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Beauty and the Beast (musical)

Beauty and the Beast is a Disney stage musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award-winning 1991 animated musical film of the same name – which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont[1] Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love a bright, beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late.

Beauty and the Beast
Vocal Selections cover art
MusicAlan Menken
LyricsHoward Ashman
Tim Rice
BookLinda Woolverton
BasisBeauty and the Beast
by Linda Woolverton
Productions1993 Houston (tryout)
1994 Broadway
1995 US tour
1997 West End
1999 US tour
2001 UK tour
2001 US tour
2010 US tour
2021 UK tour
2022 West End
AwardsLaurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Critics, who hailed the film as one of the year's finest musicals, instantly noted its Broadway musical potential when it was first released in 1991, encouraging Disney CEO Michael Eisner to venture into Broadway. All eight songs from the animated film were reused in the musical, including a resurrected musical number which had been cut from the motion picture. Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production alongside lyricist Rice, replacing Ashman, who died during the production of the film. Woolverton, who was writing the film's screenplay, adapted her own work into the musical's libretto, and specifically expanded upon the characterization of the Beast. Woolverton expanded the storylines of the castle staff from servants who would already have been transformed into household objects referring to the 1991 animation. To have humans slowly turning into inanimate objects. Costumes were designed by Ann Hould-Ward, who based her creations on both the animators' original designs as well as the Rococo art movement after researching how clothing and household objects looked during the 18th century.

After completing tryouts in Houston, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway on April 18, 1994, starring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as the eponymous Belle and Beast, respectively. The musical opened to mixed reviews from theater critics, but was a massive commercial success and well received by audiences. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances for thirteen years (1994 - 2007),[2] becoming Broadway's tenth longest-running production in history. The musical has grossed more than $1.7 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities.[citation needed] It has also become a popular choice for junior, amateur and high school productions.[3]

Background and inception

Still recovering from Walt Disney's demise,[4] Disney's animated films continued to experience a noticeable decline in quality while struggling to attain critical and commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s.[4][5] The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner was hired to ensure the performance of the studio's next animated projects, despite having virtually no animation experience. Eisner himself had been a theater major in college.[5] Eisner's first hire as Disney's CEO was theatrical producer Peter Schneider, who subsequently became responsible for hiring more artists who shared similar theatrical backgrounds to contribute to the studio's next animated releases, among them lyricist Howard Ashman and his long-time collaborator, composer Alan Menken.[5] Ashman and Menken had previously amassed great live musical success with their Off-Broadway production Little Shop of Horrors, but the performance of Ashman's first Broadway venture Smile had been disappointing.[6] Eager to redeem himself, Ashman agreed to work on Disney's animated film The Little Mermaid (1989), which he and Menken would famously decide to approach as though they were scoring a Broadway musical.[6] Upon release, The Little Mermaid was a massive critical and commercial success, garnering two Academy Awards, both of them for Ashman and Menken's original music.[6] Disney established a successful renaissance period,[7] during which Ashman and Menken became responsible for teaching the art of transforming traditional animated films into animated musicals.[8]

 
Disney CEO Michael Eisner eventually green-lit a Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

Inspired by Mermaid's success, production on an animated musical adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale began shortly afterward, during which Ashman finally confessed to Menken that he was dying of AIDS, a secret he had been keeping from the studio in fear of being discriminated against or fired.[6] Before the film had even been completed, executive vice president Ron Logan suggested to Eisner that he consider adapting Beauty and the Beast for Broadway, an idea Eisner quickly deflected.[9] While the film, written by screenwriter Linda Woolverton,[4] was premiering at the New York Film Festival, an ailing Ashman was being cared for at St. Vincent's Hospital; the lyricist succumbed to his disease four days later on March 14, 1991, dying eight months before the film's November release.[6] Beauty and the Beast became the last project on which Menken worked with Ashman.[10] The film was released to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success,[4] outperforming The Little Mermaid by becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history,[6] as well as the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.[11] Once again, Academy Awards were won for Ashman and Menken's music. Several critics noticed the film's live musical potential,[12] among them prolific New York Times theater critic Frank Rich.[13] Lamenting the Broadway selection at the time,[10] Rich famously praised the songwriting duo for having written "[t]he best Broadway musical score of 1991",[13] while hailing the film as a "better [musical] ... than anything he had seen on Broadway" in 1991.[10] Rich's review would ultimately provide Eisner and Katzenberg with the confidence needed to seriously consider the film as a potential Broadway project.[6] Disney was also inspired by the successes of Broadway musicals such as Cats, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera[6] strongly believing their production could be just as profitable.[14]

Virtually unknown at the time, Robert Jess Roth was appointed the production's director based on his various successes directing live shows at the Disney theme parks.[10] Eisner and Katzenberg had opted against hiring a more established director in order to retain creative control over the project, believing that an A-list director would likely feel more inclined to challenge their vision.[10] Roth himself had previously pursued Eisner about investing in a Broadway show – originally suggesting a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins into a Broadway musical in 1984 – only to have his idea declined, citing cost of investment and time concerns.[14] However, Eisner invited Roth to ask him about pursuing Broadway again in the future once he had finished directing three additional Disney theme park shows.[14] Ultimately impressed with Roth's adaptation of The Nutcracker, Eisner finally suggested an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, inspired by the success of a condensed stage version of the film at Disneyland,[15] although briefly discouraged by the idea of having humans instantly transformed into inanimate objects live.[14] Since the film had not yet been released on home video, Roth spent an entire day re-watching Beauty and the Beast in theaters while brainstorming how to present its fantastical elements onstage, and eventually worked with choreographer Matt West and set designer Stan Meyer on their own proposal, with contributions from Menken and Woolverton.[14] In a hotel in Aspen, Roth convinced Eisner and Katzenberg to green-light a Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast using a combination of 140 storyboards, costume sketches, fabric swatches and demonstrating one illusion.[10] Eisner retained final approval over all creative elements of the production, "from the lowest chorus swing performer to the director, stars and design team."[10] Menken was initially skeptical of Roth's qualifications, as he had never directed a Broadway show before.[10] Meanwhile, the producers were concerned that audiences might not be interested in seeing the same story that they have enjoyed on film on the Broadway stage.[15] Among the skeptics was theatrical producer Steven Suskin, author of Opening Night and Broadway, who argued that the production was more likely to be successful in reverse: "(The movie is) basically written as a theater piece. I'm sure it would've worked in the theater first, and it then would've worked in the movies", believing audiences would have difficulties accepting a new version of such an immensely popular work.[15]

Beauty and the Beast became Disney's first Broadway venture,[16] although Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a stage adaptation of Disney's animated film of the same name, had premiered in New York in 1979, produced by Radio City Music Hall Productions, Inc.[1] Theatre Under the Stars' executive director Frank Young campaigned heavily to have the show open in Houston, Texas, even getting Governor Ann Richards involved in order to secure the stage rights.[15]

Development

Writing and screen-to-stage modifications

Roth summarized Beauty and the Beast as a story about "seeing past the exterior of a person and into his or her heart".[11] Woolverton learned that Disney had commissioned her to adapt the animated film she had written into a Broadway musical while she was vacationing with her family in Maui, and her initial response to the idea was "Yikes".[10] In the process of adapting her own animated screenplay into a full-length, two-act libretto for the stage, Woolverton contributed several distinct changes to the material, specifically instilling more emotional "depth" into each main character.[17] The writer expanded the story by both "fleshing out" each character and allowing room for new musical numbers.[18] Namely, Woolverton made the Beast a more threatening yet sympathetic figure;[17] the writer expanded upon his characterization by developing the Beast into "a fuller character", aided by the addition of his own song, "If I Can't Love Her".[19] Meanwhile, the book-loving Belle was adapted into a more headstrong and determined heroine.[17] Belle and the Beast's relationship benefits from a new scene Woolverton wrote specifically for the stage, during which the couple read in the castle's library; Belle introduces the Beast to the tale of King Arthur and reads the book to him, to which the Beast responds by showing genuine vulnerability for the first time.[20]

In 1993, Woolverton explained to the Los Angeles Times that "the mythology in the story would be changed to explain, for example, a 6-foot-tall candelabra."[15] Perhaps Woolverton's most significant modification involves the enchanted objects, and the decision to have the enchantress' spell gradually transform the castle's staff of loyal servants into household objects throughout the entire duration of the musical, as opposed to having already done so immediately at the beginning.[17] Essentially, becoming completely inanimate if the spell is not broken in time would equate to each character dying, which ultimately augments the story's drama.[21] Consequently, this plot decision enhanced the story into a tale about people being forced to make difficult decisions, as opposed to solely a story of a man struggling to retain his humanity,[17] in turn providing the audience with an opportunity to care about the supporting characters dramatically.[22]

Generally, Woolverton's book remained quite faithful to the original text; the plot is essentially the same, but particular detail has been added in order to "flesh out" the story.[16] The feather duster and wardrobe characters – only minor characters in the animated film – were broadened into fully realized supporting characters and named for the first time; Woolverton named them Babette and Madame de la Grande Bouche, respectively.[21][23] Taking her job seriously, Woolverton worked relentlessly on revising the script, and often took the cast's suggestions into consideration (though not always yielding to their opinions).[24] Despite the musical having been based on a pre-existing story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Woolverton retains a sole writing credit for her work, as the story had long lapsed into the public domain by that time.[25]

Casting

 
Actress Susan Egan was cast as Broadway's original Belle based on her refreshing ability to play the role both comically and as an ingenue. The role served as her Broadway debut, garnering her a Tony Award nomination.

Broadway producers are usually eager to cast big-named performers in their musicals, but Katzenberg, famous at the time for avoiding working with actors of such caliber, decided against this practice for Beauty and the Beast.[10] Eisner concluded that most of the film's original voice actors would be too busy to reprise their roles onstage.[15] In her Broadway debut,[13] then-22-year-old actress Susan Egan was cast as the musical's original Belle.[26] Egan, who had not yet seen the film, had been auditioning for several other Broadway projects at the time – namely My Fair Lady, Carousel and Grease – in which she was much more interested.[26] Despite longing to originate a Broadway role,[27] the actress was initially reluctant to audition for Beauty and the Beast because she thought that "it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway."[26] Additionally, Egan felt she was not attractive enough to play a character touted "the most beautiful girl in the village", but her agent managed to convince her otherwise.[26] Without any film to reference, Egan determined that Belle is supposed to be a "quirky" character and approached her funnier than how she is depicted in the film,[26] in turn garnering laughs from the producers – who were amused by her unique interpretation – and eventually earning several callbacks.[27] Meanwhile, her competition of 500 actresses, many of whom were simply offering imitations of voice actress Paige O'Hara's original performance, continued to be eliminated.[26]

Egan's final week of auditions, during which she sang for Menken for the first time, was particularly challenging.[26] On her last day of auditioning, Egan auditioned opposite several actors trying out for the roles of the Beast and Gaston.[26] As the day concluded,[26] Roth directed Egan to approach the role as "a straight ingénue", and she was ultimately cast upon proving capable of playing Belle both straight and comically.[27] Only afterward did Egan celebrate by finally renting and watching the entire film for the first time.[26] Although Egan did not feel particularly pressured about the role, she was grateful to be surrounded by a supporting cast of veteran Broadway performers.[26]

Actor Terrence Mann was cast as the Beast. Mann had previously performed as Javert in Les Misérables, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.[10] For his final audition for Disney management, Mann performed for a large audience comprising Disney executives and secretaries in a theater located on 42nd Street, which he felt was in stark contrast to the usual method of auditioning for six to eight people in a dark theater.[24] Actor Gary Beach was cast as Lumiere.[28] Beach had seen Beauty and the Beast premiere at the El Capitan Theatre, prior to which he had watched a stage rendition of the film, and thoroughly enjoyed both. Beach was particularly drawn to Jerry Orbach's rendition of "Be Our Guest" in his role as Lumiere, thinking, "Now why can't I get a part like that".[24] Two years later, Beach received a call from casting director Jay Binder inviting him to play Lumiere during their workshop of Beauty and the Beast, but kept turning down the offer due to having prior commitments to an upcoming show starring comedian Carol Burnett. It was only at Burnett's insistence that Beach finally accepted.[24] Amidst a cast of relatively obscure actors, Tom Bosley, famous for his roles on the television series Happy Days and Murder, She Wrote, became the show's most recognizable performer when he was cast as Belle's father Maurice.[10]

Musical numbers and choreography

 
An entirely new song entitled "A Change in Me" was written specially for Toni Braxton when the R&B singer joined the production in the role of Belle in 1998, and has been included in the musical ever since.

All eight of the film's original songs were retained for the Broadway adaptation.[1][15] The song "Human Again" had originally been written for the film, but it was ultimately abandoned due to time and story constraints; the musical number was finally resurrected for and included in the production and has been since 2002 included in the Special edition of the movie.[1] Composer Alan Menken, who had both scored and written the film's songs alongside lyricist Howard Ashman, returned to the project to write six new songs for the musical.[20] Lyricist Tim Rice joined Menken to co-write the new numbers, replacing Ashman who had died in 1991, before the film was released.[29] Both Menken and Rice initially approached the project with some resistance; Menken's emotional attachment to the music he had written with Ashman made him fear Disney's vision of a Broadway musical would transform Beauty and the Beast into an attraction too similar to what one would find at Walt Disney World.[10] Meanwhile, Rice, who had previously worked as composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's lyricist on the Broadway musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, was hesitant to replace Ashman in fear of worsening Beauty and the Beast.[10] Notably, Rice had similarly replaced Ashman to write the remaining songs for Disney's Aladdin (1992) after the lyricist died.[30] Ultimately, the collaboration resulted in approximately half of the Broadway score having co-writing credits by Menken and Ashman, while the remaining half are Menken and Rice compositions.[16] The Menken-Rice songs are sometimes billed as "additional songs composed by [Alan] Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice".[31] On working on the musical without Ashman, Menken explained that "The main challenge ... was blending the lyrics of Tim Rice with those of Howard. In the end, the finished score has a quality all its own; a hybrid between" Ashman and Rice's styles.[29] Elaborating on the main difference between writing songs for the stage as opposed to film, Menken stated that the lack of close-ups and montages in a live musical production creates a requirement for more singing material in order "to provide the same kind of illumination that intimate facial expression provides."[29]

Most of the new material focused on character development, such as Gaston's "Me", Belle's "Home" and the Beast's "If I Can't Love Her".[18] Other new songs, Maurice's fatherly ballad "No Matter What" and Gaston, LeFou, and Monsieur D'Arque's villainous number "Maison des Lunes", were written to flesh out the plot (and in the case of Maison Des Lunes, give Belle and the Beast a longer chance to change into their ballroom outfit).[12] In 1998, a seventh song entitled "A Change in Me" was written four years into production's run specifically for R&B singer Toni Braxton when she joined the cast to play Belle, and appears during the show's second act.[32] The idea for the song originated while Braxton was still in negotiations with Disney to appear in the show for a total of three months, but various circumstances led to the singer constantly delaying signing the contract.[33] It was not until Braxton had dinner with Menken, Rice and West that she finally agreed to sign the contract under the condition that a brand new song be written specifically for her, which an intoxicated Rice had drunkenly offered and promised.[33] When confronted by Roth about his promise upon learning of it from Braxton a few days later, within 24 hours Rice successfully discovered a location within the musical in which to include a new song, specifically "Where Belle tells Maurice about how the time that she spent with the Beast in his castle has changed her."[33] That song ultimately became the ballad "A Change in Me",[33] which lyrically addresses the ways in which Belle's initial motivations have ultimately changed during her imprisonment, explaining to Maurice that she has matured and no longer longs for what she originally cited in "Belle (Reprise)".[34] Braxton premiered the song in the form of a live performance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.[32] Both the song and Braxton's performance were well received,[33] and "A Change in Me" has been included in the musical ever since.[35] Eisner especially enjoyed the song, demanding that it be included in international productions as well, to which he personally traveled in order to teach it to the cast.[33]

David Friedman served as music supervisor, while John Petrafesa Jr. handled sound design.[31] Unlike in the film, Belle actually performs and dances alongside the enchanted objects during "Be Our Guest", which resembles "a high-energy Vegas number" similar to the musical Ziegfeld Follies.[21][18] The original Broadway cast recording of Beauty and the Beast was released by Walt Disney Records in 1994.[1] Similar cast albums followed suit, including Australian and Japanese recordings in 1994 and 1996, respectively.[1] "A Change in Me" has yet to be included on any official English-language cast recordings though the original Belle, Susan Egan included it on her album So Far.[34]

Set and costumes

Stanley Meyer designed the production's set. Following Disney's instructions "to make the animated film come to life", Meyer's set was very much a literal interpretation of the film.[21] Meyer found it "tricky" to translate two-dimensional environments into a three-dimensional world.[21] The West Wing's appearance mirrors that of its resident the Beast, being hideous on the outside but beautiful when the audience is finally taken inside of it.[21] In stark contrast to popular musicals The Phantom of the Opera and Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast's set resembles a hybrid of Gothic Victorian and Louis Quinze.[12]

