (left). “Aryaveer was telling Shaurya how they should never be arrogant and selfish with one another. This shows the impact such musicals have on little ones,” Simran said.
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Brother-sister duo Vaibhav and Vidhi Giani are fans of Beauty and the Beast. “I have seen the film on television and have read the book. I loved the acting and the costumes were spot on. What struck me was the idea of sending out a message through the play,” said Vaibhav, a Class VI student of La Martiniere for Boys.
Beauty and the Beast began with a witch disguised as an old lady asking the selfish prince for shelter and he turns away, calling her ugly.
Swati Jeloka (left) and her friend Rishu Sarda (right) took their children to the musical. “The musical was short and easy to understand for the children,” said Swati, a homemaker.
Organiser speak: “This was our third year of shows and the musicals are getting grander and more exciting. We received a lot of positive feedback,” said Fun Pickle co-founders Neha Bhatnagar (right) and Richa Daga.
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Director speak: “We have grown up watching such Disney movies and this is our way of bringing back the good old stuff. With every single one of our plays, we try to give out some educational advice,” said Vishaal Asrani (right) and Jiji Subi of VAIPA.
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Text: Urvashi Bhattacharya
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
THE LITTLE MERMAID
With its LED background, and gorgeous costumes and props, The Little Mermaid had the audience mesmerised.
Caption
This narrative was split into two acts, both featuring stunning dance sequences, beautiful songs and hilarious dialogues by the Prince’s sailors and Marina’s friends.
“My favourite character was the prince!” said Manan Periwar (right), a Class I student of La Martiniere for Boys, while classmate Annanmay Daga had a different favourite. “I loved everyone, but the mermaid’s tortoise Shelby is my most favourite,” he declared.
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Sugandha Dawani brought daughters Piyal and Manya along. “This is our first time here and it was awesome! The children’s favourite character was the princess and they both want to become actresses when they grow up!” said Sugandha.
It was a family affair as Khushboo Jain came with daughter Shubhangi, a nursery student at S.D. Birla, and husband Shrenikk. “Shubhangi’s favourite was the princess with the pink hair,” said Khushboo.
When Prince Phillip unknowingly upset Marina, the queen, his mother, forced him to make amends immediately. So off went the two on a lovely date, making us all go “aww” from our seats.
