The stars of Beauty And The Beast share some scarily perfect real-life chemistry

SINGAPORE — They were both a little scared and neither was prepared, but Hilary Maiberger and Darick Pead — the American stage actors who play Belle and The Beast respectively in Disney’s hit musical Beauty And The Beast — fell in love at first sight and have been dating for nearly three years now.

“We met on the first day of rehearsals,” said Maiberger.

“And then, bam, there it was,” said Pead.

“I was nervous because in my head, I was like, ‘Who’s playing the Beast? I hope I like him. I hope we work well together.’ And it was immediate chemistry,” added Maiberger.

That’s a good thing because they have romanced each other on stage for more than 700 shows and counting, and will soon bring the love story to Singapore for the first time (to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Beauty And The Beast is on its first international tour). The musical will play at Marina Bay Sands’ MasterCard Theatres.

There is something else that makes them perfect for their roles: The pair’s striking resemblance to their characters. “Belle was always my favourite Disney princess — maybe because I thought I looked like her,” Maiberger said. “Now that I play the role, everyone’s like, ‘You really do look like Belle!’”

Pead quipped: “It’s funny because in real life, people say that to me, too, ‘You really do look like the Beast, even without the makeup,’ I love playing the Beast. He goes through a really cool journey of being selfish and sad and, then, because of somebody’s love, learns how to love in return and actually becomes happy and open and selfless.”

Pead added: “Loving people for who they are and not what they look like — I think that’s such a great message for today, especially because everybody is focused on how you look: Having a great shape, a great body, looking beautiful.”

What’s the most beautiful and beastly thing about Maiberger and Pead? “I would say the most beautiful thing about me is that I’m a morning person,” said Pead. “I’m optimistic. I wake up and go, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ She is not. If there’s anything beastly about her, it’s that she just does not want to be bothered until she’s ready to wake up.”

Said Maiberger: “I would say one of the most beautiful things about Darick is his selflessness. If he sees someone uncomfortable or worried or sad, he’s always the first person to say, ‘Hey, are you okay? I’m here for you if you need anything.’ And he genuinely means that. He’s one of the kindest people I know.” She added: “I think the most beastly thing about me is I have no patience sometimes.”

Said Pead: “The most beastly thing about me is that I like to scare people. That’s the No 1 thing I love to do. I like to hide behind corners and wait for people to come around the corner, and I scare them. In costume, out of costume — it doesn’t matter. Once, she just fell into my arms when I scared her.”

With a laugh, Maiberger said: “My knees gave out because I got so scared.”

Lest you think Pead has been nothing but beastly towards Maiberger, he did plan a huge birthday surprise for her earlier this year. “I was walking into the theatre and there were rose petals leading up to my dressing room,” Maiberger recounted. “And then I was handed 29 roses from the local crew. There were roses hanging from the ceiling, there was a balloon arch and a giant cardboard cut-out of me as Belle. I walked into my dressing room and the entire cast and crew were there to surprise me with balloons and cake. I was completely overwhelmed by the love from them. And he had everything to do with that. It was the best birthday I’ve ever had. It felt like I was in a movie.”

Well, that will be hard to top, won’t it? Turning to Pead, Maiberger said: “Good luck when I turn 30 next year! That’s a big one!”

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast runs from March 21 to April 19, at the MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands. Tickets from S$65 from SISTIC.