Disney hired costume designer Ann Hould-Ward to design the musical's costumes because the studio enjoyed a "certain aesthetic" she had used in her previous work, and thus allowed her much creative freedom.[36] Roth was particularly impressed with the designer's contributions to the musicals Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods.[14] Hould-Ward accepted Disney's offer because she was interested in seeing exactly how a corporate company producing a Broadway musical for the first time would "change the Broadway world."[37] Conceptualization began in summer 1992. For research purposes, Disney encouraged Hould-Ward to reference the animated film; she also researched clothing worn throughout the late 18th century,[22][36] during which the original fairy tale was written,[36] and spent one year discovering how household items looked during the mid-1700s.[37] Additionally, Hould-Ward visited with Beauty and the Beast's original animators, spending one week learning how they created their characters to ensure that they would be recognizable to those who had seen the film.[37][38] However, the designer also decided that her own creations would not exactly replicate the film's.[5] Basing the costumes on the Rococo art movement,[22] Hould-Ward presented her initial ideas to Eisner and then-Disney president Frank Wells. Once approved, Hould-Ward and her team spent the following year creating prototypes of each major costume.[36] With an unusually long work schedule of two years,[22] Hould-Ward recalled that "this kind of timeline ... wasn't the norm in a Broadway musical" at the time.[36]

The process of designing Beauty and the Beast's costumes was more collaborative between designer and actor than most other Broadway productions Hould-Ward had previously worked on, and she frequently sought input from the cast to make sure they were able to move.[36][37] Designing Belle's costumes was an "easy" task for Hould-Ward; the character is initially dressed in standard Disney heroine attire until replaced by more elaborate costumes once Belle meets the Beast.[22] Hould-Ward based the character's famous yellow ballgown on several historic portraits.[39] The gown became the first costume built for the production in order to accommodate Disney's mandate to market the dress in photoshoots and commercials starring Egan and Mann, six months prior to rehearsals.[39] Weighing 45 pounds, the dress is a combination of various patterns and materials, including a hoop skirt, silk, brocade, beading, flowers and bows.[39] Too large to fit inside Egan's dressing room after the ballroom sequence, undressing required assistance from three backstage crew members who used wires to hoist the dress up into the rafters, where it would be stored until the next performance.[39] A lot of time was spent designing the Beast's costume, the creation of which was especially challenging due to requirements to "allow enough of the performer to show through."[36] Hould-Ward's initial designs for the Beast were constantly rejected by Katzenberg, who reiterated that she "put the movie onstage" until the producer realized that the excessive prosthetics were limiting Mann's vocal performance.[10] A wire frame was also used to maintain the costume's shape,[5] which evokes heavy metal fashion until ultimately substituted for a black Oscar de la Renta-inspired velvet suit when the Beast finally transforms back into a prince.[22] Hould-Ward designed the leads' costumes from the perspective of her daughter Leah, explaining, "when Leah comes to see it, she remembers from the movie that the Beast was in that blue jacket. Leah expects that blue jacket, and if you don't give it to her, she and a lot of other ten-year-olds are going to be sad".[5] At the same time, the designer wanted her creations to be equally as interesting on an intellectual level for parents to enjoy also.[37]

The challenge of designing Belle and the Beast's costumes paled in comparison to the difficulty of creating the enchanted objects, a combination of intricate wiring, prosthetics and pyrotechnics.[22] Scale was the most prominent "obstacle" for Hould-Ward's to overcome:[5] "The problem was the presentation of an actor as a life-sized teapot when the characters in the film were so little in comparison".[22] Because the castle's enchanted staff is slowly transforming into objects, shown at various stages of transformation without ever completely becoming the objects themselves, Hould-Ward was required to create several different costumes for each character in order to depict the transformation as the show progresses.[5] Meanwhile, the costume of Lumiere alone was built by a team of forty people,[5] including a creator of the prosthetic candle, hair and Vac-U-Form specialist; the pyrotechnician, man responsible for equipping the costume's pyro unit with butane and man operating the butane tank were each separate people.[22] While transforming animation into real life, Hould-Ward also worked on incorporating the human body each costume,[38] explaining, "I wanted the reality of the real person rather than the fantasy of the object ... The essence of my job is to allow my real actors to take you to this fantastical place."[5] A system of wired frames was used to help the actors support their characters' heavy garments.[5] Such elaborate costumes had never been designed for a Broadway production before.[22] Cogsworth's costume features a fully functioning clock on his face.[21] Meanwhile, Madame de la Grande Bouche was the production's most expensive costume.[22]

The musical originally relied on heavy prosthetics and elaborate costumes in an attempt to make the musical resemble the film as closely as possible.[26] In an attempt to replicate the film's famous movie poster, Egan was dressed in flats while Mann was positioned on stilts to establish a more dramatic height difference.[26] According to Egan, the studio "didn't trust the audience's ability to suspend disbelief, something theater-goers are routinely asked to do."[26] However, the company finally began to relent as the production neared Houston tryouts after a final run-through during which the actors did not wear costumes; thus, the prosthetics were gradually lessened and replaced by make up for the Beast and enchanted objects during 1993 previews.[26] The elaborate costumes resulted in their fair share of technical difficulties, malfunctions and performance restrictions,[24] many of which manifested during the seven-week tryouts in Houston.[10] The costumes left little room for the performers to change between scenes, and air conditioners were fastened to them to regulate their temperatures.[10] In general, the weight of the enchanted objects' costumes limited their dancing.[21] Chiropractors and therapists remained on standby to assist Fowler, whose Mrs. Potts costume required her to always keep one arm in the air.[10] Beach compared holding up the two propane tanks used to represent Lumiere's candles to carrying two hams around a grocery store two and a half hours.[24] To build his stamina, Beach would carry the tanks during rehearsal.[24] Beach's hand caught fire during one performance, which he did not notice until Mann subtly pointed it out using "furtive head nods".[24] While dancing, the inertia of Egan's heavy ballgown caused its skirt to constantly pull her in the opposite direction of whichever way she turned.[39] Mann likened performing in the Beast's costume to wearing several heavy winter coats, comparing the wig to "four Angora cats and gaffer taping them to your head and then running around the block 10 or 12 times."[24] Disney was outraged when, after their first performance at the Palace Theatre, The New York Times published caricaturist Al Hirschfeld's line drawing interpretation of Belle and the Beast's pose, in which Belle's yellow gown was colored pink, and the Beast's tuxedo appeared greenish as opposed to royal blue. When Disney confronted Hirschfeld, the artist defended his work, explaining, "The costumes may have been blue and yellow, but they made me feel green and pink."[39] Hould-Ward adjusted the costumes to accommodate the locations as the production traveled to various theaters.[22]

Lighting and special effects

Lighting designer Natasha Katz was hired to work on Beauty and the Beast.[40] When Disney first approached Katz to offer her the job, several of Katz's cohorts – specifically other lighting designers – attempted to discourage her from accepting in fear of changing the appearance of musical theater forever.[40] In hindsight, Katz defended Disney's work, explaining, "Beauty and the Beast didn't bring theatre back to New York, but it did change the dynamic, no question about it, of the business."[40] Known for assisting David Copperfield with his illusions, Roth hired Jim Steinmeyer to work on Beauty and the Beast.[14] Steinmeyer had previously contributed to the musical Merlin.[15] The Beast's transformation sequence during the second act was much-discussed. It took about 11 weeks to set the design.[19]

Plot

Act I

On a cold winter's night, an old beggar woman comes to a young spoiled prince's castle, offering him a single rose in return for shelter. But the prince turns her away solely for her appearance. The woman warns him not to be fooled by appearances, as true beauty lies within, only to be rejected again. She then transforms into a beautiful enchantress and turns the prince into a hideous Beast and his servants into various household objects. She gives him the rose to use as an hour-glass. The only way he can break the spell is to learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal falls ("Prologue").

Ten years later, a beautiful young girl named Belle makes her way into town one morning to get a book from the local bookseller. On the way, she expresses her wish to live in a world like her books, full of adventure, while the townspeople note her unparalleled beauty but find her love of books odd ("Belle"). Belle has also attracted the attention of Gaston, the local hunter and town hero, who admires her only for her beauty.

Belle, however, is not oblivious to her peers' views of her. She voices her concerns about it to her eccentric father and inventor, Maurice, who assures her that she is anything but strange ("No Matter What"). The two then put the finishing touches on his invention, and Maurice heads off to an invention fair donning a scarf knitted for him by Belle ("No Matter What (Reprise)") but becomes lost in the woods and attacked by a pack of wolves. After surviving a wolf attack, he enters the Beast's castle. He meets the servants, including Lumière, a maître d' turned into a candelabra, Cogsworth, the head of household turned into a clock, Babette, a maid turned into a feather duster, Mrs. Potts, the head of the kitchen turned into a teapot, and Chip, her son turned into a teacup. They welcome him, but the horrid Beast arrives and locks Maurice away in the dungeon for trespassing.

Back in town, Gaston proposes to Belle, which she politely rejects ("Me"). Appalled by Gaston's forwardness, Belle once again voices her need for a life outside this provincial life ("Belle (Reprise)"). Gaston's sidekick, LeFou, returns from the woods wearing the scarf Belle knitted for Maurice. Belle realizes her father is in danger and heads into the woods to look for him. She ends up at the castle, where she finds her father locked away in a dungeon. She makes a deal with the Beast, Maurice goes free, but she remains instead. They agree, and Maurice is sent back to town without being allowed to say goodbye. Belle is given a guest room and ordered by the Beast to join him for dinner. She mourns her situation ("Home"), but Mrs. Potts and Madame de la Grande Bouche, an operatic wardrobe, attempt to cheer her up ("Home (Reprise)").

Back in town, at the local tavern, Gaston sulks at his loss of a bride. LeFou and the patrons attempt to cheer him up ("Gaston"). When Maurice rushes in, claiming a Beast has Belle locked away, they laugh at him but Gaston formulates a sinister plan ("Gaston (Reprise)"). Back at the castle, the Beast grows impatient as Belle has yet to join him for dinner. Cogsworth informs him she refuses to come. After a shouting match between Belle and the Beast (which ends in a victory for Belle), he tells her if she cannot eat with him, then she will not eat at all. He sulks and notes his fate in his quarters should the spell not break ("How Long Must This Go On?"). Eventually, Belle does become hungry and ventures into the kitchen where the servants offer her dinner despite their master's orders. They treat her to an amazing cabaret show ("Be Our Guest").

After dinner, Belle gets a tour of the castle courtesy of Cogsworth and Lumière. Her curiosity leads her to enter the West Wing, a place the Beast told her was forbidden. Mesmerized by a mysterious rose floating in a bell jar, she reaches out to touch it, but before she can, the Beast stops her and orders her to get out, accidentally shoving her in the process. Fearing for her life, Belle flees from the castle. Realizing his mistake, the Beast knows he will be a monster forever if he cannot learn to love her ("If I Can't Love Her").

Act II

In the woods, Belle is attacked by wolves and is only rescued when the Beast comes to her aid, but he is injured during the fight and collapses ("Entr'acte/Wolf Chase"). Instead of taking the chance to run home, Belle helps him back to the castle. She cleans his injuries, and after a brief argument about whose fault this is, the Beast thanks her for her kindness, and thus, their friendship is born. Wanting to give her a thank-you gift, the Beast gives Belle his huge library, which excites her. She notes a change in the Beast's personality as the servants note a change in Belle and the Beast's relationship ("Something There"). They express their hope of being human once more ("Human Again") while Belle asks the Beast to accompany her to dinner that night. Back in the village, Gaston and LeFou meet with the local insane asylum owner Monsieur D'Arque. They plan to lock Maurice away to blackmail Belle into marrying Gaston ("Maison des Lunes").

The Beast and Belle attend a lovely dinner and personal ball, where they dance together in the ballroom ("Beauty and the Beast"). The Beast, who plans to tell Belle he loves her, asks Belle if she is happy here, to which she responds positively but notes that she misses her father. He offers her his Magic Mirror to view him. She sees that Maurice is sick and lost in the woods and fears for his life. But even though the Beast knows there are only a few hours left till the last petal falls from the rose, he allows Belle to leave to save her father; she departs after a tearful goodbye ("If I Can't Love Her (Reprise)").

Belle finds her father and brings him back to their house in the village. After she nurses him back to health, she explains the transformation she seems to have gone through while she was with the Beast ("A Change in Me"). A mob arrives, led by Gaston, to take Maurice to the asylum. Belle proves her father's sanity by showing the townspeople the Beast is real using the Magic Mirror but does not realize the error in her gesture. The townspeople immediately fear the Beast, but Belle insists that he is gentle and kind. Gaston catches her tone and recognizes the Beast as his rival for Belle's affections and organizes the mob to kill the Beast ("Mob Song"). To warn the Beast, Belle and Maurice attempt to beat the mob to the castle. However, they arrive too late, for Gaston and the mob had already reached the castle.

The servants keep the lynch mob at bay, but Gaston breaks through and finds the Beast in his tower. He engages in a fight with him, mercilessly beating and taunting him. The Beast has lost the will to live at Belle's departure. As Gaston moves in for the killing blow, Belle arrives. The Beast immediately turns on Gaston and is prepared to kill him, but spares his life after seeing the fear in his eyes. The Beast and Belle are reunited, but this reunion is cut short as Gaston fatally stabs the Beast in the back. This act of violence causes Gaston to lose his footing, and he falls to his death.

On the balcony, Belle assures the Beast he'll live, but they both know she is helpless to save him. She begs him not to leave her because she has found a home in his company ("Home (Reprise)"), but despite this, he loses consciousness; and Belle (thinking that he's dead) sobs on his body and whispers "I love you" just as the last rose petal falls. A transformation occurs ("Transformation"), and the Beast is alive and human once more. Though Belle does not recognize him at first, she looks into his eyes and sees the Beast within, and they kiss. The two of them sing of how their lives have changed because of love and they dance once more as the servants, now changed back to their human form, gathers in the ballroom ("Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)").

Productions

Houston (1993)

Beauty and the Beast premiered in a joint production of Theatre Under The Stars and Disney Theatrical at the Music Hall, Houston, Texas, from November 28, 1993, through December 26, 1993.

Original Broadway production (1994-2007)

The musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 18, 1994, and ran there until September 5, 1999. The show then transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11, 1999, with an official opening date of November 16, 1999. The musical closed on July 29, 2007, after 46 previews and 5,461 performances, and is Broadway's tenth-longest running production in history (as of September 2019).[41] The production holds the record of being the longest running production at both the Palace Theatre, where it opened, and the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where it closed its Broadway run.[citation needed] The production cost an estimated $12 million, arguably higher,[42] becoming the most costly Broadway musical at the time.[26] However, some analysists estimate the cost to be closer to $20 million.[1]

Directed by Robert Jess Roth with choreography by Matt West and assisted by Dan Mojica, the original Broadway cast included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as the Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumière and Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts. Orchestrations were by Danny Troob (after his own orchestrations and arrangements of the film), scenic designer was Stan Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, lighting designer Natasha Katz, sound was by T. Richard Fitzgerald, hair designer David H. Lawrence, and prosthetics were by John Dods. Illusions were by Jim Steinmeyer and John Gaughan, and pyrotechnic design was by Tyler Wymer.

The Broadway production closed to make way for Disney's next musical venture, The Little Mermaid.[43] With Disney set to open its Broadway version of The Little Mermaid on November 3, 2007, at the time, it was believed that having two Disney princess films on Broadway at the same time would divide audiences and cause competition between the two shows. At this point, Disney also had three other shows running at the same time: The Lion King, Tarzan, and Mary Poppins. It was reported that Disney Theatrical planned to revive the show on Broadway for the 2008 holiday season, but Disney did not pursue this.[44]

West End production (1997)

The West End production opened at London's Dominion Theatre on April 29, 1997, starring Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle and Alasdair Harvey as the Beast.[45] It also featured Burke Moses as Gaston, Derek Griffiths as Lumiere, Mary Millar as Mrs. Potts, Norman Rossington as Maurice, Barry James as Cogsworth, Di Botcher as Madame de la Grande Bouche,[46] Richard Gauntlett as LeFou, and Rebecca Thornhill as Babette.[citation needed]

Over the course of the production, notable replacements included Michelle Gayle and Annalene Beechey as Belle, John Barrowman and Earl Carpenter as the Beast, Alex Bourne as Gaston, and Billy Boyle and Terry Doyle as Maurice. The production ended on December 11, 1999.[47]

The production won the 1998 American Express Award for Best New Musical Olivier Award, against other nominees Enter the Guardsman, The Fix and Lady in the Dark.[48]

Broadway revival

On April 24, 2019, Disney Theatrical Groups revealed that Beauty and the Beast would return to Broadway.[49] Thomas Schumacher announced that the Broadway revival would be updated. Theatre and dates have not been announced.[50]

West End revival (2022)

The UK and Ireland reimagined tour which opened in August 2021, played a limited London Palladium engagement from June 24 through September 17, 2022. It stars Shaq Taylor as The Beast, Courtney Stapleton as Belle, and the rest of the tour's cast.[51]

US National tours

The show had four US national tours. The first opened on November 15, 1995, and closed in 1999. It featured Kim Huber as Belle, Fred Inkley as the Beast, Patrick Page as Lumiere and Paige Davis as Babette. Patrick Page and Paige Davis met and fell in love during the tour and married. A second national tour opened in 1999 with Susan Owen as Belle and Grant Norman as The Beast. This production closed in 2003. The third national tour opened in 2001 and closed in 2003. This production starred Jennifer Shraeder as Belle and Roger Befeler as the Beast with Marc G. Dalio as Gaston. Notable replacements on the tours have included Sarah Litzsinger, Erin Dilly and Danyelle Bossardet as Belle. The three touring companies visited 137 venues in 90 North American cities. About 5.5 million people in the United States and Canada saw these tours. The fourth national tour of Beauty and the Beast began February 2010, opening in Providence, Rhode Island, starring Liz Shivener as Belle and Justin Glaser as the Beast.[52][53] Under the direction of the original Broadway creative team, the show featured all new sets and costumes. The tour was the longest in the show's history, running until July 2016.

