“Beauty and the Beast,” the musical, will open at the historic Lincoln Theater next weekend in Damariscotta. The costumes are ready , the lines are learned, the dancers and singers are feverishly working to put the polish on the production.

A lively cast of talented performers will present the ‘fairy’ tale at a moment when we can all use something to offer us hope and a little joy. The show promises to be a delight and a welcome respite as we celebrate the arrival of Spring. This promises to leave you humming the tunes as you leave the theater. What could be more lovely “Tale as old as Time Song as old as rhyme- Beauty and the Beast.” What most audience members will not know is the miracles behind the lyrics.

A long time ago, at Goddard College tucked away in the rolling hills of Vermont, a blonde curly haired lad stood on a cafeteria table at  6 am nearly every morning. Howie, as he was known, knew the words to every Broadway tune ever written and was not shy about singing at the top of his lungs. For context, Goddard was one of the ‘experimental’ colleges of the late 60’s where a student had to have a tremendous dedication  to their own creative process. Howard Ashman had all that and more.

He was “theater” and, like many theater friends, became an integral part of my life. Theater makes strange family. Howard was at college for a moment in my life, creating wild events, glorious laughter and spreading joy around like fairy dust. One of the beauties of Goddard was that no one judged anyone for anything or any part of their life, it simply never occurred to us that anything beyond the goodness of a person mattered. Howard brought everyone along with him in a joyous way that sometimes left you wondering how you GOT there- on that stage- with or without clothing.

Just as quickly he moved on, It was many, many years later when I stumbled on what my friend had done with his life.  Diagnosed with advanced AIDS while on a dream project “The Little Mermaid” , Howard told no one but his life partner, Bill. He was terrified that Disney would toss him out. He kept this secret. "I think the work really did keep him going and kept him believing, and almost willing him to continue on and to live," his sister Sarah Ashman Gillespie says in Howard- a Disney documentary worth watching, bring tissues.

Howard would work all day and then would go to an "at home hospital" afterwards. During a The Little Mermaid press trip to Disneyland, he had a catheter in his chest.  No one knew and Howard made sure of that. He was expected to go on rides during the press event and was too afraid to tell that the pain was nearly  unbearable. He was certain that Disney would not want a man with what was sometimes called “Gay Cancer” associated with their apple pie image. Alan Menken recalls Ashman telling him. "Here I am, a gay man, and I'm working on a movie for kids, and I didn't want to be fired."

As the folks at Disney began to find out, they knew what an asset Ashman had been to The Little Mermaid, and certainly didn't want to cut ties.  Instead, they wanted to give everything they could to have him come in and save their next film, Beauty and the Beast. Howie was too ill to travel, so Disney packed up their storyboards and came to the home he and Bill Lauch shared in upstate New York. On what was close to his deathbed, Howard completely revamped what Disney had in mind for Beauty, giving significantly more focus and humanity with regard to the character of The Beast. It was important to him that The Beast was sympathetic.

An important message from Howard, who would not live to see the final product, was built into the show. So many people were treated like beasts during the AIDS crisis. Howard’s own experience is certainly hard to deny in the “ Mob song”" which is sung by a group of men trying to destroy The Beast: We’re not safe until he's dead
He'll come stalking us at night
Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite
He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free
So it's time to take some action boys
It's time to follow me”

Howard Ashman completed his work on Beauty and the Beast, and even contributed several songs and visual ideas to Aladdin. He would die at the age of 40 before either film was released. It's undeniable that without him they wouldn't exist, or at least they wouldn't have been the universally beloved sensations that they, along with The Little Mermaid, became.

At the Academy Awards the year BEAST was released, three songs penned by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice , and Alan Menken were nominated. Howard was given the Academy Award for Best song posthumously for the theme song “ Beauty and the Beast.”   I was watching that night, with a young child at home, and had lost track of my friend.  It was how I learned he had died of AIDS and that HE was the author of so many songs that I loved.

So if you are lucky enough to have tickets to the sold out shows, enjoy the fairy tale- but spare a moment when the lyrics are flying to think about the wonderful man who never got to see the show and to imagine what he could have done with the stolen years. Oh. And ignore that woman crying while the magnificent Emily Mirabile sings “Tale as old as time” – that’ll be me. Happy tears, but oh still feeling the loss of that light in our world.

