Musicials

We got tickets for the traveling Broadway show Wicked that had a 2019 performance in Arizona at the ASU gammage center. This is an amazing building that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright the legendary architect. He designed the building for perfect acoustics. I can attest to the sound quality of the location after attending the play. I will add that the aspect I liked least was the music. I thought the musicians and the singing was great. My objection is to the song writing. The music didn’t move me. Of course this was the first time I had heard any of the songs.  When I visited with my sister this past fathers day and told her I had seen the play she started singing the songs at the top of her lungs. She loves the music in Wicked so maybe it’s not that bad. Some disagree with my assessment.

The first thing that struck me was the set design. They went with a steam punk style and that alone made the ticket price worth the money. I admit that I have always tended to think steam punk looked cool. I have no idea what it actually is or if I have ever seen or read a steam punk story. All I know is I think the style is cool. Whoever did the art design was damn talented.

Let me jump into what I liked the most. I thought the story was brilliant. I have always liked the movie Wizard of Oz. My younger sister made the family watch it many times. I watched it a few times over the last decade. It’s such a rich script that I find things I missed during every viewing. And I think it’s safe to say that many film experts would call the film a classic. This movie came out during the golden period of Hollywood. And if you needed to be convinced that same year 1939 was right before America got involved in the World War but it was the same year that Casablanca was released. Then there was Gone With The Wind a movie that took place during the civil war. It’s funny how low budget it looks today but still it’s a great movie.  A very long film but worth the time investment just the same. A lesser film the Hunchback Of Notre Dame also came out this year. I bring this film up because it is one of the plays that ranks on my list with Wicked.

Even as popular as the Oz stories have been for almost a century there was never another great production of OZ. They did spin offs. Prequels and sequels. There is a lot of source material but none of it worked. Then in 1995 they wrote a book. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It’s amazing how well this book was adapted into a great script. Every moment they do what great stories do. The enlighten and entertain the audience. It’s a fabulous script and the production is incredible. Great acting and theater.

Sorry Stephen Schwartz no offense I’m not a fan of your lyrics. It’s just my opinion.

Here is a picture of the curtain before they started the show. Pretty cool right?

Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical that is based upon the stories of various R&B artists like The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and many others. It has two acts which are set in the 1960s and the 1970s.

ACT I

The first act is set in the 1960s. It starts with an all-girl group called The Dreamettes joining an amateur singing contest in Harlem, New York. Composed by Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson, the group sings a song composed by Effie’s brother. Even though they lost in the competition, a man named Curtis Taylor, Jr. notices their talent and offers himself to be their manager.

The Dreamettes’ first gig is as Jimmy Early’s back-up singer. Jimmy, wanting to have something new to offer to his audiences, records a song with The Dreamettes, the “Cadillac Car.” The song tops the charts until some group does a cover that becomes more popular than Jimmy’s version. Because of this, Jimmy Early and The Dreamettes release another song entitled “Steppin’ to the Bad Side” which eventually ends up as a major hit among the listeners. However, conflicts ensues between Jimmy’s manager and Curtis. Things also become worse when Effie starts dating Curtis and Lorrell becomes Jimmy’s mistress.

Curtis starts controlling the flow of Jimmy’s career and he gives the girls a new name, The Dreams. He also replaces Effie with Deena as lead singer of the group. When The Dreams start gaining popularity, the issues become graver between them and Curtis when Effie starts suspecting that Curtis and Deena may be having an affair.

Later on, the girls undergo another rebranding, calling themselves “Deena Jones and the Dreams.” Effie starts missing performances causing Curtis to get worried. Curtis then decides to replace Effie but she finds out about this before Curtis can tell her.

ACT II

The second act takes place in the 1970s. During this time, Deena and the Dreams become more popular and Curtis marries Deena. Jimmy’s career has declined and Effie now takes care of his daughter in Chicago. Aside from raising her daughter alone, Effie is desperately trying to get back to the music scene while Deena is contemplating about being an actress. Curtis on the other hand, does not approve of Deena’s plans and he still constantly meddles with the songs of Effie’s brother.