UK National tours

The UK National tour (prior to the closure of the West End Production in 1999) began on November 2, 2001, at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool with stops in Bristol, Birmingham, Dublin, Southampton, Manchester and ended on April 12, 2003, at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh. The tour starred Annalene Beechey (reprising her role from the London production) as Belle, Alistair Robins as the Beast, Ben Harlow as Gaston, Julia Goss as Mrs. Potts, Stephen Matthews as Lumiere, Barry James (reprising his role from the London production) as Cogsworth, Billy Boyle (reprising his role from the London production) as Maurice, Karen Davies as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Kate Graham (reprising her role from the London production) as Babette, Anthony Clegg as LeFou, and Oliver Taylor (reprising his role from the London production) and Sion Eifion sharing the role of Chip. Notable replacements included Dianne Pilkington as Belle, Alex Bourne as the Beast, Earl Carpenter as Gaston, Marilyn Cutts as Mrs. Potts, Richard Tate as Maurice, and Drew Varley as LeFou.

In September 2020, it was announced that the production would embark on a new UK and Ireland tour, which was scheduled to open at the Bristol Hippodrome on 25 August 2021 with stops in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Sunderland, Birmingham, Manchester and Dublin with further dates to be confirmed.[54][55] The production starred Courtney Stapleton and Emmanuel Kojo as Belle and the Beast respectively, while other cast members include Tom Senior, Martin Ball, Gavin Lee, and Sam Bailey.[56]

In October 2021, Emmanuel Kojo was suspended from playing the role of The Beast due to allegations of inappropriate language to women working in the show. After an investigation was launched, Beast understudy Alyn Hawke was promoted to temporary principle until Shaq Taylor stepped in as full time replacement in early 2022. [1][57]

International productions

Beauty and the Beast has been performed in more than 40 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. Over 35 million people have seen the show worldwide and it has grossed more than $1.7 billion.[58]

On July 15, 1995, the musical began its original Australian run in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre, before moving on to Sydney. The original Australian cast included Michael Cormick as The Beast, Rachael Beck as Belle, Hugh Jackman as Gaston, and Ernie Bourne as Maurice.

In 1995, the musical opened in Japan and was performed by the Shiki Theatre Company. The musical continued to tour Japan until May 2017.[59]

The Toronto production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre on July 25, 1995, and closed on August 30, 1997. The production starred Kerry Butler as Belle and Chuck Wagner as the Beast, with Terry Doyle as Maurice. Notable replacements included Melissa Thomson as Belle and Steve Blanchard as the Beast. The lesser known Halifax production at the Neptune Theatre was the longest running production in the theater's history.

A Los Angeles production opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 12, 1995, and closed on September 29, 1996. Most of the original Broadway cast returned, including Susan Egan, Terrence Mann, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler, Burke Moses and Tom Bosley. Notable replacements included James Stacy Barbour as the Beast. The sets in this production were widely considered to be the largest out of all the musical's productions in the world. After the show closed in Los Angeles, all of the sets were transferred for the production in Mexico City in 1997.[citation needed]

In December 1997, the musical opened in Stuttgart at the Palladium Theatre, Stuttgart and played there until December 22, 2000. Leah Delos Santos played Belle and Uwe Kröger played the Beast and Marc G. Dalio played Gaston.

In 1999, the musical opened in China.

On March 4, 2005, Beauty and the Beast had its Scandinavian premiere at The Göteborg Opera with Fred Johanson as the Beast and Annica Edstam as Belle.[60]

On June 16, 2005, the musical began its Philippine run at the Meralco Theater. Produced by Atlantis Productions, it featured KC Concepcion alternating with Karel Marquez as Belle, Jett Pangan as the Beast, and Calvin Millado as Gaston. In September 2005, a production in Budapest, Hungary premiered at the Budapesti Operettszínház.

In South America, Argentina was the first country to produce it, with Marisol Otero as Belle, Juan Rodó as Beast, Diego Jaraz as Gaston, Gustavo Monje as LeFou, Pablo Lizaso as Lumière, Mónica Nuñez as Mrs. Potts, Omar Pini as Cogsworth, Alejandra Radano as Babette and Rodolfo Valss as Maurice. It ran from November 26, 1998, at the Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires until August 15, 1999, before opening again in 2010. Brazil was the second country to host the musical. Disney had plans to bring it to the country in 1999, after the success in Argentina, but nobody really knew if it would work. Three years later, in 2002, Beauty and the Beast finally opened in Brazil at Teatro Abril, one of the biggest theaters in the country. It was a huge hit, for more than one and a half years, it was presented with Kiara Sasso playing Belle and Saulo Vasconcelos playing the Beast. In 2009, a new Belle and a new Beast were cast, Lissah Martins and Ricardo Vieira, as the musical came back to Brazil, Kiara Sasso was playing Maria in The Sound of Music. Beauty and the Beast remained for six months at Teatro Abril. Even though the play was brought back as a way to try to recoup some of the money lost in Brazil's version of Miss Saigon, this second incarnation of Beauty and the Beast failed to create any critical buzz, or to be a box office success.

In Spain there have been three productions of the show. The first one, based on the original Broadway production, had its Madrid debut on December 2, 1999, at Teatro Lope de Vega. The original cast included Xenia Reguant (later replaced by Julia Möller) as Belle, Carlos Marín (later replaced by Joe Luciano) as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos (later replaced by Manuel Bandera) as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as LeFou, Germán Torres as Lumière, Kirby Navarro as Mrs. Potts, David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth, Dulcinea Juárez as Babette, Laura Inclán as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Miguel de Grandy as Maurice. After a successful run of 27 months and about 900 performances, the production finally closed on March 3, 2002, becoming the longest-running musical ever in Madrid at that time. In 2007, a second version produced by Stage Entertainment premiered on October 3, at Teatro Coliseum, Madrid, for a limited run of six months, but the closing was postponed due to a successful season. The original cast included Julia Möller reprising her role as Belle (later replaced by María Adamuz), David Ordinas as Beast, Pablo Puyol as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Armando Pita as Lumière, Angels Jiménez as Mrs. Potts (later replaced by Rita Barber), Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth, Silvia Luchetti as Babette, María José Oquendo as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Lorenzo Valverde as Maurice. The production closed on January 11, 2009, and was transferred to Barcelona, where it ran from February 26, 2009, to January 10, 2010, at the BTM, with some changes in the cast, including Mercè Martínez as Mrs. Potts, Marta Capel as Babette, Patricia Paisal as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Albert Muntanyola as Maurice. In 2012, the Stage Entertainment version was relaunched as a touring production, beginning performances on September 6, at Teatro Calderón, Valladolid. The original cast of this third Spanish production included Talía del Val as Belle, Ignasi Vidal as Beast, Daniel Diges as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Diego Rodríguez as Lumière, Mone as Mrs. Potts, Frank Capdet as Cogsworth, Marta Capel as Babette, Eva Diago as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Enrique R. del Portal as Maurice.

In 2005, Disney and Stage Entertainment produced a new version of the show, directed by Glenn Casale, using brand new sets and costumes. After touring the Netherlands and playing in Antwerp, Belgium, Disney and Stage Entertainment brought the show to Berlin, Germany, in 2006 after a (approx.) one-year run at the Metronom Theater in Oberhausen. This production opened in 2007 in Madrid, Spain and in 2009 in Barcelona, Spain; and Milan and Rome, Italy, with Arianna as Belle and Michel Altieri as the Beast. A Russian production of the show opened in 2009 in Moscow, Russia; with television actress Yekaterina Guseva and Stage Entertainment actress Natalya Bystrova alternating the role of Belle.

The Broadway production played a second time in Mexico City beginning in September 2007 and in Hiroshima, Japan, beginning in February 2008. The Broadway production opened in South Africa in September 2008 and ran until March 2009.[61] In 2004, Disney began to license the show to other companies for touring, and the show has been performed by professional and amateur companies in many countries.

On October 24, 2013, the Glenn Casale production of Beauty and the Beast opened at Théâtre Mogador in Paris, France.[62] A Russian revival was staged at the Russia theatre, in Moscow[63][circular reference] starring Anastasia Yatsenko and Yulia Iva alternating as Belle. One of the Belles in the original Russian cast, Natalya Bystrova, revisited the role for selected performances. The production came back to the Netherlands for a run at Circustheater in The Hague, starring Anouk Maas as Belle, Edwin Jonker as Beast and Freek Bartels as Gaston.

Beginning October 2014, Disney Theatrical Productions, NETworks and Broadway Entertainment Group launched an international tour in celebration of Beauty and the Beast's 20th anniversary on stage. The tour opened at the Zorlu Center in Istanbul, Turkey, and closed in January 2016 at Dubai World Trade Centre, having visited Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Italy, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Egypt, Lebanon, Romania, and Qatar.[64][65]

In 2016, Disney and Marmelade produced an updated version for the Flemish Region of Belgium. The original cast included Josje Huisman as Belle, Jan Schepens as Beast, Dieter Troubleyn as Gaston, Peter Van de Velde as Lumière, Frank Hoelen as Maurice, Ivan Pecnik as Cogsworth (called Tickens), Eline De Munck as Babette, Peter Thyssen as LeFou, Barbara Dex as Mrs. Potts and Saskia Schäfer as Madame de la Grande Bouche (called La Commodia). The show premiered on December 10, 2016, at Flanders Expo in Ghent.[66]

A new Australian production based on the 2021 UK tour will open at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in June 2023.[67]

Amateur rights

The show's rights became available (in association with Josef Weinberger Ltd.) to amateur performing groups and regional musical societies.[68] The show has been performed in numerous countries, by theater companies on both an amateur and professional level.

The libretto was revised by the original creative team for the 2021 UK tour.[69] Most of the changes (except for the new reduced orchestration, which isn't available for licensing), were added to the official licensed script in June 2021.[70] Some of the changes include the removal of "Maison des Lunes" and "The Battle", optional cuts to dance breaks and making "No Matter What" an optional song. The "Silly Girls" were renamed "Les Filles de la Ville".

Characters

Character Description
Belle A vibrant, intelligent young beauty who wants much more in life than living in a small town. She is perceived to be quite odd. Voice type: Mezzo-soprano
The Beast A prince transformed into a terrifying beast for his lack of compassion; short-tempered and commanding, but with a warm, loving heart buried far beneath his gruff exterior. Voice type: Baritone
Gaston The story's antagonist. The vain, egotistical, narcissistic, ultra-masculine villain determined to marry Belle. Voice type: Baritone
LeFou Gaston's bumbling sidekick. Voice type: Baritone
Lumière A suave, French, debonair enchanted candelabra. The maître d' of the castle. Voice type: Baritone
Mrs. Potts A kind-hearted, maternal enchanted teapot. The head of the castle's kitchen. Voice type: Mezzo-soprano
Chip A young teacup; Mrs. Potts' son. Voice type: Boy soprano
Cogsworth A tightly wound, enchanted stuffy mantle clock and head of the Beast's castle. Voice type: Baritone
Babette A saucy, flirtatious featherduster who seeks Lumière's affections. The maid of the castle. Voice type: Soprano
Madame de la Grande Bouche A former opera diva turned into a wardrobe. Voice type: Soprano
Maurice Belle's loving, eccentric inventor father. Voice type: Baritone
Monsieur D'Arque The freaky, scheming proprietor of the local insane asylum, the Maison des Lunes. Voice type: Tenor
Ensemble Silly Girls, Enchanted Objects, Townspeople, Tavern Patrons, Mob.

Musical numbers

* New song/Expanded score

† Expanded vocal or instrumental content, using either cut lyrics by Ashman or dance arrangements by Glen Kelly, or both.

‡ "Human Again" was written by Menken and Ashman for the movie, but was cut, due to the complications it made on the film's timeline. It was repurposed for the Broadway play, and on account of the musical's great success, an entirely new animated sequence based on the Broadway version was set to this song and inserted into 2002's Special Edition DVD release.

§ "A Change in Me" was written into the show in 1998 for the debut of Toni Braxton and was retained thereafter.

¶ Cut from the show for the 2021 UK Tour

# not in the Junior Broadway show, but some Junior versions have retained the song.

Instrumentation

Music Theatre International offers two orchestrations for Beauty and the Beast.

The "Standard Orchestration", of the licensed version of the show is the bigger orchestration, based on the original Broadway arrangements and the revisions for the Stage Entertainment production. It is scored for three synthesizers (the first playing piano and celeste, the second augmenting different sections and the third augmenting the string section),[71] a drum kit (including glockenspiel), a percussion section, double bass, three woodwind players, three French horns in F, two trumpets in B-flat, trombone, divided violins (with a minimum of two players), cello, and a harp. The first woodwind player doubles on flute and piccolo, the second on English horn and oboe, and the third on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. The trombonist doubles on bass trombone and tuba.

The original Broadway orchestration, orchestrated by Danny Troob, featured a string section of 6 violins and 2 celli, and two additional woodwind players. The first played flute and piccolo, the second oboe and English horn, the third piccolo, flute and clarinet in B-flat, the fourth piccolo, flute, clarinet in B-flat and bass clarinet in B-flat, and the fifth on bassoon and contrabassoon. The excised reed parts and the larger string section were used for the synthesizer parts upon their removal for the licensed orchestration..

The "Alternate Orchestration", offered by Music Theatre International when licensing the show, is a reduced orchestration for 11 players. It is scored for percussion (including Drum Kit, Glockenspiel and other instruments), double bass, three woodwind players, a brass section consisting of a trumpet and French horn, violin, cello, synthesizer and piano (optionally doubling synthesized harp and celeste). This orchestration has the option to be piano conducted (the conductor plays the piano part and conducts), though some shows have a separate conductor and pianist.

For the Stage Entertainment productions of the show; Danny Troob re-orchestrated the score for 14 players. This new arrangement was mostly based on the licensed orchestration, with the string section played on keyboard 3. It was scored for three synthesizers, a percussion section, (including drums and glockenspiel), double bass, three woodwind players, two French horns in F, a trombone (doubling on bass trombone and tuba), two trumpets in B-flat, and a harp. However, Stage Entertainment soon started reducing the size of their orchestras for the production, replacing musicians with the electronic software KeyComp. The pit for the Paris production and for the 2016 Dutch revival were composed of seven musicians (two keyboards, three woodwind players, a percussion section, and a single French Horn).[72][73]

The last UK tour of the musical introduced reworked dance arrangements, and a new orchestration and vocal arrangements (some of them closer to the 2017 movie). The score was reorchestrated for 10 players, who play using the electronic software KeyComp.[74] It is scored for two synthesizers, two woodwind players, 1 trombone (doubling bass trombone), 1 french horn in F, 1 trumpet in B flat, 1 violin, 1 cello and a player playing both percussion and a drum kit.

Cast information

Characters Broadway (1994) Los Angeles (1995) Australia (1995) Toronto (1995) US Tour (1995) West End (1997) 2nd US Tour (1999) 1st UK Tour (2001) 2nd UK Tour (2021) West End (2022)
Belle Susan Egan Rachael Beck Kerry Butler Kim Huber Julie-Alanah Brighten Susan Owen Annalene Beechey Courtney Stapleton
Beast Terrence Mann Michael Cormick Chuck Wagner Fred Inkley Alasdair Harvey Grant Norman Alistair Robins Emmanuel Kojo Shaq Taylor
Gaston Burke Moses Hugh Jackman Dan Chameroy Tony Lawson Burke Moses Chris Hoch Ben Harlow Tom Senior
LeFou Kenny Raskin Jamie Torcellini Zachary McKay Cliff Saunders Dan Sklar Richard Gauntlett Michael Raine Anthony Clegg Louis Stockil
Lumière Gary Beach Grant Smith André Thérien Patrick Page Derek Griffiths Ron Wisniski Stephen Matthews Gavin Lee
Mrs. Potts Beth Fowler Robyn Arthur Judy Marshak Betsy Joslyn Mary Millar Janet MacEwen Julia Goss Sam Bailey
Cogsworth Heath Lamberts Fred Applegate Bert Newton Paul Brown Jeff Brooks Barry James John Alban Coughlan Barry James Nigel Richards
Maurice Tom Bosley Ernie Bourne Terry Doyle Grant Cowan Norman Rossington Ron Lee Savin Billy Boyle Martin Ball
Madame de la Grande Bouche Eleanor Glockner Mary Jo Catlett Gloden Mercer Jo-Anne Kirwan-Clark Mary Stout Di Botcher Monica M. Wemitt Karen Davies Samantha Bingley
Babette Stacey Logan Heather Lee Alinta Carroll Elizabeth Beeler Leslie Castay Rebecca Thornhill Jennifer Shrader Kate Graham Emma Caffrey
Chip Brian Press Adam Wylie
Jeremy Lelliott
Paul Cheyene
Anthony Hammer
Zach Meyers
Gil Filar
Noah Reid
Alex Bowen
Braden Dickie
Ben Butterfield
Dayle Hodge
Simon Kennedy
Michael Mags
Miles Meehan
Oliver Taylor

Sion Eifion

Manasseh Mapira
Iesa Miller
Theo Querico
Rojae Simpson
Joshua Smith
Benjamin Dalton
Sekhani Dumezweni
Zarian Marcel Obatarhe
Rojae Simpson

Notable Broadway cast replacements (approximate dates given where available)[43][75]

Notable West End cast replacements

Recordings

The Original Broadway Cast Recording was released on April 26, 1994. The CD included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumière, Tom Bosley as Maurice, Anna McNeeley as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on December 7, 2000.[81]

The Original Australian Cast Recording was released in 1995. The principal cast included Rachael Beck as Belle, Michael Cormick as Beast, Hugh Jackman as Gaston, Ernie Bourne as Maurice, Toni Lamond as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Grant Smith as Lumière, Robyn Arthur as Mrs. Potts and Bert Newton as Cogsworth.

The Original Vienna Cast Recording was released in 1996. The principal cast included Ethan Freeman as Beast, Caroline Vasicek as Belle, Kevin Tarte as Gaston, Viktor Gernot as Lumière, Ann Mandrella as Babette, and Rosita Mewis as Mrs. Potts.

The Original London Cast Recording was released in 1997. The principal cast included Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle, Alasdair Harvey as Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Derek Griffiths as Lumière and Mary Millar as Mrs. Potts.

The Original Stuttgart Cast Recording was released in 1998. The principal cast included Uwe Kroger as Beast and Leah Delos Santos as Belle and Ann Mandrella as Babette.

The Original Madrid Cast Recording was released in 1999. The principal cast included Xenia Reguant as Belle, Carlos Marín as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as LeFou, Germán Torres as Lumière, David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth and Kirby Navarro as Mrs. Potts. A second cast recording for the new production was released in May 2008, starring Julia Möller as Belle, David Ordinas as Beast, Pablo Puyol as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Armando Pita as Lumière, Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth and Angels Jiménez as Mrs. Potts.

The Original Dutch Cast Recording was released in 2005. The principal cast included Chantal Janzen as Belle, Stanley Burleson as Beast, René van Kooten as Gaston, Carlo Boszhard as Lumière, Ger Otte as Tickens (Cogsworth) and Mariska van Kolck as Mrs. Potts.

Junior version

A "junior" version of the musical for middle and high school students was published by MTI. This version only included a selected number of the songs, including "Belle", "Belle (Reprise)", "Home", "Home (Tag)", "Gaston", "Gaston (Reprise)", "Be Our Guest", "Something There", "Human Again", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Mob Song", "Home (Reprise)", and "Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)". Also in "Belle (Reprise)", The Silly Girls take Belle's part in the beginning of the song instead of Belle having to sing the whole song. Also in "Something There", Madame de la Grande Bouche and Babette sing as well.

Critical reception

Reception towards the tryouts in Houston were so enthusiastic that the production was extended for two weeks.[26] Jerome Weeks of Variety responded to the show with a positive review, praising the performances of Egan, Mann and Moses, as well as the Beast's new song "If I Can't Love Her". At the same time, Weeks felt that the production "gets close to slipping into a big-budget kiddie show or magic act with its overdone showbiz glitz and sparkly stage-illusion effects" at times, but in the end predicted that "'Beauty and the Beast' could well be the big new musical hit this Broadway season has been waiting for."[12] However, in 1994, Beauty and the Beast finally premiered on Broadway to reviews that ranged from mixed to negative,[13][82][83][18] leaving critics mostly unimpressed.[6] Reactions from the New York theater community and Broadway producers were particularly harsh, ridiculing Disney for deciding to produce the musical themselves as opposed to enlisting traditional theater companies.[27] Egan recalled that "the same five families [had] produced Broadway shows for a hundred years and Disney shook that up."[27]

Nearly universally panned by theater critics,[16] they concurred that Beauty and the Beast was a "great spectacle, but not great theater".[26] Likening the musical to the Empire State Building, David Richards of The New York Times called the show "hardly a triumph of art, but it'll probably be a whale of a tourist attraction." While awarding specific praise towards its musical numbers, choreography, costumes and cast – particularly Mann's ability to "convey the delicacy of awakening love" despite the physical demands of his costume, at the same time Richards criticized the production's set and special effects for lacking subtlety, ultimately accusing them of leaving little "to the imagination". Richards concluded, "The result is a sightseer's delight, which isn't the same thing as a theatergoer's dream."[42] Also writing for The New York Times, Vincent Canby disparaged the musical entirely as "relentlessly bland, busy, upbeat and robotlike", criticizing the production for resembling "a dinner theater". Canby felt that the new Menken-Rice songs were "inferior" to the originals, likened the special effects to Fourth of July sparklers, criticized the sound engineering for ranging from too loud to barely audible, and panning Woolverton's book for failing to supplement her screenplay. Minor praise was awarded to the performances of Lamberts, Beach and Fowler, as well as Mann's climactic beast-to-prince transformation.[84] In addition to predicting that Beauty and the Beast would be derided by traditional Broadway theatre-goers and critics alike, Variety writer Jeremy Gerard was largely negative in his own review. While admitting that the production "boasts several real pluses", Gerard criticized the show for appearing "bloated, padded, gimmick-ridden, tacky and ... utterly devoid of imagination." The critic voiced his strong disapproval of the costumes while dismissing the set as "something designed to be seen by people in moving seats, maybe at Disneyland", panning West's choreography and ultimately deriding Roth's directing and blocking of actors who "look generally like they're following dotted lines on the stage."[19] Critics agreed that Roth's direction and West's were equally uninspired.[16] In a mixed review with a headline reading "Beauty and the Beast isn't magical in the least, even if it does bristle with magic tricks", New York's John Simon wrote that the production resembles "a belated infomercial" for the film by which he was bored, yet impressed by its special effects and illusions. Simon also felt that the actors struggled to resemble their animated counterparts despite Hould-Ward's costumes, criticizing Egan's acting, Woolverton's dialogue and the new Menken-Rice numbers while praising Moses', Beach's and Fowler's performances.[25]

Audiences did not share critics' negative opinions,[13][18] and the musical famously resonated with the public and families.[16][83] Children were especially delighted by the idea of their favorite movie performed on stage by live actors.[1] Subsequent productions have gradually attracted kinder remarks; the national tours in particular have been well received.[83] Reviewing a performance of the musical at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles in 1995, Tom Jacobs of Variety wrote, "Born in Hollywood as an animated film, Disney's version of 'Beauty and the Beast' has returned home as an opulent stage musical, a year after its Broadway bow. Both good and bad choices have been made in adapting the 1991 film, but with its outstanding performances, fantastic production values and memorable score, this show should warm the hearts of all but the most curmudgeonly theatergoers." However, Jacobs felt that the production suffered from the lack of danger felt watching the film.[20] After having been left unimpressed upon viewing the original Broadway production, Variety's Matt Wolf was pleasantly surprised by the musical's West End debut one year later.[citation needed]

Awards and nominations

"Be Our Guest" was used as the commercial for the 1994 Tony Awards.[27] Michael Goldstein of New York correctly predicted that Mann would earn a Tony Award nomination for his performance.[10] Despite having been nominated for a total of nine individual awards, Beauty and the Beast was ultimately shunned at the ceremony, winning only one award – Best Costume Design – for Hould-Ward.[83] Nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical, the production famously lost to Stephen Sondheim's Passion, which is considered to be his own version of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale.[16] In 1995, some of Hould-Ward's costumes, namely Lumiere, were put on display in Nordstrom stores.[22] Meanwhile, Belle and the Beast's ballroom costumes were exhibited at Westside Pavilion, and Mrs. Potts and LeFou appeared at South Coast Plaza.[22]

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1994 Tony Awards
Best Musical Nominated
Best Book of a Musical Linda Woolverton Nominated
Best Original Score Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Terrence Mann Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Susan Egan Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Gary Beach Nominated
Best Direction of a Musical Robert Jess Roth Nominated
Best Costume Design Ann Hould-Ward Won
Best Lighting Design Natasha Katz Nominated
Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Musical Nominated
Outstanding Actor in a Musical Terrence Mann Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Susan Egan Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Burke Moses Nominated
Outstanding Choreography Matt West Nominated
Outstanding Orchestrations Danny Troob Nominated
Outstanding Lyrics Howard Ashman and Tim Rice Nominated
Outstanding Music Alan Menken Nominated
Outstanding Sound Design T. Richard Fitzgerald Nominated
Outstanding Special Effects Jim Steinmeyer and John Gaughan Nominated

Original London production

Impact and legacy

Largely due to audience reception, Beauty and the Beast remains one of Broadway's biggest successes of the current era.[1] Beauty and the Beast established itself as a musical that could survive on Broadway despite its unenthusiastic reviews.[25] Several detractors had thought that musicals like Beauty and the Beast would be a one-time event, but the results ultimately turned out to be quite the opposite.[37] According to theatrical producer Stuart Oken, Disney's success with Beauty and the Beast is responsible for today's biggest Broadway hits and making the medium "better than it has ever been".[8] The groundbreaking performance of Beauty and the Beast inspired other major Hollywood studios to produce Broadway renditions of some of their own films.[27] Disney soon began to commission Broadway adaptations of several of the studio's most popular musical films, namely The Lion King (1997), Mary Poppins (2004), Tarzan (2006), The Little Mermaid (2008), Newsies (2012) and Aladdin (2014),[1] in addition to producing the musical Aida.[16] After completing her run in Beauty and the Beast, Egan would famously go on to voice Meg in Disney's animated musical Hercules (1997), establishing herself as a popular voice and film actress.[13] Following the success of "Human Again", the song was later incorporated into reissues of the animated film in the form of an animated musical sequence.[16]

Beauty and the Beast is considered to be Broadway's first legitimate family show,[13] responsible for birthing an entirely new generation of young theatergoers.[16] The family demographic of the musical established inspired international productions of Aladdin and Matilda.[13] According to The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals author Dan Dietz, "the show's resounding success opened the floodgates for a spate of ... productions based on Disney and other family-oriented films", transforming Broadway into "a theme park with a parade of musicals aimed at kids and teenagers."[1] Dietz believes that the plethora of Broadway musicals that came after Beauty and the Beast have unfortunately resembled "feel-good family show[s] whose goal was to emulate its film source."[1] Additionally, the success of the musical inspired a legion of Broadway productions geared towards young women, including Hairspray (2002), Wicked (2003), Legally Blonde (2007), Matilda (2013) and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (2013).[1] While these musicals flourished on Broadway, it seems as though more serious, adult-oriented fare struggled to perform as well.[1] New York theater critic Howard Kissel famously despised "the Kiddy Komponent of New York theatergoing" spearheaded by the successful 13-year Broadway run of Beauty and the Beast.[85] The success of Beauty and the Beast inspired Eisner to invest in his own theater to house future stage adaptations of the studio's animated classics.[86]

Original arrangements of some of the show's original songs can be heard playing in the Belle's Village area of Fantasyland in Tokyo Disneyland, which opened September 28, 2020.[87][88]

References

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External links

Information about Regional US and International productions
  • Indianapolis Civic Theatre (Production Photos)
  • "Theatre Cedar Rapids Beauty and the Beast (Production Photos) – Cedar Rapids, IA". Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2006-05-10.
  • . Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-05-10.
  • . Archived from the original on 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2006-05-10.
  • . Archived from the original on 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
Others
  • Beauty and the Beast UK
  • ​Beauty and the Beast​ at the Internet Broadway Database
  • Beauty and the Beast info page on StageAgent.com – Beauty and the Beast plot summary and character descriptions

