Beauty and the Beast - Hair & Makeup Shots

As promised, here are some photos of Beauty and the Beast that really show off my hair and makeup designs.

If you click on the photos, they pop up HUGE so you can really see the details!

This is Gerry Born as Maurice and Kari Curletto as Belle. He's way too young to be Belle's dad in real life, so we had to age him! I accomplished this with some pretty broad old age makeup and a recycled wig. His hair was from Into the Woods, worn by the witch. But it was the perfect complement to his charming portrayal of the heartwarming inventor. Belle's "day" wig was the biggest pain in my butt - ever! It's just a really hard style to secure and have enough volume and look natural. I re-style this thing everynight! But it looks great! It's fun to have a red-headed Belle.
This is a great shot of what the makeup looks like close up. I know it's quite stark, but it's necessary to be seen by the audience that stretches back for hundreds of feet. I wish I knew how far it was!

This is Erik Ball as Gaston. His makeup is my favorite! It works on 2 levels - it sets Gaston apart from the rest of the men by making him really chiseled and angular. Then in the second act, when his evil side comes out, it really gives him an evil and menacing look. Erik does a fantastic job of applying his own makeup! And his wig is a hoot! I love how tall it is and the perfect curl cascading onto his forhead.
Here we have Erik with Evan Litt as LeFou. He was my BIGGEST challenge in the show. Evan is a VERY good looking guy - and one of my favorite people! We've gone to Disneyland with Evan and his adorable son, Evan Jr, he played Pharaoh in our production of Joseph - I was his wife, if you remember, and he also choreographed Peter Pan. Evan is a great guy. Here is a reference photo of just how good looking the guy is and why it was SO difficult to make him look like a befuddling idiot.

(Please note - Evan is in the middle - sorryabout the glasses and cap, but I think you get the idea, Evan Jr, or Little E, is on his lap dressed as Peter Pan. To the left of the Evan's is Sevyn - who plays the Beast. The girl waving in the background is the amazingly talented Cammie Youngberg. She does props, painting and special effects. She also learned the Beast Makeup from his designer and applies it for him every night. This was a photo from our trip to Disneyland last may. It was a total blast!!)

He did most of the work himself with his incredible physical presence, great characterization and strong vocal choices.

But, to take the edge off his handsomeness - is that a word? - I had him round his eyebrows, pull his chin line and cheekbone line down with shadowing as well as widening his nose. A healthy dose of brighter than bright blush and black out a few teeth along with a round shaped wig and I think we pulled it off pretty well! I don't think you would recognize him out of makeup on the street if you had only seen him in the show.

Lumiere was my favorite actor to work on ;). Well, most of the time! His makeup is very linear to suggest his face is becoming part of the candleabra as well as his hands and head. It is also touched with gold and works very well with his costume. His eyebrows are literally rectangles so they will stand out from his candle hat. I think he's very debonair and handsome!
And here we have Steve with Jennifer de la Torre as Babette. I wish you could see her face a little better - it's truly stunning. But I just love this photo so much, I had to share it. She dusts her shoulders and chest with gold - she acts with her shoulder so much it really adds a great dynamic.

Belle in her gold gown. Because the dress was SO traditional, I decided to go a little less traditional on the wig. It took a while to get the porportions just right, but it's crazy to me how she almost looks like a different person because of the different shape of the hair.
And a side view.

This is Al "Sevyn" Mindoro as the Beast. Again, I did not design or build his makeup or "wig", but I did add onto the wig. I dyed it and sewed in yards of more hair to give it more texture. I think it's pretty cool!

And finally, for today, Monsieur D'Arque, played by Chris Hermening. He was another challenge - how to make an attractive young man look older, dark and menacing. I think we pulled it off! For Chris, it's all about the eyebrows, bags under the eyes and chiseling the face - all with a dark violet color off set with stark white highlights. His number, "Maison de Lune" is one of my favorite.

Next time - more of the enchanted objects! And maybe some backstage photos, too.

Photos are property of PS Productions and shot by Ron Koch