“Beauty and the Beast” opens Friday at the Lincoln Theater. You may get on a wait list for tickets by calling 563- 3424. While you are at it- suggest they run for more than one weekend in future. Many, many people will miss out with the show already sold out so far in advance.

“CAST

(in order of appearance)

Young Prince - SPENCER POTTLE

Beggar Woman/Enchantress - PHAELON O’DONNELL 

Beast - JOSEPH LUGOSCH

Belle - EMILY BARTLEY

LeFou - NIALL LESSARD

Gaston - ROOSEVELT BISHOP

Silly Girls - EMILY SUE BARKER, SARAH HARRIS, PHAELON O’DONNELL

Maurice - ANDY BARBER

Lumiere - DEREK KINGSLEY

Cogsworth - STEPHEN WALLACE

Babette - EMILY SUE BARKER

Mrs. Potts - EMILY MIRABILE

Chip - OSCAR MIRABILE

Madame de la Grande Bouche - DEBRA ARTER

Madame D’Arque - ZORA MARGOLIS

Castle Gargoyles - FINN SULLIVAN, COLLIN CASTILLO

Ensemble

IMIJ ARMSTEAD, TERRY BEAL, ABBI BECKFORD, BARBARA BELKNAP,

CHRISTINA BELKNAP, FIONA BISHOP, LAURIE BROWN, CATHY CAMPBELL, CLARA FAGAN,

KATIE FEARN, ELIANA GOLDBERG, KAREN HANEY, SARAH HARRIS, MELANIE HODGDON, EVE JAMIESON, CAMERON KINNEY, SCOUT MARTIN, NATALIE NORRIS, ELLIS PERCY, JOHN PRALL, KATHY PRALL, ROBYN TARANTINO, MEG TSCHAIKOWSKY, TREY TIBBITTS, MEREDITH WHITE

PRODUCTION STAFF

Director -          EMILY SUE BARKER

Technical Director - DAMON LEIBERT

Stage Managers - NIALL LESSARD, JENNIFER TRUE

Costumes - KATHARINA GARBER, LUCINDA SMITH

Wig Supervisor - NANETTE FRASER

Scenic Artist - MARY SUE WEEKS

Program and Poster Design - LYNDA RIESS LATHROP

Computer Graphics - ERIN SUMMERS

Production Crew - EMILY BARTLEY, TERRY BEAL, BEN FEARN, ART GUSTAFSON, FORD HARRIS, DEREK KINGSLEY, NIALL LESSARD, JOSEPH LUGOSCH, ELLIS PERCY, HAMILTON PIERPAN, TED SILAR, BILL VAUGHN, TED SILAR, LUCY SMITH, STEPHEN WALLACE

Front of House - W. JOSEPH COTE, KAREN FILLER, MATT FILLER, ED HODGDON, WENDY JACKSON, KEITH LANGENDORFER, DEB MILLS-SCOFIELD, JENNIFER WRIGHT

PRODUCTION STAFF

Director -          EMILY SUE BARKER

Technical Director - DAMON LEIBERT

Stage Managers - NIALL LESSARD, JENNIFER TRUE

Costumes - KATHARINA GARBER, LUCINDA SMITH

Wig Supervisor - NANETTE FRASER

Scenic Artist - MARY SUE WEEKS

Program and Poster Design - LYNDA RIESS LATHROP

Computer Graphics - ERIN SUMMERS

Production Crew - EMILY BARTLEY, TERRY BEAL, BEN FEARN, ART GUSTAFSON, FORD HARRIS, DEREK KINGSLEY, NIALL LESSARD, JOSEPH LUGOSCH, ELLIS PERCY, HAMILTON PIERPAN, TED SILAR, BILL VAUGHN, TED SILAR, LUCY SMITH, STEPHEN WALLACE

Front of House - W. JOSEPH COTE, KAREN FILLER, MATT FILLER, ED HODGDON, WENDY JACKSON, KEITH LANGENDORFER, DEB MILLS-SCOFIELD, JENNIFER WRIGHT