beauty, beast, musical, this, article, about, stage, musical, adaptation, live, show, disney, hollywood, studios, theme, park, beauty, beast, live, stage, beauty, beast, disney, stage, musical, with, music, alan, menken, lyrics, howard, ashman, rice, book, lin. This article is about the stage musical adaptation For the live show at Disney s Hollywood Studios theme park see Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage Beauty and the Beast is a Disney stage musical with music by Alan Menken lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures Academy Award winning 1991 animated musical film of the same name which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont 1 Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways To revert into his true human form the Beast must learn to love a bright beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late Beauty and the BeastVocal Selections cover artMusicAlan MenkenLyricsHoward AshmanTim RiceBookLinda WoolvertonBasisBeauty and the Beastby Linda WoolvertonProductions1993 Houston tryout 1994 Broadway1995 US tour1997 West End1999 US tour2001 UK tour2001 US tour2010 US tour2021 UK tour 2022 West EndAwardsLaurence Olivier Award for Best New MusicalCritics who hailed the film as one of the year s finest musicals instantly noted its Broadway musical potential when it was first released in 1991 encouraging Disney CEO Michael Eisner to venture into Broadway All eight songs from the animated film were reused in the musical including a resurrected musical number which had been cut from the motion picture Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production alongside lyricist Rice replacing Ashman who died during the production of the film Woolverton who was writing the film s screenplay adapted her own work into the musical s libretto and specifically expanded upon the characterization of the Beast Woolverton expanded the storylines of the castle staff from servants who would already have been transformed into household objects referring to the 1991 animation To have humans slowly turning into inanimate objects Costumes were designed by Ann Hould Ward who based her creations on both the animators original designs as well as the Rococo art movement after researching how clothing and household objects looked during the 18th century After completing tryouts in Houston Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway on April 18 1994 starring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as the eponymous Belle and Beast respectively The musical opened to mixed reviews from theater critics but was a massive commercial success and well received by audiences Beauty ran on Broadway for 5 461 performances for thirteen years 1994 2007 2 becoming Broadway s tenth longest running production in history The musical has grossed more than 1 7 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities citation needed It has also become a popular choice for junior amateur and high school productions 3 Contents 1 Background and inception 2 Development 2 1 Writing and screen to stage modifications 2 2 Casting 2 3 Musical numbers and choreography 2 4 Set and costumes 2 5 Lighting and special effects 3 Plot 3 1 Act I 3 2 Act II 4 Productions 4 1 Houston 1993 4 2 Original Broadway production 1994 2007 4 3 West End production 1997 4 4 Broadway revival 4 5 West End revival 2022 4 6 US National tours 4 7 UK National tours 4 8 International productions 4 9 Amateur rights 5 Characters 6 Musical numbers 7 Instrumentation 8 Cast information 9 Recordings 10 Junior version 11 Critical reception 12 Awards and nominations 12 1 Original Broadway production 12 2 Original London production 13 Impact and legacy 14 References 15 External linksBackground and inception EditStill recovering from Walt Disney s demise 4 Disney s animated films continued to experience a noticeable decline in quality while struggling to attain critical and commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s 4 5 The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner was hired to ensure the performance of the studio s next animated projects despite having virtually no animation experience Eisner himself had been a theater major in college 5 Eisner s first hire as Disney s CEO was theatrical producer Peter Schneider who subsequently became responsible for hiring more artists who shared similar theatrical backgrounds to contribute to the studio s next animated releases among them lyricist Howard Ashman and his long time collaborator composer Alan Menken 5 Ashman and Menken had previously amassed great live musical success with their Off Broadway production Little Shop of Horrors but the performance of Ashman s first Broadway venture Smile had been disappointing 6 Eager to redeem himself Ashman agreed to work on Disney s animated film The Little Mermaid 1989 which he and Menken would famously decide to approach as though they were scoring a Broadway musical 6 Upon release The Little Mermaid was a massive critical and commercial success garnering two Academy Awards both of them for Ashman and Menken s original music 6 Disney established a successful renaissance period 7 during which Ashman and Menken became responsible for teaching the art of transforming traditional animated films into animated musicals 8 Disney CEO Michael Eisner eventually green lit a Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast Inspired by Mermaid s success production on an animated musical adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale began shortly afterward during which Ashman finally confessed to Menken that he was dying of AIDS a secret he had been keeping from the studio in fear of being discriminated against or fired 6 Before the film had even been completed executive vice president Ron Logan suggested to Eisner that he consider adapting Beauty and the Beast for Broadway an idea Eisner quickly deflected 9 While the film written by screenwriter Linda Woolverton 4 was premiering at the New York Film Festival an ailing Ashman was being cared for at St Vincent s Hospital the lyricist succumbed to his disease four days later on March 14 1991 dying eight months before the film s November release 6 Beauty and the Beast became the last project on which Menken worked with Ashman 10 The film was released to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success 4 outperforming The Little Mermaid by becoming the highest grossing animated film in history 6 as well as the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture 11 Once again Academy Awards were won for Ashman and Menken s music Several critics noticed the film s live musical potential 12 among them prolific New York Times theater critic Frank Rich 13 Lamenting the Broadway selection at the time 10 Rich famously praised the songwriting duo for having written t he best Broadway musical score of 1991 13 while hailing the film as a better musical than anything he had seen on Broadway in 1991 10 Rich s review would ultimately provide Eisner and Katzenberg with the confidence needed to seriously consider the film as a potential Broadway project 6 Disney was also inspired by the successes of Broadway musicals such as Cats Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera 6 strongly believing their production could be just as profitable 14 Virtually unknown at the time Robert Jess Roth was appointed the production s director based on his various successes directing live shows at the Disney theme parks 10 Eisner and Katzenberg had opted against hiring a more established director in order to retain creative control over the project believing that an A list director would likely feel more inclined to challenge their vision 10 Roth himself had previously pursued Eisner about investing in a Broadway show originally suggesting a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins into a Broadway musical in 1984 only to have his idea declined citing cost of investment and time concerns 14 However Eisner invited Roth to ask him about pursuing Broadway again in the future once he had finished directing three additional Disney theme park shows 14 Ultimately impressed with Roth s adaptation of The Nutcracker Eisner finally suggested an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast inspired by the success of a condensed stage version of the film at Disneyland 15 although briefly discouraged by the idea of having humans instantly transformed into inanimate objects live 14 Since the film had not yet been released on home video Roth spent an entire day re watching Beauty and the Beast in theaters while brainstorming how to present its fantastical elements onstage and eventually worked with choreographer Matt West and set designer Stan Meyer on their own proposal with contributions from Menken and Woolverton 14 In a hotel in Aspen Roth convinced Eisner and Katzenberg to green light a Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast using a combination of 140 storyboards costume sketches fabric swatches and demonstrating one illusion 10 Eisner retained final approval over all creative elements of the production from the lowest chorus swing performer to the director stars and design team 10 Menken was initially skeptical of Roth s qualifications as he had never directed a Broadway show before 10 Meanwhile the producers were concerned that audiences might not be interested in seeing the same story that they have enjoyed on film on the Broadway stage 15 Among the skeptics was theatrical producer Steven Suskin author of Opening Night and Broadway who argued that the production was more likely to be successful in reverse The movie is basically written as a theater piece I m sure it would ve worked in the theater first and it then would ve worked in the movies believing audiences would have difficulties accepting a new version of such an immensely popular work 15 Beauty and the Beast became Disney s first Broadway venture 16 although Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a stage adaptation of Disney s animated film of the same name had premiered in New York in 1979 produced by Radio City Music Hall Productions Inc 1 Theatre Under the Stars executive director Frank Young campaigned heavily to have the show open in Houston Texas even getting Governor Ann Richards involved in order to secure the stage rights 15 Development EditWriting and screen to stage modifications Edit Roth summarized Beauty and the Beast as a story about seeing past the exterior of a person and into his or her heart 11 Woolverton learned that Disney had commissioned her to adapt the animated film she had written into a Broadway musical while she was vacationing with her family in Maui and her initial response to the idea was Yikes 10 In the process of adapting her own animated screenplay into a full length two act libretto for the stage Woolverton contributed several distinct changes to the material specifically instilling more emotional depth into each main character 17 The writer expanded the story by both fleshing out each character and allowing room for new musical numbers 18 Namely Woolverton made the Beast a more threatening yet sympathetic figure 17 the writer expanded upon his characterization by developing the Beast into a fuller character aided by the addition of his own song If I Can t Love Her 19 Meanwhile the book loving Belle was adapted into a more headstrong and determined heroine 17 Belle and the Beast s relationship benefits from a new scene Woolverton wrote specifically for the stage during which the couple read in the castle s library Belle introduces the Beast to the tale of King Arthur and reads the book to him to which the Beast responds by showing genuine vulnerability for the first time 20 In 1993 Woolverton explained to the Los Angeles Times that the mythology in the story would be changed to explain for example a 6 foot tall candelabra 15 Perhaps Woolverton s most significant modification involves the enchanted objects and the decision to have the enchantress spell gradually transform the castle s staff of loyal servants into household objects throughout the entire duration of the musical as opposed to having already done so immediately at the beginning 17 Essentially becoming completely inanimate if the spell is not broken in time would equate to each character dying which ultimately augments the story s drama 21 Consequently this plot decision enhanced the story into a tale about people being forced to make difficult decisions as opposed to solely a story of a man struggling to retain his humanity 17 in turn providing the audience with an opportunity to care about the supporting characters dramatically 22 Generally Woolverton s book remained quite faithful to the original text the plot is essentially the same but particular detail has been added in order to flesh out the story 16 The feather duster and wardrobe characters only minor characters in the animated film were broadened into fully realized supporting characters and named for the first time Woolverton named them Babette and Madame de la Grande Bouche respectively 21 23 Taking her job seriously Woolverton worked relentlessly on revising the script and often took the cast s suggestions into consideration though not always yielding to their opinions 24 Despite the musical having been based on a pre existing story by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont Woolverton retains a sole writing credit for her work as the story had long lapsed into the public domain by that time 25 Casting Edit Actress Susan Egan was cast as Broadway s original Belle based on her refreshing ability to play the role both comically and as an ingenue The role served as her Broadway debut garnering her a Tony Award nomination Broadway producers are usually eager to cast big named performers in their musicals but Katzenberg famous at the time for avoiding working with actors of such caliber decided against this practice for Beauty and the Beast 10 Eisner concluded that most of the film s original voice actors would be too busy to reprise their roles onstage 15 In her Broadway debut 13 then 22 year old actress Susan Egan was cast as the musical s original Belle 26 Egan who had not yet seen the film had been auditioning for several other Broadway projects at the time namely My Fair Lady Carousel and Grease in which she was much more interested 26 Despite longing to originate a Broadway role 27 the actress was initially reluctant to audition for Beauty and the Beast because she thought that it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway 26 Additionally Egan felt she was not attractive enough to play a character touted the most beautiful girl in the village but her agent managed to convince her otherwise 26 Without any film to reference Egan determined that Belle is supposed to be a quirky character and approached her funnier than how she is depicted in the film 26 in turn garnering laughs from the producers who were amused by her unique interpretation and eventually earning several callbacks 27 Meanwhile her competition of 500 actresses many of whom were simply offering imitations of voice actress Paige O Hara s original performance continued to be eliminated 26 Egan s final week of auditions during which she sang for Menken for the first time was particularly challenging 26 On her last day of auditioning Egan auditioned opposite several actors trying out for the roles of the Beast and Gaston 26 As the day concluded 26 Roth directed Egan to approach the role as a straight ingenue and she was ultimately cast upon proving capable of playing Belle both straight and comically 27 Only afterward did Egan celebrate by finally renting and watching the entire film for the first time 26 Although Egan did not feel particularly pressured about the role she was grateful to be surrounded by a supporting cast of veteran Broadway performers 26 Actor Terrence Mann was cast as the Beast Mann had previously performed as Javert in Les Miserables for which he was nominated for a Tony Award 10 For his final audition for Disney management Mann performed for a large audience comprising Disney executives and secretaries in a theater located on 42nd Street which he felt was in stark contrast to the usual method of auditioning for six to eight people in a dark theater 24 Actor Gary Beach was cast as Lumiere 28 Beach had seen Beauty and the Beast premiere at the El Capitan Theatre prior to which he had watched a stage rendition of the film and thoroughly enjoyed both Beach was particularly drawn to Jerry Orbach s rendition of Be Our Guest in his role as Lumiere thinking Now why can t I get a part like that 24 Two years later Beach received a call from casting director Jay Binder inviting him to play Lumiere during their workshop of Beauty and the Beast but kept turning down the offer due to having prior commitments to an upcoming show starring comedian Carol Burnett It was only at Burnett s insistence that Beach finally accepted 24 Amidst a cast of relatively obscure actors Tom Bosley famous for his roles on the television series Happy Days and Murder She Wrote became the show s most recognizable performer when he was cast as Belle s father Maurice 10 Musical numbers and choreography Edit An entirely new song entitled A Change in Me was written specially for Toni Braxton when the R amp B singer joined the production in the role of Belle in 1998 and has been included in the musical ever since All eight of the film s original songs were retained for the Broadway adaptation 1 15 The song Human Again had originally been written for the film but it was ultimately abandoned due to time and story constraints the musical number was finally resurrected for and included in the production and has been since 2002 included in the Special edition of the movie 1 Composer Alan Menken who had both scored and written the film s songs alongside lyricist Howard Ashman returned to the project to write six new songs for the musical 20 Lyricist Tim Rice joined Menken to co write the new numbers replacing Ashman who had died in 1991 before the film was released 29 Both Menken and Rice initially approached the project with some resistance Menken s emotional attachment to the music he had written with Ashman made him fear Disney s vision of a Broadway musical would transform Beauty and the Beast into an attraction too similar to what one would find at Walt Disney World 10 Meanwhile Rice who had previously worked as composer Andrew Lloyd Webber s lyricist on the Broadway musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita was hesitant to replace Ashman in fear of worsening Beauty and the Beast 10 Notably Rice had similarly replaced Ashman to write the remaining songs for Disney s Aladdin 1992 after the lyricist died 30 Ultimately the collaboration resulted in approximately half of the Broadway score having co writing credits by Menken and Ashman while the remaining half are Menken and Rice compositions 16 The Menken Rice songs are sometimes billed as additional songs composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice 31 On working on the musical without Ashman Menken explained that The main challenge was blending the lyrics of Tim Rice with those of Howard In the end the finished score has a quality all its own a hybrid between Ashman and Rice s styles 29 Elaborating on the main difference between writing songs for the stage as opposed to film Menken stated that the lack of close ups and montages in a live musical production creates a requirement for more singing material in order to provide the same kind of illumination that intimate facial expression provides 29 Most of the new material focused on character development such as Gaston s Me Belle s Home and the Beast s If I Can t Love Her 18 Other new songs Maurice s fatherly ballad No Matter What and Gaston LeFou and Monsieur D Arque s villainous number Maison des Lunes were written to flesh out the plot and in the case of Maison Des Lunes give Belle and the Beast a longer chance to change into their ballroom outfit 12 In 1998 a seventh song entitled A Change in Me was written four years into production s run specifically for R amp B singer Toni Braxton when she joined the cast to play Belle and appears during the show s second act 32 The idea for the song originated while Braxton was still in negotiations with Disney to appear in the show for a total of three months but various circumstances led to the singer constantly delaying signing the contract 33 It was not until Braxton had dinner with Menken Rice and West that she finally agreed to sign the contract under the condition that a brand new song be written specifically for her which an intoxicated Rice had drunkenly offered and promised 33 When confronted by Roth about his promise upon learning of it from Braxton a few days later within 24 hours Rice successfully discovered a location within the musical in which to include a new song specifically Where Belle tells Maurice about how the time that she spent with the Beast in his castle has changed her 33 That song ultimately became the ballad A Change in Me 33 which lyrically addresses the ways in which Belle s initial motivations have ultimately changed during her imprisonment explaining to Maurice that she has matured and no longer longs for what she originally cited in Belle Reprise 34 Braxton premiered the song in the form of a live performance on The Rosie O Donnell Show 32 Both the song and Braxton s performance were well received 33 and A Change in Me has been included in the musical ever since 35 Eisner especially enjoyed the song demanding that it be included in international productions as well to which he personally traveled in order to teach it to the cast 33 David Friedman served as music supervisor while John Petrafesa Jr handled sound design 31 Unlike in the film Belle actually performs and dances alongside the enchanted objects during Be Our Guest which resembles a high energy Vegas number similar to the musical Ziegfeld Follies 21 18 The original Broadway cast recording of Beauty and the Beast was released by Walt Disney Records in 1994 1 Similar cast albums followed suit including Australian and Japanese recordings in 1994 and 1996 respectively 1 A Change in Me has yet to be included on any official English language cast recordings though the original Belle Susan Egan included it on her album So Far 34 Set and costumes Edit Stanley Meyer designed the production s set Following Disney s instructions to make the animated film come to life Meyer s set was very much a literal interpretation of the film 21 Meyer found it tricky to translate two dimensional environments into a three dimensional world 21 The West Wing s appearance mirrors that of its resident the Beast being hideous on the outside but beautiful when the audience is finally taken inside of it 21 In stark contrast to popular musicals The Phantom of the Opera and Into the Woods Beauty and the Beast s set resembles a hybrid of Gothic Victorian and Louis Quinze 12 Disney hired costume designer Ann Hould Ward to design the musical s costumes because the studio enjoyed a certain aesthetic she had used in her previous work and thus allowed her much creative freedom 36 Roth was particularly impressed with the designer s contributions to the musicals Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods 14 Hould Ward accepted Disney s offer because she was interested in seeing exactly how a corporate company producing a Broadway musical for the first time would change the Broadway world 37 Conceptualization began in summer 1992 For research purposes Disney encouraged Hould Ward to reference the animated film she also researched clothing worn throughout the late 18th century 22 36 during which the original fairy tale was written 36 and spent one year discovering how household items looked during the mid 1700s 37 Additionally Hould Ward visited with Beauty and the Beast s original animators spending one week learning how they created their characters to ensure that they would be recognizable to those who had seen the film 37 38 However the designer also decided that her own creations would not exactly replicate the film s 5 Basing the costumes on the Rococo art movement 22 Hould Ward presented her initial ideas to Eisner and then Disney president Frank Wells Once approved Hould Ward and her team spent the following year creating prototypes of each major costume 36 With an unusually long work schedule of two years 22 Hould Ward recalled that this kind of timeline wasn t the norm in a Broadway musical at the time 36 The process of designing Beauty and the Beast s costumes was more collaborative between designer and actor than most other Broadway productions Hould Ward had previously worked on and she frequently sought input from the cast to make sure they were able to move 36 37 Designing Belle s costumes was an easy task for Hould Ward the character is initially dressed in standard Disney heroine attire until replaced by more elaborate costumes once Belle meets the Beast 22 Hould Ward based the character s famous yellow ballgown on several historic portraits 39 The gown became the first costume built for the production in order to accommodate Disney s mandate to market the dress in photoshoots and commercials starring Egan and Mann six months prior to rehearsals 39 Weighing 45 pounds the dress is a combination of various patterns and materials including a hoop skirt silk brocade beading flowers and bows 39 Too large to fit inside Egan s dressing room after the ballroom sequence undressing required assistance from three backstage crew members who used wires to hoist the dress up into the rafters where it would be stored until the next performance 39 A lot of time was spent designing the Beast s costume the creation of which was especially challenging due to requirements to allow enough of the performer to show through 36 Hould Ward s initial designs for the Beast were constantly rejected by Katzenberg who reiterated that she put the movie onstage until the producer realized that the excessive prosthetics were limiting Mann s vocal performance 10 A wire frame was also used to maintain the costume s shape 5 which evokes heavy metal fashion until ultimately substituted for a black Oscar de la Renta inspired velvet suit when the Beast finally transforms back into a prince 22 Hould Ward designed the leads costumes from the perspective of her daughter Leah explaining when Leah comes to see it she remembers from the movie that the Beast was in that blue jacket Leah expects that blue jacket and if you don t give it to her she and a lot of other ten year olds are going to be sad 5 At the same time the designer wanted her creations to be equally as interesting on an intellectual level for parents to enjoy also 37 The challenge of designing Belle and the Beast s costumes paled in comparison to the difficulty of creating the enchanted objects a combination of intricate wiring prosthetics and pyrotechnics 22 Scale was the most prominent obstacle for Hould Ward s to overcome 5 The problem was the presentation of an actor as a life sized teapot when the characters in the film were so little in comparison 22 Because the castle s enchanted staff is slowly transforming into objects shown at various stages of transformation without ever completely becoming the objects themselves Hould Ward was required to create several different costumes for each character in order to depict the transformation as the show progresses 5 Meanwhile the costume of Lumiere alone was built by a team of forty people 5 including a creator of the prosthetic candle hair and Vac U Form specialist the pyrotechnician man responsible for equipping the costume s pyro unit with butane and man operating the butane tank were each separate people 22 While transforming animation into real life Hould Ward also worked on incorporating the human body each costume 38 explaining I wanted the reality of the real person rather than the fantasy of the object The essence of my job is to allow my real actors to take you to this fantastical place 5 A system of wired frames was used to help the actors support their characters heavy garments 5 Such elaborate costumes had never been designed for a Broadway production before 22 Cogsworth s costume features a fully functioning clock on his face 21 Meanwhile Madame de la Grande Bouche was the production s most expensive costume 22 The musical originally relied on heavy prosthetics and elaborate costumes in an attempt to make the musical resemble the film as closely as possible 26 In an attempt to replicate the film s famous movie poster Egan was dressed in flats while Mann was positioned on stilts to establish a more dramatic height difference 26 According to Egan the studio didn t trust the audience s ability to suspend disbelief something theater goers are routinely asked to do 26 However the company finally began to relent as the production neared Houston tryouts after a final run through during which the actors did not wear costumes thus the prosthetics were gradually lessened and replaced by make up for the Beast and enchanted objects during 1993 previews 26 The elaborate costumes resulted in their fair share of technical difficulties malfunctions and performance restrictions 24 many of which manifested during the seven week tryouts in Houston 10 The costumes left little room for the performers to change between scenes and air conditioners were fastened to them to regulate their temperatures 10 In general the weight of the enchanted objects costumes limited their dancing 21 Chiropractors and therapists remained on standby to assist Fowler whose Mrs Potts costume required her to always keep one arm in the air 10 Beach compared holding up the two propane tanks used to represent Lumiere s candles to carrying two hams around a grocery store two and a half hours 24 To build his stamina Beach would carry the tanks during rehearsal 24 Beach s hand caught fire during one performance which he did not notice until Mann subtly pointed it out using furtive head nods 24 While dancing the inertia of Egan s heavy ballgown caused its skirt to constantly pull her in the opposite direction of whichever way she turned 39 Mann likened performing in the Beast s costume to wearing several heavy winter coats comparing the wig to four Angora cats and gaffer taping them to your head and then running around the block 10 or 12 times 24 Disney was outraged when after their first performance at the Palace Theatre The New York Times published caricaturist Al Hirschfeld s line drawing interpretation of Belle and the Beast s pose in which Belle s yellow gown was colored pink and the Beast s tuxedo appeared greenish as opposed to royal blue When Disney confronted Hirschfeld the artist defended his work explaining The costumes may have been blue and yellow but they made me feel green and pink 39 Hould Ward adjusted the costumes to accommodate the locations as the production traveled to various theaters 22 Lighting and special effects Edit Lighting designer Natasha Katz was hired to work on Beauty and the Beast 40 When Disney first approached Katz to offer her the job several of Katz s cohorts specifically other lighting designers attempted to discourage her from accepting in fear of changing the appearance of musical theater forever 40 In hindsight Katz defended Disney s work explaining Beauty and the Beast didn t bring theatre back to New York but it did change the dynamic no question about it of the business 40 Known for assisting David Copperfield with his illusions Roth hired Jim Steinmeyer to work on Beauty and the Beast 14 Steinmeyer had previously contributed to the musical Merlin 15 The Beast s transformation sequence during the second act was much discussed It took about 11 weeks to set the design 19 Plot EditAct I Edit On a cold winter s night an old beggar woman comes to a young spoiled prince s castle offering him a single rose in return for shelter But the prince turns her away solely for her appearance The woman warns him not to be fooled by appearances as true beauty lies within only to be rejected again She then transforms into a beautiful enchantress and turns the prince into a hideous Beast and his servants into various household objects She gives him the rose to use as an hour glass The only way he can break the spell is to learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal falls Prologue Ten years later a beautiful young girl named Belle makes her way into town one morning to get a book from the local bookseller On the way she expresses her wish to live in a world like her books full of adventure while the townspeople note her unparalleled beauty but find her love of books odd Belle Belle has also attracted the attention of Gaston the local hunter and town hero who admires her only for her beauty Belle however is not oblivious to her peers views of her She voices her concerns about it to her eccentric father and inventor Maurice who assures her that she is anything but strange No Matter What The two then put the finishing touches on his invention and Maurice heads off to an invention fair donning a scarf knitted for him by Belle No Matter What Reprise but becomes lost in the woods and attacked by a pack of wolves After surviving a wolf attack he enters the Beast s castle He meets the servants including Lumiere a maitre d turned into a candelabra Cogsworth the head of household turned into a clock Babette a maid turned into a feather duster Mrs Potts the head of the kitchen turned into a teapot and Chip her son turned into a teacup They welcome him but the horrid Beast arrives and locks Maurice away in the dungeon for trespassing Back in town Gaston proposes to Belle which she politely rejects Me Appalled by Gaston s forwardness Belle once again voices her need for a life outside this provincial life Belle Reprise Gaston s sidekick LeFou returns from the woods wearing the scarf Belle knitted for Maurice Belle realizes her father is in danger and heads into the woods to look for him She ends up at the castle where she finds her father locked away in a dungeon She makes a deal with the Beast Maurice goes free but she remains instead They agree and Maurice is sent back to town without being allowed to say goodbye Belle is given a guest room and ordered by the Beast to join him for dinner She mourns her situation Home but Mrs Potts and Madame de la Grande Bouche an operatic wardrobe attempt to cheer her up Home Reprise Back in town at the local tavern Gaston sulks at his loss of a bride LeFou and the patrons attempt to cheer him up Gaston When Maurice rushes in claiming a Beast has Belle locked away they laugh at him but Gaston formulates a sinister plan Gaston Reprise Back at the castle the Beast grows impatient as Belle has yet to join him for dinner Cogsworth informs him she refuses to come After a shouting match between Belle and the Beast which ends in a victory for Belle he tells her if she cannot eat with him then she will not eat at all He sulks and notes his fate in his quarters should the spell not break How Long Must This Go On Eventually Belle does become hungry and ventures into the kitchen where the servants offer her dinner despite their master s orders They treat her to an amazing cabaret show Be Our Guest After dinner Belle gets a tour of the castle courtesy of Cogsworth and Lumiere Her curiosity leads her to enter the West Wing a place the Beast told her was forbidden Mesmerized by a mysterious rose floating in a bell jar she reaches out to touch it but before she can the Beast stops her and orders her to get out accidentally shoving her in the process Fearing for her life Belle flees from the castle Realizing his mistake the Beast knows he will be a monster forever if he cannot learn to love her If I Can t Love Her Act II Edit In the woods Belle is attacked by wolves and is only rescued when the Beast comes to her aid but he is injured during the fight and collapses Entr acte Wolf Chase Instead of taking the chance to run home Belle helps him back to the castle She cleans his injuries and after a brief argument about whose fault this is the Beast thanks her for her kindness and thus their friendship is born Wanting to give her a thank you gift the Beast gives Belle his huge library which excites her She notes a change in the Beast s personality as the servants note a change in Belle and the Beast s relationship Something There They express their hope of being human once more Human Again while Belle asks the Beast to accompany her to dinner that night Back in the village Gaston and LeFou meet with the local insane asylum owner Monsieur D Arque They plan to lock Maurice away to blackmail Belle into marrying Gaston Maison des Lunes The Beast and Belle attend a lovely dinner and personal ball where they dance together in the ballroom Beauty and the Beast The Beast who plans to tell Belle he loves her asks Belle if she is happy here to which she responds positively but notes that she misses her father He offers her his Magic Mirror to view him She sees that Maurice is sick and lost in the woods and fears for his life But even though the Beast knows there are only a few hours left till the last petal falls from the rose he allows Belle to leave to save her father she departs after a tearful goodbye If I Can t Love Her Reprise Belle finds her father and brings him back to their house in the village After she nurses him back to health she explains the transformation she seems to have gone through while she was with the Beast A Change in Me A mob arrives led by Gaston to take Maurice to the asylum Belle proves her father s sanity by showing the townspeople the Beast is real using the Magic Mirror but does not realize the error in her gesture The townspeople immediately fear the Beast but Belle insists that he is gentle and kind Gaston catches her tone and recognizes the Beast as his rival for Belle s affections and organizes the mob to kill the Beast Mob Song To warn the Beast Belle and Maurice attempt to beat the mob to the castle However they arrive too late for Gaston and the mob had already reached the castle The servants keep the lynch mob at bay but Gaston breaks through and finds the Beast in his tower He engages in a fight with him mercilessly beating and taunting him The Beast has lost the will to live at Belle s departure As Gaston moves in for the killing blow Belle arrives The Beast immediately turns on Gaston and is prepared to kill him but spares his life after seeing the fear in his eyes The Beast and Belle are reunited but this reunion is cut short as Gaston fatally stabs the Beast in the back This act of violence causes Gaston to lose his footing and he falls to his death On the balcony Belle assures the Beast he ll live but they both know she is helpless to save him She begs him not to leave her because she has found a home in his company Home Reprise but despite this he loses consciousness and Belle thinking that he s dead sobs on his body and whispers I love you just as the last rose petal falls A transformation occurs Transformation and the Beast is alive and human once more Though Belle does not recognize him at first she looks into his eyes and sees the Beast within and they kiss The two of them sing of how their lives have changed because of love and they dance once more as the servants now changed back to their human form gathers in the ballroom Beauty and the Beast Reprise Productions EditHouston 1993 Edit Beauty and the Beast premiered in a joint production of Theatre Under The Stars and Disney Theatrical at the Music Hall Houston Texas from November 28 1993 through December 26 1993 Original Broadway production 1994 2007 Edit The musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 18 1994 and ran there until September 5 1999 The show then transferred to the Lunt Fontanne Theatre on November 11 1999 with an official opening date of November 16 1999 The musical closed on July 29 2007 after 46 previews and 5 461 performances and is Broadway s tenth longest running production in history as of September 2019 update 41 The production holds the record of being the longest running production at both the Palace Theatre where it opened and the Lunt Fontanne Theatre where it closed its Broadway run citation needed The production cost an estimated 12 million arguably higher 42 becoming the most costly Broadway musical at the time 26 However some analysists estimate the cost to be closer to 20 million 1 Directed by Robert Jess Roth with choreography by Matt West and assisted by Dan Mojica the original Broadway cast included Susan Egan as Belle Terrence Mann as the Beast Burke Moses as Gaston Gary Beach as Lumiere and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts Orchestrations were by Danny Troob after his own orchestrations and arrangements of the film scenic designer was Stan Meyer costume designer Ann Hould Ward lighting designer Natasha Katz sound was by T Richard Fitzgerald hair designer David H Lawrence and prosthetics were by John Dods Illusions were by Jim Steinmeyer and John Gaughan and pyrotechnic design was by Tyler Wymer The Broadway production closed to make way for Disney s next musical venture The Little Mermaid 43 With Disney set to open its Broadway version of The Little Mermaid on November 3 2007 at the time it was believed that having two Disney princess films on Broadway at the same time would divide audiences and cause competition between the two shows At this point Disney also had three other shows running at the same time The Lion King Tarzan and Mary Poppins It was reported that Disney Theatrical planned to revive the show on Broadway for the 2008 holiday season but Disney did not pursue this 44 West End production 1997 Edit The West End production opened at London s Dominion Theatre on April 29 1997 starring Julie Alanah Brighten as Belle and Alasdair Harvey as the Beast 45 It also featured Burke Moses as Gaston Derek Griffiths as Lumiere Mary Millar as Mrs Potts Norman Rossington as Maurice Barry James as Cogsworth Di Botcher as Madame de la Grande Bouche 46 Richard Gauntlett as LeFou and Rebecca Thornhill as Babette citation needed Over the course of the production notable replacements included Michelle Gayle and Annalene Beechey as Belle John Barrowman and Earl Carpenter as the Beast Alex Bourne as Gaston and Billy Boyle and Terry Doyle as Maurice The production ended on December 11 1999 47 The production won the 1998 American Express Award for Best New Musical Olivier Award against other nominees Enter the Guardsman The Fix and Lady in the Dark 48 Broadway revival Edit On April 24 2019 Disney Theatrical Groups revealed that Beauty and the Beast would return to Broadway 49 Thomas Schumacher announced that the Broadway revival would be updated Theatre and dates have not been announced 50 West End revival 2022 Edit The UK and Ireland reimagined tour which opened in August 2021 played a limited London Palladium engagement from June 24 through September 17 2022 It stars Shaq Taylor as The Beast Courtney Stapleton as Belle and the rest of the tour s cast 51 US National tours Edit The show had four US national tours The first opened on November 15 1995 and closed in 1999 It featured Kim Huber as Belle Fred Inkley as the Beast Patrick Page as Lumiere and Paige Davis as Babette Patrick Page and Paige Davis met and fell in love during the tour and married A second national tour opened in 1999 with Susan Owen as Belle and Grant Norman as The Beast This production closed in 2003 The third national tour opened in 2001 and closed in 2003 This production starred Jennifer Shraeder as Belle and Roger Befeler as the Beast with Marc G Dalio as Gaston Notable replacements on the tours have included Sarah Litzsinger Erin Dilly and Danyelle Bossardet as Belle The three touring companies visited 137 venues in 90 North American cities About 5 5 million people in the United States and Canada saw these tours The fourth national tour of Beauty and the Beast began February 2010 opening in Providence Rhode Island starring Liz Shivener as Belle and Justin Glaser as the Beast 52 53 Under the direction of the original Broadway creative team the show featured all new sets and costumes The tour was the longest in the show s history running until July 2016 UK National tours Edit The UK National tour prior to the closure of the West End Production in 1999 began on November 2 2001 at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool with stops in Bristol Birmingham Dublin Southampton Manchester and ended on April 12 2003 at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh The tour starred Annalene Beechey reprising her role from the London production as Belle Alistair Robins as the Beast Ben Harlow as Gaston Julia Goss as Mrs Potts Stephen Matthews as Lumiere Barry James reprising his role from the London production as Cogsworth Billy Boyle reprising his role from the London production as Maurice Karen Davies as Madame de la Grande Bouche Kate Graham reprising her role from the London production as Babette Anthony Clegg as LeFou and Oliver Taylor reprising his role from the London production and Sion Eifion