Before a performance at the National Democratic fundraiser, Lorrell and Jimmy gets into an argument. During the performance, Jimmy makes the mistake of desperately trying to improvise and dropping his pants while singing. This causes Curtis to fire him and Lorrell to end their relationship.

Effie’s brother leaves Curtis’ company and reconciles with her sister. Effie then does her version of the song One Night Only which immediately tops the music charts. When Curtis learns about this, he does everything, including things that are illegal, just to make sure that Deena Jones and the Dream’s version of the song will beat Effie’s in the charts. Effie and her colleagues discover about what Curtis’s did and they resolve to take legal action against him. This event causes Effie and Deena to meet again and Deena learns that Curtis is the father of Effie’s daughter. Deena finally finds courage to leave Curtis and pursue her own dreams. The Dreams disband and during their last performance, Effie comes to sing one final song with them.

These guys are looking to film the local version of the show being performed in Phoenix for live streaming using a tricaster green screen. Check out HDVIDEOGEAR.COM

Found out about this from gorehor.com

The Lion King starts with presentation of Rafiki the mandrill of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi’s new cub to the animals of Pride Rock. As Mufasa’s brother, Scar, sulks at losing his opportunity to become king, Rafiki seeks the spirits help in naming the cub Simba.

As Simba grows up, his father teaches him about the Pride Lands and the balance that exists within things known as the Circle of Life. He also warns Simba not to wander beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands.

When Simba visits his uncle Scar, he tells him something about the elephant graveyard. Though forbidden to go there, Simba urges his friend Nala to accompany him.

After losing their escort, Zazu, the cubs reach the graveyard. When Zazu, catches up on them, three hyenas out and try to eat them. Fortunately, Musfasa comes and saves them.

When they get back home, Mufasa reprimands Simba for his recklessness. Afterwards, he moves on telling him about the great king who watch over them from the stars.

At the elephant graveyard, Scar makes a pact with the hyenas in stealing Mufasa’s throne. After forging some plans with the vicious animals, Scar takes Simba to a gorge and instructs him to not move a muscle. Scar goes to Mufasa and tells him that Simba being trapped in the gorge. As wildebeest stampede into the gorge, Mufasa comes to rescue his son. However, Scar sabotages him and causes him to fall right into the stampede. When Mufasa dies, Scar blames Simba for his death and tells him to just run away and never return. Simba runs away while Scar orders the hyenas to get rid of him. Simba, however, manages to escape the hyenas. As Rafiki and the rest of the Kingdom grieve for Mufasa and Simba’s death, Scar takes over the kingdom.

In the desert, before he dies from heat stroke and being eaten by vultures, a meerkat named Timon and the warthog Pumbaa save Simba. The two take care of Simba and teach him their carefree way of living.

As Simba becomes an adult while living with Timon and Pumbaa in the jungle, Scar continues his reign in Pride Lands which has now become plagued with drought. However, even with all the kingdom under his rule, Scar ignores all the complaints of the hyenas and the rest of the kingdom as he contemplates about how no one loves him. When Nala comes to present her case about the ongoing famine, Scar resolves to make her his queen. Nala firmly rejects Scar and sets on a journey outside Pride Lands to search for help for her fellow animals.

One night, Timon falls in a river and is almost drowned in the raging downstream. Memory of Mufasa’s death plagues Simba and it is only moments before Timon gets swept away by the water that he recovers and manages to save him.

Meanwhile, a lioness is hunting Pumbaa in the jungle. When Simba tries to fight her, he recognizes Nala. Knowing that he is the rightful heir, Nala tries to convince Simba to go back to Pride Lands but Simba rejects the idea because of the guilt that he still feels about his father’s death.

Afterwards, Simba goes out alone to talk with Rafiki. Rafiki tells him that no matter what happens, his father still lives on. Mufasa’s spirit also makes an appearance, telling Simba that there is no true king other than him. Because of this, Simba gathers enough courage to make his way home. Meanwhile, Rafiki comes to tells Timon, Pumbaa, and Nala where Simba is headed to. They meet Simba in the Pride Lands and help him get to Pride Rock.

