Notes while watching KC as Belle (Beauty!)

Who would have thought she would end up a poised totally confident stage actress? But that is what KC Concepcion is these days as she performs the part of Belle in the most enjoyable production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Meralco Theater.

I do not know if her mother, Sharon Cuneta did. I am sure though that a lot of people did not think so because as a child KC seldom smiled and often hid at the sight of her mother’s fans. She was never cross or impolite with people but she made it clear she would much rather swim laps in the pool than be shown off to the guests during gatherings at their house.

Watching the show felt like seeing a transformation complete itself. It started 10 years ago at the Shrine Auditorium in LA during one of her mother’s US tours. KC announced she was ready to perform and she sang a LeAnn Rimes song wearing her first grown-up dress. Surprise! The girl could also sing.

So there she was last Wednesday evening, a beautiful, engaging Belle in what is only her second musical and her first lead role. A few years ago, she made her debut as the Princess in The Little Mermaid after which she left to study in Paris. Now she returns in a part I do not think she would have had the heart to turn down.

She loves Disney stories and characters and Beauty and the Beast has always been one of her favorites. I remember her as a pretty little girl in a Belle costume. Did she dream of one day playing the part? Maybe. She does now for several performances and she is simply wonderful.

As we have known all this time, whether she ended up an actress or not, the charm and the talent are already built-in. Those are in her genes. Her good looks also help and she is really a stunner especially in that yellow ball gown. What makes her truly remarkable though is her singing, clear and so full of life and in the way she moves through the part. Her rendition of Change in Me, a song added to the show for Toni Braxton to sing as Belle in Broadway was particularly moving. It seemed like KC was sincerely feeling the role and in the process also enjoying herself.

Of course, she got help from the very best. KC performs with a splendid cast Jett Pangan, ever soulful and who is indeed one of the best singers around as Beast, Calvin Millado appropriately booable as Gaston, Pinky Marquez as Mrs. Potts, Lorenz Martinez as Cogsworth, Jonard Yanzon of 17:28 as Lumiere, Robbie Guevarra as Lefou and everybody else. The cast and people behind the production led by director Bobby Garcia, obviously joined hands and worked hard to come up with a first rate show.

Of course, Filipinos have always had an affinity with Broadway. No other country in Asia can boast of so many talented performers and musicians and musicals are in our blood. In fact, although this Beauty and the Beast is short on dancers and the chorus and could have used more special effects, the heartfelt performances can easily put those actors doing the show in Broadway to shame. Here is just one more proof that despite budget constraints and a limited market of theater-goers, nothing stops the Filipino artist from giving his best.

Best proof of all is Lea Salonga, star of Miss Saigon who is not about to rest on her laurels without imparting all that she has learned to others. Lea brought out her nurturing soul when she volunteered to coach the Belles of Beauty and the Beast, the other one is MYX VJ Karel Marquez.

Lea, the original singing voice for Jasmine and Mulan, is of course a Disney expert and her efforts were evident in KC’s performance. It is in the lift of the chin, the way she held her low notes, that little pause after a song or a punch line that allows the audience to better appreciate a song and get the joke. So it is now Sharon in the genes and Lea in the training. How can you beat that.

KC is a star who was born to fill the theater. There is no way you can hide that talent, that charm and that face. There is only one Megastar but her daughter is now ready to shine in her own light. Already I dream of other, bigger roles, Eponine, which she can even do in French, Christine, Maria, maybe even Roxie because thanks to her figure skating days she dances with grace. Would she dare Gypsy?