sharing the role of Chip Notable replacements included Dianne Pilkington as Belle Alex Bourne as the Beast Earl Carpenter as Gaston Marilyn Cutts as Mrs Potts Richard Tate as Maurice and Drew Varley as LeFou In September 2020 it was announced that the production would embark on a new UK and Ireland tour which was scheduled to open at the Bristol Hippodrome on 25 August 2021 with stops in Liverpool Edinburgh Cardiff Sunderland Birmingham Manchester and Dublin with further dates to be confirmed 54 55 The production starred Courtney Stapleton and Emmanuel Kojo as Belle and the Beast respectively while other cast members include Tom Senior Martin Ball Gavin Lee and Sam Bailey 56 In October 2021 Emmanuel Kojo was suspended from playing the role of The Beast due to allegations of inappropriate language to women working in the show After an investigation was launched Beast understudy Alyn Hawke was promoted to temporary principle until Shaq Taylor stepped in as full time replacement in early 2022 1 57 International productions Edit Beauty and the Beast has been performed in more than 40 countries including Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Lebanon Mexico Netherlands Norway Philippines Poland Qatar Romania Russia Singapore South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom and United States Over 35 million people have seen the show worldwide and it has grossed more than 1 7 billion 58 On July 15 1995 the musical began its original Australian run in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre before moving on to Sydney The original Australian cast included Michael Cormick as The Beast Rachael Beck as Belle Hugh Jackman as Gaston and Ernie Bourne as Maurice In 1995 the musical opened in Japan and was performed by the Shiki Theatre Company The musical continued to tour Japan until May 2017 59 The Toronto production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre on July 25 1995 and closed on August 30 1997 The production starred Kerry Butler as Belle and Chuck Wagner as the Beast with Terry Doyle as Maurice Notable replacements included Melissa Thomson as Belle and Steve Blanchard as the Beast The lesser known Halifax production at the Neptune Theatre was the longest running production in the theater s history A Los Angeles production opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 12 1995 and closed on September 29 1996 Most of the original Broadway cast returned including Susan Egan Terrence Mann Gary Beach Beth Fowler Burke Moses and Tom Bosley Notable replacements included James Stacy Barbour as the Beast The sets in this production were widely considered to be the largest out of all the musical s productions in the world After the show closed in Los Angeles all of the sets were transferred for the production in Mexico City in 1997 citation needed In December 1997 the musical opened in Stuttgart at the Palladium Theatre Stuttgart and played there until December 22 2000 Leah Delos Santos played Belle and Uwe Kroger played the Beast and Marc G Dalio played Gaston In 1999 the musical opened in China On March 4 2005 Beauty and the Beast had its Scandinavian premiere at The Goteborg Opera with Fred Johanson as the Beast and Annica Edstam as Belle 60 On June 16 2005 the musical began its Philippine run at the Meralco Theater Produced by Atlantis Productions it featured KC Concepcion alternating with Karel Marquez as Belle Jett Pangan as the Beast and Calvin Millado as Gaston In September 2005 a production in Budapest Hungary premiered at the Budapesti Operettszinhaz In South America Argentina was the first country to produce it with Marisol Otero as Belle Juan Rodo as Beast Diego Jaraz as Gaston Gustavo Monje as LeFou Pablo Lizaso as Lumiere Monica Nunez as Mrs Potts Omar Pini as Cogsworth Alejandra Radano as Babette and Rodolfo Valss as Maurice It ran from November 26 1998 at the Teatro opera in Buenos Aires until August 15 1999 before opening again in 2010 Brazil was the second country to host the musical Disney had plans to bring it to the country in 1999 after the success in Argentina but nobody really knew if it would work Three years later in 2002 Beauty and the Beast finally opened in Brazil at Teatro Abril one of the biggest theaters in the country It was a huge hit for more than one and a half years it was presented with Kiara Sasso playing Belle and Saulo Vasconcelos playing the Beast In 2009 a new Belle and a new Beast were cast Lissah Martins and Ricardo Vieira as the musical came back to Brazil Kiara Sasso was playing Maria in The Sound of Music Beauty and the Beast remained for six months at Teatro Abril Even though the play was brought back as a way to try to recoup some of the money lost in Brazil s version of Miss Saigon this second incarnation of Beauty and the Beast failed to create any critical buzz or to be a box office success In Spain there have been three productions of the show The first one based on the original Broadway production had its Madrid debut on December 2 1999 at Teatro Lope de Vega The original cast included Xenia Reguant later replaced by Julia Moller as Belle Carlos Marin later replaced by Joe Luciano as Beast Lisardo Guarinos later replaced by Manuel Bandera as Gaston Victor Ullate Roche as LeFou German Torres as Lumiere Kirby Navarro as Mrs Potts David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth Dulcinea Juarez as Babette Laura Inclan as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Miguel de Grandy as Maurice After a successful run of 27 months and about 900 performances the production finally closed on March 3 2002 becoming the longest running musical ever in Madrid at that time In 2007 a second version produced by Stage Entertainment premiered on October 3 at Teatro Coliseum Madrid for a limited run of six months but the closing was postponed due to a successful season The original cast included Julia Moller reprising her role as Belle later replaced by Maria Adamuz David Ordinas as Beast Pablo Puyol as Gaston Raul Pena as LeFou Armando Pita as Lumiere Angels Jimenez as Mrs Potts later replaced by Rita Barber Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth Silvia Luchetti as Babette Maria Jose Oquendo as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Lorenzo Valverde as Maurice The production closed on January 11 2009 and was transferred to Barcelona where it ran from February 26 2009 to January 10 2010 at the BTM with some changes in the cast including Merce Martinez as Mrs Potts Marta Capel as Babette Patricia Paisal as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Albert Muntanyola as Maurice In 2012 the Stage Entertainment version was relaunched as a touring production beginning performances on September 6 at Teatro Calderon Valladolid The original cast of this third Spanish production included Talia del Val as Belle Ignasi Vidal as Beast Daniel Diges as Gaston Raul Pena as LeFou Diego Rodriguez as Lumiere Mone as Mrs Potts Frank Capdet as Cogsworth Marta Capel as Babette Eva Diago as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Enrique R del Portal as Maurice In 2005 Disney and Stage Entertainment produced a new version of the show directed by Glenn Casale using brand new sets and costumes After touring the Netherlands and playing in Antwerp Belgium Disney and Stage Entertainment brought the show to Berlin Germany in 2006 after a approx one year run at the Metronom Theater in Oberhausen This production opened in 2007 in Madrid Spain and in 2009 in Barcelona Spain and Milan and Rome Italy with Arianna as Belle and Michel Altieri as the Beast A Russian production of the show opened in 2009 in Moscow Russia with television actress Yekaterina Guseva and Stage Entertainment actress Natalya Bystrova alternating the role of Belle The Broadway production played a second time in Mexico City beginning in September 2007 and in Hiroshima Japan beginning in February 2008 The Broadway production opened in South Africa in September 2008 and ran until March 2009 61 In 2004 Disney began to license the show to other companies for touring and the show has been performed by professional and amateur companies in many countries On October 24 2013 the Glenn Casale production of Beauty and the Beast opened at Theatre Mogador in Paris France 62 A Russian revival was staged at the Russia theatre in Moscow 63 circular reference starring Anastasia Yatsenko and Yulia Iva alternating as Belle One of the Belles in the original Russian cast Natalya Bystrova revisited the role for selected performances The production came back to the Netherlands for a run at Circustheater in The Hague starring Anouk Maas as Belle Edwin Jonker as Beast and Freek Bartels as Gaston Beginning October 2014 Disney Theatrical Productions NETworks and Broadway Entertainment Group launched an international tour in celebration of Beauty and the Beast s 20th anniversary on stage The tour opened at the Zorlu Center in Istanbul Turkey and closed in January 2016 at Dubai World Trade Centre having visited Turkey United Arab Emirates Greece Italy Philippines Thailand Singapore Indonesia China Taiwan Egypt Lebanon Romania and Qatar 64 65 In 2016 Disney and Marmelade produced an updated version for the Flemish Region of Belgium The original cast included Josje Huisman as Belle Jan Schepens as Beast Dieter Troubleyn as Gaston Peter Van de Velde as Lumiere Frank Hoelen as Maurice Ivan Pecnik as Cogsworth called Tickens Eline De Munck as Babette Peter Thyssen as LeFou Barbara Dex as Mrs Potts and Saskia Schafer as Madame de la Grande Bouche called La Commodia The show premiered on December 10 2016 at Flanders Expo in Ghent 66 A new Australian production based on the 2021 UK tour will open at Sydney s Capitol Theatre in June 2023 67 Amateur rights Edit The show s rights became available in association with Josef Weinberger Ltd to amateur performing groups and regional musical societies 68 The show has been performed in numerous countries by theater companies on both an amateur and professional level The libretto was revised by the original creative team for the 2021 UK tour 69 Most of the changes except for the new reduced orchestration which isn t available for licensing were added to the official licensed script in June 2021 70 Some of the changes include the removal of Maison des Lunes and The Battle optional cuts to dance breaks and making No Matter What an optional song The Silly Girls were renamed Les Filles de la Ville Characters EditCharacter DescriptionBelle A vibrant intelligent young beauty who wants much more in life than living in a small town She is perceived to be quite odd Voice type Mezzo sopranoThe Beast A prince transformed into a terrifying beast for his lack of compassion short tempered and commanding but with a warm loving heart buried far beneath his gruff exterior Voice type BaritoneGaston The story s antagonist The vain egotistical narcissistic ultra masculine villain determined to marry Belle Voice type BaritoneLeFou Gaston s bumbling sidekick Voice type BaritoneLumiere A suave French debonair enchanted candelabra The maitre d of the castle Voice type BaritoneMrs Potts A kind hearted maternal enchanted teapot The head of the castle s kitchen Voice type Mezzo sopranoChip A young teacup Mrs Potts son Voice type Boy sopranoCogsworth A tightly wound enchanted stuffy mantle clock and head of the Beast s castle Voice type BaritoneBabette A saucy flirtatious featherduster who seeks Lumiere s affections The maid of the castle Voice type SopranoMadame de la Grande Bouche A former opera diva turned into a wardrobe Voice type SopranoMaurice Belle s loving eccentric inventor father Voice type BaritoneMonsieur D Arque The freaky scheming proprietor of the local insane asylum the Maison des Lunes Voice type TenorEnsemble Silly Girls Enchanted Objects Townspeople Tavern Patrons Mob Musical numbers EditAct IOverture Orchestra Prologue Narrator Belle Belle Gaston Silly Girls Ensemble No Matter What Maurice Belle No Matter What Reprise Wolf Chase Maurice Me Gaston Belle Belle Reprise Belle Home Belle Home Reprise Mrs Potts Gaston LeFou Gaston Silly Girls Ensemble Gaston Reprise Gaston LeFou How Long Must This Go On Beast Be Our Guest Lumiere Mrs Potts Ensemble If I Can t Love Her Beast Act IIEntr acte Wolf Chase Orchestra Something There Belle Beast Lumiere Mrs Potts Cogsworth Human Again Lumiere Mrs Potts Chip Madame de la Grande Bouche Babette Cogsworth Ensemble Maison Des Lunes Gaston LeFou Monsieur D Arque Beauty and the Beast Mrs Potts If I Can t Love Her Reprise Beast A Change in Me Belle The Mob Song Gaston Ensemble The Battle The Company Home Reprise II Belle Transformation Beast Belle Ensemble Beauty and the Beast Reprise The Company New song Expanded score Expanded vocal or instrumental content using either cut lyrics by Ashman or dance arrangements by Glen Kelly or both Human Again was written by Menken and Ashman for the movie but was cut due to the complications it made on the film s timeline It was repurposed for the Broadway play and on account of the musical s great success an entirely new animated sequence based on the Broadway version was set to this song and inserted into 2002 s Special Edition DVD release A Change in Me was written into the show in 1998 for the debut of Toni Braxton and was retained thereafter Cut from the show for the 2021 UK Tour not in the Junior Broadway show but some Junior versions have retained the song Instrumentation EditMusic Theatre International offers two orchestrations for Beauty and the Beast The Standard Orchestration of the licensed version of the show is the bigger orchestration based on the original Broadway arrangements and the revisions for the Stage Entertainment production It is scored for three synthesizers the first playing piano and celeste the second augmenting different sections and the third augmenting the string section 71 a drum kit including glockenspiel a percussion section double bass three woodwind players three French horns in F two trumpets in B flat trombone divided violins with a minimum of two players cello and a harp The first woodwind player doubles on flute and piccolo the second on English horn and oboe and the third on clarinet bass clarinet and flute The trombonist doubles on bass trombone and tuba The original Broadway orchestration orchestrated by Danny Troob featured a string section of 6 violins and 2 celli and two additional woodwind players The first played flute and piccolo the second oboe and English horn the third piccolo flute and clarinet in B flat the fourth piccolo flute clarinet in B flat and bass clarinet in B flat and the fifth on bassoon and contrabassoon The excised reed parts and the larger string section were used for the synthesizer parts upon their removal for the licensed orchestration The Alternate Orchestration offered by Music Theatre International when licensing the show is a reduced orchestration for 11 players It is scored for percussion including Drum Kit Glockenspiel and other instruments double bass three woodwind players a brass section consisting of a trumpet and French horn violin cello synthesizer and piano optionally doubling synthesized harp and celeste This orchestration has the option to be piano conducted the conductor plays the piano part and conducts though some shows have a separate conductor and pianist For the Stage Entertainment productions of the show Danny Troob re orchestrated the score for 14 players This new arrangement was mostly based on the licensed orchestration with the string section played on keyboard 3 It was scored for three synthesizers a percussion section including drums and glockenspiel double bass three woodwind players two French horns in F a trombone doubling on bass trombone and tuba two trumpets in B flat and a harp However Stage Entertainment soon started reducing the size of their orchestras for the production replacing musicians with the electronic software KeyComp The pit for the Paris production and for the 2016 Dutch revival were composed of seven musicians two keyboards three woodwind players a percussion section and a single French Horn 72 73 The last UK tour of the musical introduced reworked dance arrangements and a new orchestration and vocal arrangements some of them closer to the 2017 movie The score was reorchestrated for 10 players who play using the electronic software KeyComp 74 It is scored for two synthesizers two woodwind players 1 trombone doubling bass trombone 1 french horn in F 1 trumpet in B flat 1 violin 1 cello and a player playing both percussion and a drum kit Cast information EditCharacters Broadway 1994 Los Angeles 1995 Australia 1995 Toronto 1995 US Tour 1995 West End 1997 2nd US Tour 1999 1st UK Tour 2001 2nd UK Tour 2021 West End 2022 Belle Susan Egan Rachael Beck Kerry Butler Kim Huber Julie Alanah Brighten Susan Owen Annalene Beechey Courtney StapletonBeast Terrence Mann Michael Cormick Chuck Wagner Fred Inkley Alasdair Harvey Grant Norman Alistair Robins Emmanuel Kojo Shaq TaylorGaston Burke Moses Hugh Jackman Dan Chameroy Tony Lawson Burke Moses Chris Hoch Ben Harlow Tom SeniorLeFou Kenny Raskin Jamie Torcellini Zachary McKay Cliff Saunders Dan Sklar Richard Gauntlett Michael Raine Anthony Clegg Louis StockilLumiere Gary Beach Grant Smith Andre Therien Patrick Page Derek Griffiths Ron Wisniski Stephen Matthews Gavin LeeMrs Potts Beth Fowler Robyn Arthur Judy Marshak Betsy Joslyn Mary Millar Janet MacEwen Julia Goss Sam BaileyCogsworth Heath Lamberts Fred Applegate Bert Newton Paul Brown Jeff Brooks Barry James John Alban Coughlan Barry James Nigel RichardsMaurice Tom Bosley Ernie Bourne Terry Doyle Grant Cowan Norman Rossington Ron Lee Savin Billy Boyle Martin BallMadame de la Grande Bouche Eleanor Glockner Mary Jo Catlett Gloden Mercer Jo Anne Kirwan Clark Mary Stout Di Botcher Monica M Wemitt Karen Davies Samantha BingleyBabette Stacey Logan Heather Lee Alinta Carroll Elizabeth Beeler Leslie Castay Rebecca Thornhill Jennifer Shrader Kate Graham Emma CaffreyChip Brian Press Adam WylieJeremy Lelliott Paul CheyeneAnthony HammerZach Meyers Gil FilarNoah Reid Alex BowenBraden Dickie Ben ButterfieldDayle HodgeSimon Kennedy Michael MagsMiles Meehan Oliver Taylor Sion Eifion Manasseh MapiraIesa MillerTheo QuericoRojae SimpsonJoshua Smith Benjamin DaltonSekhani DumezweniZarian Marcel ObatarheRojae SimpsonNotable Broadway cast replacements approximate dates given where available 43 75 Belle Sarah Uriarte Berry 1995 1996 amp 2006 Kerry Butler 1996 1997 Deborah Gibson 1997 1998 Toni Braxton 1998 1999 first African American to play Belle on Broadway Andrea McArdle 1999 2000 Sarah Litzsinger 2000 2002 2003 amp 2006 Jamie Lynn Sigler 2002 2003 Broadway debut Megan McGinnis 2003 2004 Christy Carlson Romano 2004 Ashley Brown 2005 2006 Broadway debut Anneliese van der Pol 2007 Broadway debut closing cast A total of seventeen actresses have played the part of Belle in the Broadway production with Litzsinger playing it the longest 76 77 Beast Jeff McCarthy 1995 1997 amp 2004 Chuck Wagner 1997 1998 James Barbour 1998 1999 Steve Blanchard who played the Beast for the last eight years of the Broadway run Gaston Marc Kudisch 1995 Steve Blanchard 1997 1999 Christopher Sieber 2001 Donny Osmond 2006 amp final Broadway performance Lumiere Lee Roy Reams 1995 Meshach Taylor 1998 1999 Broadway debut Patrick Page 1999 2001 amp 2003 Paul Schoeffler 2001 78 Bryan Batt 2001 2002 Jacob Young 2006 Broadway debut John Tartaglia 2006 2007 Cogsworth Peter Bartlett 79 Jonathan Freeman 2006 2007 Chip Nick Jonas 2002 Harrison Chad Henry Hodges Andrew Keenan Bolger 80 Babette Ann Mandrella 2007 Broadway debut closing cast Notable West End cast replacements Belle Michelle Gayle Beast John Barrowman Earl Carpenter Gaston Earl Carpenter u s Mrs Potts Gemma Craven Maurice Billy BoyleRecordings EditThe Original Broadway Cast Recording was released on April 26 1994 The CD included Susan Egan as Belle Terrence Mann as Beast Burke Moses as Gaston Gary Beach as Lumiere Tom Bosley as Maurice Anna McNeeley as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts The album was certified gold by the RIAA on December 7 2000 81 The Original Australian Cast Recording was released in 1995 The principal cast included Rachael Beck as Belle Michael Cormick as Beast Hugh Jackman as Gaston Ernie Bourne as Maurice Toni Lamond as Madame de la Grande Bouche Grant Smith as Lumiere Robyn Arthur as Mrs Potts and Bert Newton as Cogsworth The Original Vienna Cast Recording was released in 1996 The principal cast included Ethan Freeman as Beast Caroline Vasicek as Belle Kevin Tarte as Gaston Viktor Gernot as Lumiere Ann Mandrella as Babette and Rosita Mewis as Mrs Potts The Original London Cast Recording was released in 1997 The principal cast included Julie Alanah Brighten as Belle Alasdair Harvey as Beast Burke Moses as Gaston Derek Griffiths as Lumiere and Mary Millar as Mrs Potts The Original Stuttgart Cast Recording was released in 1998 The principal cast included Uwe Kroger as Beast and Leah Delos Santos as Belle and Ann Mandrella as Babette The Original Madrid Cast Recording was released in 1999 The principal cast included Xenia Reguant as Belle Carlos Marin as Beast Lisardo Guarinos as Gaston Victor Ullate Roche as LeFou German Torres as Lumiere David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth and Kirby Navarro as Mrs Potts A second cast recording for the new production was released in May 2008 starring Julia Moller as Belle David Ordinas as Beast Pablo Puyol as Gaston Raul Pena as LeFou Armando Pita as Lumiere Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth and Angels Jimenez as Mrs Potts The Original Dutch Cast Recording was released in 2005 The principal cast included Chantal Janzen as Belle Stanley Burleson as Beast Rene van Kooten as Gaston Carlo Boszhard as Lumiere Ger Otte as Tickens Cogsworth and Mariska van Kolck as Mrs Potts Junior version EditA junior version of the musical for middle and high school students was published by MTI This version only included a selected number of the songs including Belle Belle Reprise Home Home Tag Gaston Gaston Reprise Be Our Guest Something There Human Again Beauty and the Beast The Mob Song Home Reprise and Beauty and the Beast Reprise Also in Belle Reprise The Silly Girls take Belle s part in the beginning of the song instead of Belle having to sing the whole song Also in Something There Madame de la Grande Bouche and Babette sing as well Critical reception EditReception towards the tryouts in Houston were so enthusiastic that the production was extended for two weeks 26 Jerome Weeks of Variety responded to the show with