In Pride Rock, Simba witnesses how his mother stands up to Scar and gets hurt because of it. This causes Simba to come out and face Scar. Scar then uses Simba’s guilt to weaken his will. He further tortures him by telling him that he, himself killed Mufasa. However, his calculations prove to be wrong. Simba fights back and makes Scar confess his evil deeds. Just as he is about to get defeated, Scar admits everything that he has done but puts the blame on the hyenas. Simba shows mercy and leaves him be but Scar tries to make an attack again. Simba counteracts the attack and Scar falls from the cliff. Down the cliff, the betrayed hyenas are waiting for Scar to devour him.

As Simba regains his rightful place in the kingdom, the rest of his family and friends and the rest of the animals come to celebrate with him. The play ends with a celebration where Rafiki presents to the kingdom Simba and Nala’s new born cub.

This play is based on the same story as the Oscar award winning screen Disney cartoon The Lion King.

Fiddler on the Roof starts with Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman with five daughter, telling the life lives by Jews in the Russian shtetl of Anatevka in 1905. In his house, his wife Golde is busy commanding their daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze, and Bielke as they prepare their home for the Sabbath meal. While they are busy doing their chores, the matchmaker named Yente comes and informs Golde that an old widower and a butcher named Lazar Wolf aspires to marry Tzeitel. Some of Tevye’s girls are excited about it but Tzeitel is not too happy about it because she’s in love with her childhood friend, Motel, a tailor.

As Tevye contemplates about his poverty and struggles in life, the bookseller Avram arrives and tells him about news regarding pogroms and expulsions. A man named Pechik admonishes them and tells them that they have better things to do than just talk. Even though the man seems a bit radical, Tevye still makes it a point to invite the man for Sabbath. Also, in exchange for a room, he asks Perchik to tutor his two youngest daughter. When he comes home, Golde informs Tevye that he has a meeting with Lazar after the Sabbath. On the other hand, Tzeitel fears that Lazar will marry her before Motel can ask her to marry him. As for Motel, he does not want to ask Tevye for his daughter’s hand until he’s able to buy a sewing machine which will prove that he can provide for Tzeitel as a husband.

During their meeting, Tevye accepts Lazar’s proposal to marry her daughter which sparks a celebration for Lazar in the inn where they meet up. Outside the inn, Tevye encounters the Russian Constable who warns him about a supposedly unofficial demonstration in the coming weeks.

The next morning, Perchik argues with Hodel about some of their beliefs. They start to develop feelings for each other when Perchik dances with Hodel just to show that he is not confined the tradition preventing men and women from dancing with each other. Meanwhile, Tevye announces Tzeitel’s engagement with Lazar. Tzeitel protests and begs her father no to let her marry the butcher. Motel also arrives and shows Tevye his conviction in marrying his daughter. Tevye is shocked by Motel’s lack of respect for tradition. However, he gives his blessing to Tevye and Motel even though he worries about his wife’s reaction when she learns about his decision.

While sleeping, fakes having a dream about Golde’s mother blessing Tzeitel’s marriage to Motel. He also tells who Lazar’s late wife rises from the grave to warn him about the bad things that can happen if Tzeitel is to marry Lazar. Because of the horridness of the supposed dream, Golde agrees in letting Tzeitel marry Motel. Meanwhile, Chave forges a secret relationship with Fyedka, a man she has met when he protected her from some young Russian and loaned her a book.

Tzeitel and Motel get married. Even though Lazar offered them a wedding gift, he argues with Tevye for breaking their prior arrangement. Perchik interrupts the feud by dancing with Hodel in front of the guests. The celebration suddenly comes to an end when the Russians barge in to do the “demonstration,” damaging the wedding gifts and injuring Perchik in the process.

When Perchik is about to leave and return to Kiev, he asks Hodel to marry him. Hodel accepts and the couple inform Tevye about their engagement. Tevye is appalled by this and is even more shocked to find out that they are not really seeking for his permission but merely, his blessing.

Tevye talks to Golde about Hodels’ engagement and about how that is different from their arranged marriage. After a few moments of contemplation, Golde agrees with his thoughts. Yente comes in and tells them about Chava and Fyedka. News about Perchik’s capture and exile in Siberia has also started circulating around. Because of this, Hodel decides to go after him but she reassures her family that she will always love them.

