Beauty and the Beast (musical)

Beauty and the Beast
Vocal Selections Cover Art
Music	Alan Menken
Lyrics	Howard Ashman Tim Rice
Book	Linda Woolverton
Based upon	1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast
Productions	1993 Houston 1994 Broadway 1997 West End 1997 Mexico City 1999 Madrid 2002 São Paulo 2003 Osaka 2004 Seoul 2007 Helsinki 2007 Trinidad 2007 Madrid 2007 Doha 2007 Mexico City 2008 Dubai

Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. The musical ran on Broadway for 5,464 performances between 1994 and 2007, becoming Broadway's sixth-longest running production.^[1] 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. The musical has enjoyed numerous productions throughout the world.

Produced by Disney Theatrical, a fully owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, the show debuted on Broadway three years after the release of the movie.

Contents 1 Background 2 Production history 3 Plot summary 4 Musical numbers 4.1 Act I 4.2 Act II 5 Broadway Cast 6 Recording 7 Differences Between Play and Movie 8 Awards and nominations 9 Links to performances 10 References 11 External links

Background

The idea for the show evolved from a popular 25 minute-long Broadway-style performance of the film at Disneyland which opened in 1992 and a similar show at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park which opened concurrently with the film in 1991. Ron Logan, former head of Disney Theatricals and Disney Entertainment worldwide, told Jeffrey Katzenberg that Beauty and the Beast should be made into a Broadway musical. Initially disagreeing, Katzenberg relented after a Frank Rich New York Times article noting that Beauty would have won a Tony if it had been on Broadway. Contacted by then-head of Disney Michael Eisner, Logan presented his ideas, and the project was set.^[2] According to an article in The Houston Chronicle, written by Everett Evans, "TUTS executive director Frank Young had been trying to get Disney interested in a stage version of Beauty about the same time Eisner and Katzenberg were mulling over [Frank] Rich's column. But Young couldn't seem to get in touch with the right person in the Disney empire. Nothing happened till the Disney execs started to pursue the project from their end. When they asked George Ives, the head of Actors Equity on the West Coast, which Los Angeles theater would be the best venue for launching a new musical, Ives said the best theater for that purpose would be TUTS. Not long after that, Disney's Don Frantz and Bettina Buckley contacted Young, and the partnership was under way."^[3]

Production history

The world premiere was at Houston's Theatre Under The Stars in November 1993. Directed by Robert Jess Roth with choreography by Matt West assisted by Dan Mojica, the original Broadway cast included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as the Beast, and Burke Moses as Gaston. The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 18 1994 and ran there until September 5 1999. The production moved to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11 1999, with an official opening date of November 16 1999, and ran at that theatre until its final performance on July 29 2007. The show ran a total of 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances bringing the total number of performances to 5,510. The Broadway production closed to make way for Disney's next musical venture, The Little Mermaid, which is scheduled to play at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.^[4] The West End production opened at London's Dominion Theatre on April 29 1997 and closed on December 11 1999. Featured were Julie Alanah Brighton as "Belle", Alasdair Harvey as the "Beast", and Burke Moses reprising his role as "Gaston". ^[5] The show won the Olivier Award as Best New Musical for 1998. ^[6] According to disneyonbroadway.com, the Broadway Musical Production has performed around the world in a total of 13 countries in 115 cities including, Argentina (1998), Australia (1995), Austria (1995), Brazil (2001), Canada (1995), China (1999), Germany (1997), Ireland (2002 as part of the UK National Tour), Japan, (1995), Mexico (1997), South Korea (2004), Spain (1999) and the United Kingdom (1997). The show's two national tours played in 90 cities throughout the United Sates and Canada from November 1995 to August 2003. In late 2004, Disney released the show as a licensed stage show through Music Theatre International allowing it to be leased for performing rights to traveling theatrical companies, and the show has been performed throughout North America and Europe (although Disney has not allowed the show to be produced within 50 miles of New York City). Also in 2005, Disney and Stage Entertainment produced a new version of the show using brand new sets and costumes. The show opened in the Netherlands in 2005. After touring Holland, Disney and Stage Entertainment brought the show to Berlin, Germany in 2006. This new production is currently playing in Madrid, Spain with Julia Moller reprsing her role as Belle. The Broadway Production of Beauty and the Beast has been performed in 7 different languages:English, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, German.

Plot summary

The plot summary in this section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Act I

One a cold winter night, an old hag comes upon a glorious castle belonging to a French prince. She asks the master if the castle to allow her to stay the night away from the cold; in return she will give him a single rose, but the prince was vain and uncaring and turned her away solely for her appearance. Seeing his horrible heart for what it truly is she turned into a beautiful enchantress and transformed the prince into a hideous Beast and turned his servants into objects. She gives him the rose to use as an hour-glass, the one way he could break the spell was to learn to love another and her love in return by the time the last petal fell… Ten years later, a beautiful young woman named Belle makes her way into town one morning in order to get a book from the local book keeper. 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 attentions of Gaston the local tavern owner 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 father, Maurice, an eccentric inventor, assures his daughter that she is anything but strange and he will always love her (“No Matter What”). The two then put the finishing touches on his invention and Maurice heads of to an invention fair donning a scarf knitted for him by Belle (“No Matter What (Reprise)”). In the woods, Maurice becomes lost when a pack of wolves attacks him; he finds his way to a mysterious castle on the edge of the Crossroads and enters. The servants (Lumiere, a maitre’d turning into a candelabra, Cogsworth, the head of household turning into a clock, and Mrs. Potts the maid turning into a tea pot) welcome him but the castle’s master, a horrid Beast, arrives and orders Maurice to be locked away 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 one (“Belle (Reprise)”). Gaston’s sidekick, Lefou, returns from the woods in a familiar scarf. Belle realizes her father is in danger and heads into the woods to look for him. She ends up at the castle were she finds her father locked away in a dungeon. She makes a deal with the Beast, Maurice goes free but she remains in his stead. 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 attempts to cheer her up (“Home (Reprise)”). Back in town, Gaston sulks at his loss of a bride. 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 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. In his quarters, he sulks and notes his fate 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 and rips her sleeve in the process. Appalled that he has touched her she flees the castle fearing for her life. