September 12th, 2004 - Christy's Last Show

Christy's final farewell as she bows out of her role as Belle.

I had wanted nothing more than to see what I consider an IMPORTANT performance of B&B. I caught the 9th anniversary show in 2003, and the pre-10th anniversary show on Apr. 17th of this year. This was the next great moment; NEVER had I seen a show where the lead was bidding us "au revoir!"

Christy Carlson Romano, of Kim Possible and Even Stevens fame, as we all know had been with B&B since February 2004 and was scheduled to end her run as Belle on the 12th of Sept. Was it a call to go? You better believe it!

THE ticket =)

Members of the party: myself and David, whom if you haven't seen the other pages just yet, is my brother.

This performance marked a few very good "milestones" for us:

We beat our record of seating. Closest we had ever gotten was Row C, and we had made it to Row B at last. Only one more to go! =)
We took part in our first flower toss, which is an old theatre tradition of throwing flowers onto the stage as the lead says her goodbyes.
And most importantly, we FINALLY saw a new pair play Lumiere & Babette for the first time in a LONG time. Please do not get me wrong. I will certainly miss David De Vries, and Pam Klinger, who I have seen for the last 11 times, is absolutely wonderful. But it was a breath of fresh air to see others take their turn: newest principle actor Peter Flynn & Babs understudy Jennifer Marcum. Both are phenomenal!
We were remembered by an actress! We had only met Christy Romano a few times in her run, but swear-to-God-may-He-strike-me-dead-if-I'm-lying serious, her first words to us were "Wow, nice seeing you guys again!" I felt so loved! =)

And if THAT wasn't enough, not only did we see the actors we adore, but also made some new friends while waiting at the stage door and ferry bus stop of all places! Shout out to Megan & Emily! You guys rock! Hope to see you both again really soon!

Reviews on Key Performers of Sept 12th:

Christy Romano (Belle) - I will be the first to admit that I am one of the few who thought Christy did a wonderful job. I had always wanted her to play Belle even before they announced that she would. Her interpretation was different than most others and she interacted the most with the rest of the cast onstage. In this house, she will be missed. Great job Christy!

Peter Flynn (Lumiere) - Ok, so I have to admit it I guess. This was not the first time I saw Peter in the role, but the second. Now that that's out, I will be honest. The man is positively amazing! Voice, dancing, humor, he scores a 10 in every area! Never fear, ladies, our Lumiere is in good hands!

Jennifer Marcum (Babette) - I have to explain a little more about the above milestone. I have seen B&B, to date, 13 times. Of those thirteen, I have seen Pam Klinger as Babette 11 times. The woman is great, but I needed a new face, a new interpretation, heck I wanted the "squeaky boy toy" version of Babs again! =) My prayers were answered. Jennifer is a wonderful actress. She normally plays one of the Silly Girls who go ga-ga over Gaston the villian, but that night she understudied Babette. I do hope I get to see her again in the future.

Sept 12th Photos:

Marguerite Willbanks (Madame) & Jennifer Marcum (Babette) - Curtain Call

Jeff Brooks (Cogsworth) - Curtain Call

Peter Flynn (Lumiere) - Curtain Call

Steve Blanchard (Beast/Prince) - Curtain Call

New Pal, Megan, Christy, & David @ the Stage Door

Myself with Peter Flynn @ the Stage Door

Good night, great memories, and this is Faith signing out until next time! =)