After quite some time, Motel manages to buy a sewing machine and have a child with Tzeitel. On the other hand, Chava asks her father to let her marry Fyedka, who is a Russian. Tevye mulls it over but he just can’t fathom her Jewish daughter marrying outside their faith. He then forbids Chava from seeing Fyedka again. This forcers her to elope with Fyedka. When Chava returns, Tevye does not want to talk to her and banishes her from their family. Meanwhile, the Russian Constable arrives to tell them that they must leave the town immediately.

In the end, Tevye and his family leave Anatevka. Motel and Tzeitel will go to Poland before joining them in America. Even Chava and Fyedka decide to go away and head for Krakow. The play ends with a fiddler playing and following Tevye and his family as they leave their village.

Jersey Boys starts with the arrival of Tommy DeVito. He proceeds on telling the story of his group, “The Variety Trio,” which he formed with his brother Nick and friend, Nick Massi. Nick Massi is also a mentor to a young man named Frankie Castelluccio. During the years when their group is still just new, Tommy has been to prison. Frankie on the other hand, has changed his name to Valli, and together with Tommy, forged a friendship with the mob boss Gyp DeCarlo. It is also a hard time for their group as they keep on changing their group names and trying to come up with a sound of their own but to no avail. One day, a man named Joe Pesci arrives and tells Tommy that a man named Bob Gaudio is a perfect addition to their group.

Bob Gaudio comes in to tell his story. It starts with him checking out the band perform. When he hears Frankie sing, Bob is impressed and he starts performing a song. Frankie, Nick Massi, and Tommy then join in with their instruments. After Bob joins the band, they get a job for performing as back-ups with the producer Bob Crewe. When Bob presses them for a name, they come up with The Four Seasons. The band start singing songs written by Bob Gaudi and soon, the men become more popular. Because they are constantly in tour, they also suffer from some personal problems, especially Frankie who is divorced by his wife, Mary. Tommy, on the other hand, is hunted by some loan sharks whom he owed some money.

When Nick Massi takes over, he starts with telling about Bob’s obliviousness to the band’s problems. Tommy’s financial debts are also taking their toll and an incident that landed the band in jail has caused some problems between Tommy and Bob. Tommy has also been jealous of Frankie’s closeness to Bob. The loan shark comes again and Frankie then decides to ask for Gyp DeCarlo’s help. Gyp helps the band strike a deal with the loan shark while Nick starts feeling stressed out by what’s happening to them.

Frankie comes in after Nick Massi and relates how he isn’t that close to Tommy. He also finds it difficult to understand why Nick left the band. He and Bob try to continue with the band but it is not long after Bob tells him that it will be better if Frankie would be a solo artist. Though his career as a solo artist also proves to be successful, Frankie’s personal life is still filled with some struggles. He breaks up with his girlfriend and his daughter is quite distant from him. The money he earns is also used to pay the rest of Tommy’s debts. However, grief takes over Frankie’s life when his daughter dies from drug overdose.

The play ends with original members of The Four Seasons reuniting and performing one last song together. This is the kind of music that has influenced everything from the Beatles to punk rock.

The first act of Wicked starts with the Ozians’ celebration of Elphaba’s death, the Wicked Witch of the West. When Glinda arrives, the Ozians inquire about Glinda’s connection with Elphalba. Glinda confirms that she one knew Elphalba.

As the scene changes, Elphalba comes in with her green skin. A product of an affair between her mother and mysterious man possessing a green elixir, Elphalba is greatly despised by his supposedly father, the governor of Muckinland. Elphalba and her disabled sister, Nessarose, go to Shiz University. Glinda also goes there where she turns out to be one of the more popular students. Nessarose is given by their father a pair of silver slippers and is taken by Madame Morrible, the headmistress, under her care. Elphalba’s frustration about her sister being taken away from her awakens the power inside her. The explosion she causes catches the eye of Madame Morrible and she decides to put Elphalba under her tutelage.

Her education about sorcery makes Elphalba Galinda’s greatest rival. Rumors also start spreading regarding the animals who can speak.

A young prince named Fiyero arrives at Shiz. Galinda is smittened by him and badly wants to be with him in a school party. So she can go out the prince, Galinda convinces a Munchkin named Boq to ask Nessarose to the party instead of her. She also offers Elphalba a hat that she can wear in the celebration.

