Growing up in Berks County and now performing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ nearby in Philadelphia, how does it feel to bring Disney magic so close to home?<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s really an exciting opportunity! I grew up with ‘Beauty and the Beast’, wore out its cassette tape and remember seeing it in the movie theater with my family. So, to bring the iconic character of Lumiere and these beloved songs to my home state is a dream 30 years in the making.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you know you wanted to be a stage performer? Was there a show or performer that inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe first time I performed was as an elementary school student in the Reading High School production of ‘Mame’. I got to wear a turban and say a comedic line. As soon as I got my first laugh from the audience, I was hooked. My older brother, Ryan Gardner, is also a performer and watching him really inspired me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is Disney\u2019s first North American tour of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in over 25 years. What immediately stood out to you about the production?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe new choreography. Matt West, who choreographed the original production on Broadway, has directed and choreographed this production with all new dances. This time, Lumiere tap dances. Being a tap dancer since I was six, this was immediately exciting to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most audience members will already know Lumiere. How do you honor what people love about the character while still making the role your own?<\/strong><\/p>\nI am filling the shoes of some amazing performers \u2014 Jerry Orbach, Gary Beech, Gavin Lee \u2014 to name a few. I watched and listened to their performances before we started rehearsal. Once we were in rehearsal, I put their performances aside and I went back to the script and score and asked: How I could bring my own spirit to it? Having their guidance really helped me keep Lumiere the romantic, cheeky showman they imbued in him.<\/p>\n
Are there any songs or scenes in the show that feel especially meaningful to you right now?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the second act, the song ‘Human Again’ really strikes a chord with me (pun intended). Matt West\u2019s choreography adds a beautiful layer of reflection while Howard Ashman\u2019s lyrics bring the joyful yearning of feeling like yourself again. I think we all have a time when we \u201cfelt like ourselves\u201d more, that we want to return to: a younger time, a healthier time, a more secure time and the combination of the choreography, music and lyrics in ‘Human Again’ bring that yearning to the surface each performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019re touring with your wife, Emily Larger, who\u2019s also in the cast, and your son. Do you have any go-to family rituals or favorite ways to explore each city together?<\/strong><\/p>\nNow that Jack is nine-months-old, we have been trying to find playgrounds that have infant sections. He loves swings and slides, so whenever we can find a good playground, it brings a little normalcy to our adventures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What makes ‘Beauty and the Beast’ an ideal first theater experience for kids in Philadelphia?<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s a \u201ctale as old as old as time\u201d \u2014 or at least 1991 for most of us. So now three generations get to experience the story together. The combination of the well-known songs, the new dances, the beloved characters and the live spectacle that only Disney can provide is a perfect first show for any audience member.<\/p>\n
Beauty and the Beast runs at the Academy of Music from Feb. 11 to 22. For more information, visit beautyandthebeastthemusical.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Brenda Hillegas Disney\u2019s ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ has been a constant in Danny Gardner\u2019s life since childhood…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":552050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[53876,5229,170028,161588,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-552049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-academy-of-music","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-beauty-and-the-beast","11":"tag-local-theater","12":"tag-pa","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115979590265064986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}