a positive review praising the performances of Egan Mann and Moses as well as the Beast s new song If I Can t Love Her At the same time Weeks felt that the production gets close to slipping into a big budget kiddie show or magic act with its overdone showbiz glitz and sparkly stage illusion effects at times but in the end predicted that Beauty and the Beast could well be the big new musical hit this Broadway season has been waiting for 12 However in 1994 Beauty and the Beast finally premiered on Broadway to reviews that ranged from mixed to negative 13 82 83 18 leaving critics mostly unimpressed 6 Reactions from the New York theater community and Broadway producers were particularly harsh ridiculing Disney for deciding to produce the musical themselves as opposed to enlisting traditional theater companies 27 Egan recalled that the same five families had produced Broadway shows for a hundred years and Disney shook that up 27 Nearly universally panned by theater critics 16 they concurred that Beauty and the Beast was a great spectacle but not great theater 26 Likening the musical to the Empire State Building David Richards of The New York Times called the show hardly a triumph of art but it ll probably be a whale of a tourist attraction While awarding specific praise towards its musical numbers choreography costumes and cast particularly Mann s ability to convey the delicacy of awakening love despite the physical demands of his costume at the same time Richards criticized the production s set and special effects for lacking subtlety ultimately accusing them of leaving little to the imagination Richards concluded The result is a sightseer s delight which isn t the same thing as a theatergoer s dream 42 Also writing for The New York Times Vincent Canby disparaged the musical entirely as relentlessly bland busy upbeat and robotlike criticizing the production for resembling a dinner theater Canby felt that the new Menken Rice songs were inferior to the originals likened the special effects to Fourth of July sparklers criticized the sound engineering for ranging from too loud to barely audible and panning Woolverton s book for failing to supplement her screenplay Minor praise was awarded to the performances of Lamberts Beach and Fowler as well as Mann s climactic beast to prince transformation 84 In addition to predicting that Beauty and the Beast would be derided by traditional Broadway theatre goers and critics alike Variety writer Jeremy Gerard was largely negative in his own review While admitting that the production boasts several real pluses Gerard criticized the show for appearing bloated padded gimmick ridden tacky and utterly devoid of imagination The critic voiced his strong disapproval of the costumes while dismissing the set as something designed to be seen by people in moving seats maybe at Disneyland panning West s choreography and ultimately deriding Roth s directing and blocking of actors who look generally like they re following dotted lines on the stage 19 Critics agreed that Roth s direction and West s were equally uninspired 16 In a mixed review with a headline reading Beauty and the Beast isn t magical in the least even if it does bristle with magic tricks New York s John Simon wrote that the production resembles a belated infomercial for the film by which he was bored yet impressed by its special effects and illusions Simon also felt that the actors struggled to resemble their animated counterparts despite Hould Ward s costumes criticizing Egan s acting Woolverton s dialogue and the new Menken Rice numbers while praising Moses Beach s and Fowler s performances 25 Audiences did not share critics negative opinions 13 18 and the musical famously resonated with the public and families 16 83 Children were especially delighted by the idea of their favorite movie performed on stage by live actors 1 Subsequent productions have gradually attracted kinder remarks the national tours in particular have been well received 83 Reviewing a performance of the musical at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles in 1995 Tom Jacobs of Variety wrote Born in Hollywood as an animated film Disney s version of Beauty and the Beast has returned home as an opulent stage musical a year after its Broadway bow Both good and bad choices have been made in adapting the 1991 film but with its outstanding performances fantastic production values and memorable score this show should warm the hearts of all but the most curmudgeonly theatergoers However Jacobs felt that the production suffered from the lack of danger felt watching the film 20 After having been left unimpressed upon viewing the original Broadway production Variety s Matt Wolf was pleasantly surprised by the musical s West End debut one year later citation needed Awards and nominations Edit Be Our Guest was used as the commercial for the 1994 Tony Awards 27 Michael Goldstein of New York correctly predicted that Mann would earn a Tony Award nomination for his performance 10 Despite having been nominated for a total of nine individual awards Beauty and the Beast was ultimately shunned at the ceremony winning only one award Best Costume Design for Hould Ward 83 Nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical the production famously lost to Stephen Sondheim s Passion which is considered to be his own version of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale 16 In 1995 some of Hould Ward s costumes namely Lumiere were put on display in Nordstrom stores 22 Meanwhile Belle and the Beast s ballroom costumes were exhibited at Westside Pavilion and Mrs Potts and LeFou appeared at South Coast Plaza 22 Original Broadway production Edit Year Award Category Nominee Result1994 Tony AwardsBest Musical NominatedBest Book of a Musical Linda Woolverton NominatedBest Original Score Alan Menken Howard Ashman and Tim Rice NominatedBest Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Terrence Mann NominatedBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Susan Egan NominatedBest Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Gary Beach NominatedBest Direction of a Musical Robert Jess Roth NominatedBest Costume Design Ann Hould Ward WonBest Lighting Design Natasha Katz NominatedDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Musical NominatedOutstanding Actor in a Musical Terrence Mann NominatedOutstanding Actress in a Musical Susan Egan NominatedOutstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Burke Moses NominatedOutstanding Choreography Matt West NominatedOutstanding Orchestrations Danny Troob NominatedOutstanding Lyrics Howard Ashman and Tim Rice NominatedOutstanding Music Alan Menken NominatedOutstanding Sound Design T Richard Fitzgerald NominatedOutstanding Special Effects Jim Steinmeyer and John Gaughan NominatedOriginal London production Edit Year Award Category Nominee Result1998 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical WonBest Theatre Choreographer Matt West NominatedBest Costume Design Ann Hould Ward NominatedImpact and legacy EditLargely due to audience reception Beauty and the Beast remains one of Broadway s biggest successes of the current era 1 Beauty and the Beast established itself as a musical that could survive on Broadway despite its unenthusiastic reviews 25 Several detractors had thought that musicals like Beauty and the Beast would be a one time event but the results ultimately turned out to be quite the opposite 37 According to theatrical producer Stuart Oken Disney s success with Beauty and the Beast is responsible for today s biggest Broadway hits and making the medium better than it has ever been 8 The groundbreaking performance of Beauty and the Beast inspired other major Hollywood studios to produce Broadway renditions of some of their own films 27 Disney soon began to commission Broadway adaptations of several of the studio s most popular musical films namely The Lion King 1997 Mary Poppins 2004 Tarzan 2006 The Little Mermaid 2008 Newsies 2012 and Aladdin 2014 1 in addition to producing the musical Aida 16 After completing her run in Beauty and the Beast Egan would famously go on to voice Meg in Disney s animated musical Hercules 1997 establishing herself as a popular voice and film actress 13 Following the success of Human Again the song was later incorporated into reissues of the animated film in the form of an animated musical sequence 16 Beauty and the Beast is considered to be Broadway s first legitimate family show 13 responsible for birthing an entirely new generation of young theatergoers 16 The family demographic of the musical established inspired international productions of Aladdin and Matilda 13 According to The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals author Dan Dietz the show s resounding success opened the floodgates for a spate of productions based on Disney and other family oriented films transforming Broadway into a theme park with a parade of musicals aimed at kids and teenagers 1 Dietz believes that the plethora of Broadway musicals that came after Beauty and the Beast have unfortunately resembled feel good family show s whose goal was to emulate its film source 1 Additionally the success of the musical inspired a legion of Broadway productions geared towards young women including Hairspray 2002 Wicked 2003 Legally Blonde 2007 Matilda 2013 and Rodgers and Hammerstein s Cinderella 2013 1 While these musicals flourished on Broadway it seems as though more serious adult oriented fare struggled to perform as well 1 New York theater critic Howard Kissel famously despised the Kiddy Komponent of New York theatergoing spearheaded by the successful 13 year Broadway run of Beauty and the Beast 85 The success of Beauty and the Beast inspired Eisner to invest in his own theater to house future stage adaptations of the studio s animated classics 86 Original arrangements of some of the show s original songs can be heard playing in the Belle s Village area of Fantasyland in Tokyo Disneyland which opened September 28 2020 87 88 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dietz Dan 2016 The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals United States Rowman amp Littlefield pp 154 156 ISBN 9781442272149 via Google Books Grossman Julie 2015 Theater Film And Their Hideous Progeny Adaptation and ElasTEXTity Palgrave Macmillan UK p 127 ISBN 978 1 137 39902 1 Zoglin Richard May 15 2008 Bye Bye Birdie Hello Rent Time Reported in its May 15 2008 issue that this musical ranked as the fourth most frequently produced musical by U S high schools in 2007 a b c d Eagan Daniel 2010 America s Film Legacy The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry United Kingdom A amp C Black p 808 ISBN 9780826429773 via Google Books a b c d e f g h i j k Beauty amp The Beast from Screen to Stage Thread By Thread Costumes on Screen September 27 2011 Retrieved September 19 2016 a b c d e f g h i Riedel Michael 2015 Razzle Dazzle The Battle for Broadway United States Simon and Schuster pp 384 388 ISBN 9781451672183 via Google Books History of The Walt Disney Stuios PDF The Walt Disney Studios Disney Archived from the original PDF on March 3 2016 Retrieved October 18 2016 a b Davenport Ken 2016 Candid Conversations With Broadway Pros Volume 3 United States Lulu Press Inc ISBN 9781329876491 via Google Books Veness Susan 2015 The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom Epcot Disney s Hollywood Studios and Disney s Animal Kingdom United States F W Media Inc p 155 ISBN 9781440587801 via Google Docs a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Goldstein Michael March 14 1994 Broadway s New Beast New York pp 42 45 Retrieved October 15 2016 via Google Books a b Lemon Brendan March 25 2016 Looking into the heart of Disney s Beauty and the Beast The Smith Center Retrieved October 18 2016 a b c d Weeks Jeremy December 12 1993 Review Beauty and the Beast Variety Variety Media LLC Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c d e f g h Culwell Logan April 16 2015 Where Are the Stars of Disney s Beauty and the Beast Now Playbill Playbill Inc Retrieved September 19 2016 a b c d e f g Filichia Peter 2011 Broadway Musical MVPs 1960 2010 The Most Valuable Players of the Past 50 Seasons United States Applause Theatre amp Cinema ISBN 9781557839305 via Google Books a b c d e f g h Rauzi Robin May 8 1993 Beast on Stage Will It Work Theater Some are wondering if Disney s saturation with the hit movie will prevent its resale as a live musical Los Angeles Times pp 1 2 Retrieved October 17 2016 a b c d e f g h i j Robinson Mark A 2014 The World of Musicals An Encyclopedia of Stage Screen and Song 2 volumes United States ABC CLIO p 65 ISBN 9781440800979 via Google Books a b c d e Murray Matthew April 18 2004 Beauty and the Beast Talkin Broadway Retrieved September 19 2016 a b c d e Hischak Thomas S 2008 The Oxford Companion to the American Musical Theatre Film and Television United States Oxford University Press p 56 ISBN 9780195335330 via Google Books a b c Gerard Jeremy April 19 1994 Review Disney s Beauty and the Beast Variety Variety Media LLC Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c Jacobs Tom April 17 1995 Review Beauty and the Beast Variety Variety Media LLC Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c d e f g h Tomada Nathalie January 5 2015 20 reasons to watch Beauty and the Beast Philstar com Philstar Retrieved October 12 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Robinson Gaile March 16 1995 By Design A Beastly Assignment How to make a human sized teapot and a candelabra Ann Hould Ward used fancy wiring prosthetics and pryotechnics to make the stage production of Beauty and the Beast come alive Los Angeles Times Retrieved September 19 2016 Beauty amp the Beast StageAgent StageAgent com Archived from the original on May 19 2012 Retrieved September 29 2016 a b c d e f g h i Stadler Nancy October 5 2010 Gary Beach and Terrence Mann remember Beauty and the Beast s trip from the screen to the stage Jim Hill Media Retrieved October 5 2016 a b c Simon John May 2 1994 Hairy Fairy Tale New York New York Media LLC pp 72 75 Retrieved October 15 2016 via Google Books a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Susan Egan Belle Meg Glamour and Goop Part 1 The Mouse Castle Mouse Castle Media July 29 2012 Retrieved September 18 2016 a b c d e f g North Jesse October 25 2011 Susan Egan on her dirt catching days as a Disney Princess and humble motherhood Stage Rush Stage Rush Retrieved September 18 2016 Everett William A Laird Paul R 2015 Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical United States Rowman amp Littlefiel p 32 ISBN 9781442256699 a b c Tan Corrie March 24 2015 Alan Menken Q amp A with the music maestro behind Disney s Beauty And The Beast The Straits Times Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Retrieved March 24 2015 Beauty and the Beast Show History Music Theatre International MTI Enterprises Inc Retrieved October 19 2016 a b Be Our Guest for the ultimate love story Disney s Beauty and the Beast returns to Eisenhower Auditorium Feb 23 PennState The Pennsylvania State University February 1 2016 Retrieved October 13 2016 a b Ehren Christine October 7 1998 Toni Braxton Premieres Beauty s New Song Oct 7 On Rosie Playbill Playbill Inc Archived from the original on 2013 07 26 Retrieved October 13 2016 a b c d e f Hill Jim April 8 2010 Tune Thursday How A Change in Me wound up being added to Broadway s Beauty amp the Beast Jim Hill Media Retrieved October 14 2016 a b Page to Screen Beauty and the Beast 1991 The Literary Omnivore July 8 2011 Retrieved October 14 2016 Baker C Daniel January 29 2013 Toni Braxton Decoded Family Values Help Put Struggling Singer Back in Spotlight Are you a fan of the Grammy winning diva Black Enterprise Black Enterprise Retrieved October 13 2016 a b c d e f g Hodgins Paul November 12 2010 Beauty was no beast for costume designer The Orange County Register The Orange County Register Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c d e f Adler Andrew December 22 2015 Ann Hould Ward s costumes give Disney s Beauty and the Beast at the Saenger Theater Dec 29 Jan 3 The Times Picayune NOLA Media Group Retrieved September 21 2016 a b Conter Jenna May 23 2013 Beauty and the Beast comes to Halifax will you be their guest Metro News Free Daily News Group Inc Archived from the original on September 18 2016 Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c d e f Egan Susan How Beauty and the Beast Prepared Me For TheDress Susan Egan Susan Egan Retrieved September 20 2016 a b c Myers Victoria May 31 2016 An Interview with Natasha Katz The Interval The Interval Retrieved October 13 2016 Viagas Robert January 4 2017 Long Runs on Broadway Playbill Retrieved January 23 2017 a b Richards David April 19 1994 Review Theater Beauty and the Beast Disney Does Broadway Dancing Spoons and All The New York Times Retrieved September 17 2016 a b Haun Harry July 6 2007 Bye Bye Beauty Playbill Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved August 26 2007 Hill Jim June 3 2008 High School Musical 5 amp 6 Beauty amp the Beast headed back to Broadway www jimhillmedia com Retrieved April 9 2016 Disney s Beauty and the Beast Lights Up London s West End Tonight Press release PR Newswire April 29 1997 Retrieved August 26 2007 Taylor Paul REVIEW MUSICAL Beauty and the Beast Dominion Theatre London The Independent 14 May 1997 Retrieved January 23 2017 Disney s Beauty and the Beast Theatrecrafts com Retrieved February 14 2017 Olivier Winners 1998 Olivier Awards Retrieved April 9 2016 Disney Theatrical Productions will revisit the show that kicked off Disney s reign on Broadway 25 years ago Disney s Beauty and the Beast Is Getting a Broadway Revival Disney s Beauty and the Beast will play London Palladium This Summer Playbill January 21 2022 http www starkinsider com 2010 08 theater review disney beauty and the beast shn san francisco html Theater Review Disney s Beauty and the Beast San Francisco Gans Andrew New Beauty and Beast Tour Now Playing Providence Peoria Is Next Playbill February 12 2010 Retrieved April 9 2016 2022 Tour Dates WhatsOnStage com 2021 10 01 Archived from the original on 2021 10 01 Retrieved 2021 10 01 Disney delays UK tour of Beauty and the Beast WhatsOnStage www whatsonstage com Retrieved 2021 03 15 Wood Alex 2021 04 30 Disney s Beauty and the Beast tour announces full cast WhatsOnStage Retrieved 2021 05 01 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Star Emmanuel Kojo Suspended Due to Alleged Inappropriate Comments to Female Crew Member Broadway World October 18 2021 Jones Kenneth MTI Will License Disney s Aida and Beauty and the Beast for Regional and Amateur Markets Archived 2009 10 12 at the Wayback Machine Playbill com September 22 2003 舞台 美女と野獣 京都公演が千秋楽 Lmaga jp in Japanese May 22 2017 Retrieved May 15 2019 Forestallningar GoteborgsOperan SE South Africa production Archived 2008 08 30 at the Wayback Machine beautyandthebeast co za accessed September 5 2011 BWW News Desk Disney s Beauty and the Beast to Make French Language Debut in Paris October 2013 Rossiya teatr Vikipediya Broadway Creative Team of Beauty and the Beast Will Reunite for International Tour Playbill April 9 2014 Beauty and the Beast musical comes to Dubai Gulf News November 29 2015 Disney s Beauty and the Beast returns to Belgium Archived 2016 12 20 at the Wayback Machine beautyandthebeast be accessed December 12 2016 Sydney to host Disney s new production of Beauty and the Beast at the Capitol Theatre in June 2023 disney com au August 17 2022 Beauty and the Beast josef weinberger com accessed September 5 2011 Preview Disney s Beauty and the Beast at Bristol Hippodrome Visit Bristol 2021 08 23 Retrieved 2021 10 18 Disney s Beauty And The Beast Music Theatre International 2020 05 30 Retrieved 2021 10 18 Beauty and the Beast Standard Critique La Belle et la Bete Musical www disneynext fr Retrieved 2021 05 07 Lumiere en Coulisses 09 Partie 2 Decouvrez le Musical La Belle et la Bete autrement archived from the original on 2021 12 13 retrieved 2021 05 07 Click for More 12 October 2017 Beauty and the Beast at IBDB com www ibdb com Retrieved April 9 2016 Gans Andrew January 28 2003 One Soprano Exits Another Returns Playbill Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved September 1 2007 Nesti Robert December 29 2005 Sarah Litzsinger From Belle to Evita Edge EDGE Publications Inc Archived from the original on January 12 2015 Retrieved February 8 2013 David Lefkowitz Robert Simonson Schoeffler to Light Up Bway s Beauty and the Beast March 21 May 13 Retrieved April 9 2016 Peter Bartlett Andrew Keenan Bolger Official Site Archived from the original on 2014 10 21 Retrieved 2014 10 14 Beauty and the Beast Original Cast RIAA Retrieved April 16 2021 Beauty Moving From Palace To the Fontanne The New York Times July 14 1999 Retrieved September 17 2016 a b c d Rogers Rick July 29 2012 Sigmund Romberg Beauty and the Beast NewsOK Retrieved September 17 2016 Canby Vincent April 24 1994 Sunday View Is Broadway Ready for a Disney World Show The New York Times Retrieved September 19 2016 Gates Anita February 17 2012 Howard Kissel Daily News Theater Critic Dies at 69 The New York Times Retrieved October 13 2016 Makagon Daniel 2004 Where the Ball Drops Days and Nights in Times Square United States University of Minnesota Press pp 52 ISBN 9780816642755 via Internet Archive beauty and the beast broadway michael eisner 美女と野獣エリアのBGM Disney s PARK BGM Lists YouTube YouTube External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beauty and the Beast musical Information about Regional US and International productionsIndianapolis Civic Theatre Production Photos Theatre Cedar Rapids Beauty and the Beast Production Photos Cedar Rapids IA Archived from the original on 2006 07 20 Retrieved 2006 05 10 Chattanooga Theatre Centre Production Photos Chattanooga TN Music Theatre Louisville Louisville KY Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2006 05 10 Actor s Playhouse Review Coral Gables FL Archived from the original on 2006 05 18 Retrieved 2006 05 10 Mexican Production Mexico Archived from the original on 2007 02 21 Retrieved 2007 02 14 OthersBeauty and the Beast UK Beauty and the Beast Belgium Beauty and the Beast at the Internet Broadway Database Beauty and the Beast info page on StageAgent com Beauty and the Beast plot summary and character descriptions Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beauty and the Beast musical amp oldid 1130601259, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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