In the party, Madama Morrible tells Galinda that she also wants her to be her students. Meanwhile, other students laugh at Elphalba when they see her wearing a witch’s hat. This makes Galinda feel bad and she decides accompanying Elphalba for the rest of the night.

When they get back to their room, the two girls share their stories to each other. Galinda confesses her feelings for Fiyero while Ephalba thinks that her father blames her for her mother’s death. At that moment, Galinda resolves to help Elphalba gain more attention in their school. However, Fiyero tells Elphalba that she’s good just as she is. Their only animal professor, Dr. Dillamond, arrives and announces that he can’t teach anymore. The school also releases a cage that will prevent animals from talking. This enrages Elphalba. When no wants to side with her, her anger explodes and she escapes with lion cub in the cage and Fiyero.

Afterwards, Madam Morrible informs Elphalba that the Wizard wishes to see her. When her friends come to see her off, Elphalba asks Galinda, who now calls herself Glinda, to accompany her to Emerald City.

When the two girls meet the Wizard, he gives Elphalba a book of sorcery. Elphalba tries a spell that is supposed to make the Wizard’s servant monkey to float but it grows wings instead. Elphalba concludes that the Wizard must be the one who is behind the movement that tries to prevent the animals from talking. It also turns out that he can’t do any magic at all and he just used Elphalba to use the Grimmerie book of sorcery. The Wizard try to convince Elphalba and Glinda to join him but Elphalba refuses and runs away. On the other hand, Madam Morrible sends out rumors about what Elphalba did with the monkeys and makes her “wicked” in the eyes of the people. Because of this, Elphalba decides to live alone and stay away from people who will just let her down.

In the second act, Elphalba is now known as “Wicked Witch of the West” while Glinda has become “Glinda the Good.” Fiyero, now the Captain of the Guard, is not too happy when Madam Morrible engages him to Glinda.

Meanwhile, Elphalba visits Nessarose who is now the governor of Munchkinland. Nessarose does not believe anything that her sister says. To make her believe her, Elphalba casts a spell and treats Nessarose’s legs. Nessarose shows that she can now walk to Boq but it does not please him. Because of this, Nessarose grabs Elphalba’s spell book and casts a spell that will make Boq fall in love with her. However, it only damages his heart. Elphalba tries save him by turning him into a tin man. When Boq wakes up, Nessarose tells him that Elphalba was the one who put a spell on him.

When Elphalba goes back to the Wizard’s palace, the Wizard once again encourages her to join him in his crusade but Elphalba firmly refuses as she remembers that he’s the one that caused the animals to lose their skills in speech. At that moment, Glinda comes with Fiyero but Fiyero helps Elphalba to escape. Glinda concocts a plan to lure Elphalba out by using her sister.

During their escape, a vision comes to Ephalba showing that her sister is in grave pain. Elphalba goes right away to help her.

Elphalba arrives and sees that Nessarose has been crushed by house where a girl named Dorothy can be found inside. She sees Glinda and argues with her. When the guards arrive to arrest her, Fiyero comes to save Elphalba again. Glinda warns the guards not to hurt Fiyero but in the end, Fiyero gets injured. When Elphalba can’t save him, she becomes enraged and decides that from that moment on, she will truly live as the wicked witch.

The citizens of arrive with urging of Madam Morrible and Boq. Glinda realizes that Madam Morrible caused the death of Nessarose. She then goes right away to warn Elphalba that the townspeople are on their way to kill her.

When Elphalba catches Dorothy, demanding Nessarose’s slippers. Glinda arrives and she tries to convince Elphalba release Dorothy. A letter arrives confirming Fiyero’s death which cause the two women to reconcile. Ephalba hands over the Grimmerie to Glinda and tells her to hide. While Glinda is hiding, Dorothy throws a bucket of water to Elphalba. Glinda is surprised to see Elphalba melts. When she checks out what happened to her, only her hat and the small bottle of green elixir that she has always kept are the things left remaining.

Glinda heads back to the Wizard’s. When the Wizard sees the green bottle, he realizes that Elphalba was her daughter. As the Wizard suffers in his grief for her daughter, Glinda commands him to leave Oz and she imprisons Madam Morrible for evil deeds.

