FALMOUTH, Maine — It was March of 2020, and the Maine State Ballet was putting the final touches on its original production of “Beauty and the Beast.” The company decided to postpone opening night for a weekend or two, until it knew more about the pandemic.
That was more than two years ago. Now, once again, it is finally getting ready to stage this love story. 207 stopped by a final dress rehearsal.
It is a tale as old as time, but this particular production took its time getting to the stage.
"We were ready to stage the performance. We actually did the dress rehearsal. On Friday night, we let the kids go through the dress rehearsal knowing that we were gonna say we have to postpone the show for a couple weeks. … Didn’t know [the extent of the delay at the time], so they were sad. But they weren’t devastated because we thought, you know, it’s only gonna be a couple of weeks. Then it was two months, and now it’s two years," Linda MacArthur Miele said.
Now, the production returns with many of the same dancers who were cast two years ago. And finally, after the long wait, these dancers are ready backstage, putting the final touches on their elaborate costumes, wigs, and makeup.
"Everybody is so close. You know? It’s like when ... anyone does something hard together. It makes your family stronger. I think it did that. And the dancers really know how much they want to dance. So they just want to dance. They just want to dance," Miele said with a smile.
Linda MacArthur Miele knows her students want to dance. She is the artistic director of the Maine State Ballet and an alumna of the New York City Ballet.
She put this ballet together from scratch, pulling in the music and choreographing and staging the story and the dance. The pandemic gave her a bit of time to make a few changes to her work.
"When you put a new ballet together from scratch – so much to do and such a little bit of time. Then we got a chance to think a little bit. 'There should be a scene here,' 'I think we should make that character a little bit more of this.' … I love it!" she said.
It was the story itself that drew Miele to this ballet.
"It’s not quite the Disney story. This is like the real, like, the real story. So you have to go looking for music. And there’s lots of ballet music written, but it’s hard to find exactly what you want. It’s just a story of justice and repentance and forgiveness and, you know, happy ending. It’s just a beautiful story."
The story is a classic. The selfish Prince is cursed to live as a beast, and young Belle is a prisoner in his castle. The Beast must learn to love and win Belle’s love in order to break the curse. Michael Hamilton plays the role of Beast.
"He was selfish, and his selfishness led to this curse that has left him with all this shame. When I play the Beast, I try to balance out sort of just an idea of ‘grrr’ – rough-and-tough versus, well, why. What is that like? Why would somebody be like that? What brings him away from it? Where are the playful moments? Where are the soft moments?" Hamilton said.
"Linda intentionally did a really great job of, ‘OK, here’s some story, and now here’s some really big dancing,’" he said. "Not just dancing, dancing, dancing, and not just a play you’re seeing. It’s woven throughout."
Part of the appeal of the production is in the beautiful hand-painted backdrops and elaborate costumes that bring the play to life. Gail Csoboth has designed costumes for the Maine State Ballet for two decades. The costumes are as important in creating the characters as the dancers themselves.
"You can’t have anything with Linda Meile and Gail and have it not be like nothing you’ve ever seen. They make magic," Hamilton said with a smile.
Miele is ready for the curtain to rise on this production.
"I really like this ballet. From the beginning, there was something special and magical about this ballet. Whether it was because it was gonna be hard and it was gonna bring a lot of people together or what," she said. "Or it’s just the story, or the music that we found, but I enjoy this ballet. It’s a love story. But it’s like a love story that involves sacrifice, you know, and change and giving people a second chance."
The production debuts this weekend and will run for the next three weekends. For tickets, click here. For more information about the Maine State Ballet, click here.