Ethan with Caroline Vasichek, the Austrian Belle

The first thing I have to say is this: Vienna's "Beauty and the Beast" cast was excellent. From the leads down to the company, just great! Viktor Gernot gave the performance of his life as "Lumičre", with a fantastic Anne Mandrella as "Babette" by his side. Heinz Zuber was an outstanding "von Unruh" and Marika Lichter a brilliant "Madame de la Grande Bouche". And Kevin Tarte (Gaston) and Eric Minsk (Lefou)... I donīt think there will be anyone as perfect in this roles! They were just as put donīt from the screen to stage. Just marvellous. Hard work to do for the two leads, if all the others are as great as this. But they made it. Caroline Vasiceck as "Belle" had everything for a role like this. Looks, voice... she just was Belle. And she and her "Beast" Ethan Freeman made a really great pair. It just worked. Ethan played the Beast as a kind of ill-educated boy, forcing everyone to obey his moods. A great scene was when the Beast told Belle to be hungry by the time he wanted her to... But Ethan also played a very violent Beast. No surprise when he gets in the fight with the wolves at beginning of act two. Somehow the human in this Beast had become partly an animal without conscience. But as the story goes, the Beast learns to be human again, he leans how to love. An Ethan really did a great job on this!

The best scenes of the whole show were when he fell in love with Belle. The naivity in which the Beast doesn't know how to make a compliment on Belle's dress - just to give the whole library to her in the next moment. I just loved the scenes when she reads "King Arthur" for him... and his enthusiasm when she asks him to have dinner with her. The best parts of the show!! As Ethan said in an ORF-Interview, the Beast is nothing but a selfish boy, who goes through puberty during the show and ends up as a resposible, grown-up man. And that's exactly how he played it. As for his voice - he had more to do in roaring than in singing. And as said, he played a violent Beast, so he roared a lot... Ethan's voices matches wonderfully with Caroline's. In every way a great pair. In a great cast in a great show.