Meanwhile, the Scarecrow who turns out to be Fiyero, arrives at the place where Ephalba supposedly has died. From a trap door on the floor, out comes Elphalba. It turns out that she turned Fiyero into a scarecrow and faked her death so that they can be together at the end.

The first act of Rent is set on Christmas Eve in the year 1989. In Manhattan, a filmmaker named Mark and his rock musician friend Roger shiver in cold inside their apartment. Their friend is on his way to their apartment when he gets mugged. Meanwhile, the landlord cuts off Mark and Roger’s electricity because they haven’t paid their rent yet. Collins is helped by a cross-dressing drummer named Angel. The two immediately become comfortable with each other upon learning that they are both HIV positive. While Mark goes out to look for Collins, a neighbor named Mimi and who makes a living as an exotic dancer crashes the apartment and meets Roger, who turns to be also HIV positive.

Collins arrive with Angel in the apartment. Benny, the landlord, also comes in complaining about Mark’s lawyer girlfriend who’s trying to prevent him from evicting the homeless people staying in a lot where he intends to build a studio. Benny tries to strike a deal with Mark and Roger asking Mark to persuade his girlfriend in canceling the protest she’s planning. However, the two men refuse. Mark then proceeds to fixing the sound equipment that will be used during the protest. After encountering his old girlfriend, Mark supports his friends in making a film about HIV. Roger is left alone in the apartment where Mimi tries to seduce him but to no avail.

Before the protest, Collins and Angels reveal that they love each other while Roger tries to make it up to Mimi by inviting her to the protest. As all kinds of people flock together to the protest, Maureen comes in and commences the show prepared for her by Joanne. Benny on the other hand, highly criticizes the protest and the people who attended it. Mimi and Roger also discover that they both have HIV and this give them courage to be together. Afterwards, Joann comes in to tell Mark and Roger that their apartment building has been locked down and a riot has just begun.

During act two, Mark receives a job offer at a tabloid newspaper because of his coverage of the riot. The rest of his friends try to break into their apartment but Benny arrives. Benny tries to get back with his former girlfriend, Mimi. Even though Mimi refuses, this enrages Roger causing her to seek her dealer for some drugs.

Afterwards, Roger and Mimi start living together while Maureen and Joanne plan another protest. However, conflict arises because the two women can’t stand each other’s behavior. Roger and Mimi’s relationship becomes worse as Roger constantly gets jealous of Benny and Mimi continues taking drugs. Angel’s health also starts to decline and Collins takes care of him. It is not long before Roger and Mimi break up and Angel dies from AIDS. During his funeral, the group meet with each other and remember the good times that they had in the past. Mark decides to accept a job offered to him when he realizes that he will be all alone after all of his friends die because of AIDS. After quite a while, the group start arguing among themselves again. Collins arrives and tells his friends to behave properly since it is Angel’s funeral. When Collins is kicked out of the church because he can’t afford Angel’s funeral, Benny foots the bill.

After some months, both Mark and Roger decide to pursue their passions in film making and writing songs. Benny is kicked out by his wife and Collins manages to extort money from a reprogrammed ATM. Maureen and Joanne appear with the now sick and dying Mimi. They all think that Mimi is about to die but she revives and claims that Angel told her that she must live.

The first act of Beauty and the Beast starts with an old woman knocking on the doors of a castle that belongs to a prince one cold winter night. Disgusted with her appearance, the prince refuses to let her in. Even she warns him that appearances do not guarantee what is really inside the hearts of people, the prince still decides not to share his shelter with her. At this moment, the old woman changes into a beautiful enchantress and curses the prince to be beast while is servants are all turned into household objects. The enchantress shows the prince a rose enclosed in hour glass. She tells him that the only way to get back to his old self is to find a person that he will love and love him back in return before the last petal from the rose falls.

Ten years pass and a young girl with passion for books appears. Even though her beauty is noticed by a lot of people, especially Gaston, they think it odd that Belle loves to read books.

