Stephen Mark Lukas sees Gaston, the character he portrays in the national touring production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” as a fellow of supreme self-confidence.
And it’s this overweening pride in his ability to get whatever it is he might want that makes Gaston as much a buffoon as a bully.
“There’s nothing funnier than unearned confidence,” Lukas said recently by phone. “It’s something that all the great comedians — the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, you name it — have understood.
“And I think that’s why a lot of people love this character,” he said. “Because while Gaston is so confident about himself, at the same time he’s not very bright. So this absurd amount of bravado is just that — absurd.”
That’s one reason why Lukas has enjoyed taking on this role in the fifth national touring production of the show based on the 1991 Academy Award-winning animated film.
“Gaston is kind of the textbook example of ‘toxic masculinity,’” Lukas said. “And he takes a great deal of enjoyment in everything he does, because he’s so confident that what he wants is the only thing that matters. But he’s presented in such a way that everyone except Gaston can see how ridiculous he is.”
Celebrity Attractions is bringing this newest version of the musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1994 and ran for 13 years, to Tulsa for an eight-performance run set for Jan. 25-Feb. 1 at Tulsa PAC, 101 E. 3rd St.
Inspired by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s classic fairy tale, “Beauty and the Beast” is the story of an arrogant young prince whose callous treatment of a woman in need results in his being transformed into a hideous, Minotaur-like creature. His only hope of returning to his human form — and keeping his faithful house servants from becoming inanimate household objects — is to earn the love of another person.
That person is Belle, a bookish beauty from the small town near the castle where the Beast has hidden himself away from the world. Belle gains entrance to the castle while searching for her missing father, and the “tale as old as time” begins in earnest, as the Beast has but a short period to convince Belle of his true love for her before the curse afflicting him and his companions becomes permanent.
Lukas co-stars in this production with Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle, Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast, Danny Gardner as Lumiere, Kathy Voytko as Mrs. Potts, Javier Ignacio as Cogsworth and Harry Francis as LeFou.
Lukas — whose career has included stints on Broadway, national touring productions and TV series such as “Elspeth” and “Gossip Girl” — is no stranger to the role of Gaston. He first portrayed the character in a production at the prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.
“It’s one of those roles that just seemed to fit me like a glove the first time I did it,” he recalled. “I knew then that I would want to do it again, and being able to be a part of the official Disney production, and to be able to work at that level, was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
The new tour brought together a number of the show’s original creative team to rework aspects of the production.
“Linda Woolverton, who wrote the original book, worked with us to create a few new scenes, as well as editing others to make the show a bit more streamlined and contemporary,” Lukas said. “Some of the big production numbers, such as the ‘Gaston’ sequence and the whole ‘Be Our Guest’ scene, have been expanded.”
What’s great about the changes, Lukas added, is that they don’t disrupt the show’s character. They just make it feel a bit fresher and exciting.
“For people who had seen the original production, even some of the magic in the show is new,” he said. “If you’ve seen previous productions, and think you’ve figured out how certain things are done, well, get ready to be surprised.”
One aspect of the show that also underwent some change was that of the relationship between Gaston and his much-put-upon sidekick LeFou, who was often the target of comic violence. Two scenes involving the characters are pretty much brand new and give a different view on their relationship that is “still quite funny,” Lukas said.
“There was a lot of physical slapstick in the original version that’s been taken out,” he said. “LeFou still has a tendency to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time in some scenes, but it isn’t as mean-spirited as it was in the past.”
Still, Gaston is the villain of the piece, determined to kill the Beast in order to have Belle to himself. But Lukas said even Gaston’s villainy has undergone some subtle changes.
“Like a lot of people who put up this front of total confidence, beneath all the bluster, Gaston is really a very fearful person, and that’s something that comes out in the second act,” he said. “I think that it’s important to see that, and to see what the consequences of that sort of attitude can be.”
For tickets, head to tulsapac.com or call 918-596-7111.
James Watts is a freelance contributor to the Tulsa Flyer.
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