One night, Belle’s father, Maurice, goes to an invention fair. On his way, a pack of wolves attacks him. When he loses his way, he ends up in a castle at the edge of the Crossroads. Maurice enters that castle and is met by the Beast’s servants who immediately turn into household objects as soon as Maurice opens the door. The servants receive Maurice warmly but the Beast arrives locks him up in the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Gaston’s marriage proposal to Belle gets rejected. Belle sees Gaston’s right hand man, LeFou, wearing her father’s scarf. Belle realizes that her father is in immediate danger and she quickly sets out to find him. She reaches the Beast’s castle and strikes a deal with him. In exchange for her father’s freedom, Belle is to stay in the castle with the beast. Belle is saddened by her fortune but the Beast’s servants try their best to cheer her up.

When Maurice gets back to town, he tells Gaston and LeFou about what happened to his daughter but no one believes him. At the castle, the Beast commands Belle to join him at dinner. When she does not appear, he argues with her and he decides that she’s not to eat anything unless she dines with him. However, the Beast’s servants still provide Belle with food afterwards.

After eating, Bells tours the castle and ends up in a place that the Beast has forbidden her to enter. She sees the rose inside a bell jar but before she can touch it, the Beast grabs her and accidentally pushes her. Belle is horrified and she immediately runs away from the castle. The Beast realizes that he has wronged Belle and sets on going after her.

During the second act, Belle is attacked by wolves in the woods. Fortunately, the Beast comes to her rescue. He fights off the wolves but also gets injured in the process. Belle treats the Beast’s wounds in the castle. To thank her for her kindness, the Beast presents Belle with a huge library.

Meanwhile, Gaston plans on using Maurice to force Belle to marry him. While having a dinner together, the Beast asks Belle for a dance. As they dance, the Beast inquires if Belle is currently happy. Belle admits that she is but she still misses her father. Using a magic mirror, the Beast shows him her father. To her surprise, Belle finds out that Maurice is sick and alone in the woods. There’s only a few hours left until the last petal falls but the Beast still lets Belle to go to his father.

Belle brings back her father home. She also tells him that the Beast is actually kind. At that moment, Gaston arrives, intending to take Maurice into asylum. Belle clears his father’s name by showing them the Beast using the Magic Mirror. Because of this, the townspeople decide to attack the Beast’s castle.

It is not long before the Gaston manages to get inside the castle and fight with the Beast. Just as the Beast is about to lose, Belle comes for him. The Beast’s regains his strength and overwhelms Gaston. Before he can kill Gaston, the Beast lets him go and he reunites with Belle. However, Gaston stabs the Beast in the back.

During his last moments, Belle stays beside the Beast. The Beast lets out his last breath and Belle confesses her love for him seconds before the last petal of the rose falls off. The Beast revives and returns to his old self and Belle realizes that the person in front of her now is the Beast that she has loved all along.

A Chorus Line starts with audition for a Broadway production. The director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry are looking at those who came for the audition. After a series of dance routines, 17 dancers are chosen to move to the next level of auditions. Zach announces that he will only be needing four boys and four girls for the production. He then starts interviewing the dancers about their lives to learn more about their past and their experiences.

The first candidate that gets interviewed is Mike. He tells Zach that his passion for dancing started when he substituted for his sister in a dance class when he was just a preschooler.

Stella tells about her unhappy life with her parents and the relief that ballet has given her. The dancers continue relating their stories one by one which include Bebe, Maggie, Katie and her husband Al, Mark, Connie, Diana, Don, Greg, Richie, Paul, and Val.

For the next level of auditions, the dancers are asked to memorize a song. While they proceed downstairs to rehearse, Cassie stays behind and talks with Zach. It turns out that she had a relationship with him in the past. Though Zach tells her that she’s too good for the role she’s auditioning for, Cassie insists because she has been out of work for quite a while. Zach has no choice but to let her continue with the audition.

As the audition proceeds, Cassie and Zach get into an argument about their past. Zach insults Cassie and asks her if she really just wants to be a chorus line dancer. Cassie tells him that nothing else can make her happy but being part of the chorus line.

After Paul suffers from an injury, the audition proceeds the movie ends with the selection of Mike, Cassie, Bobby, Judy, Richie, Val, Mark, and Diana as the chorus line dancers.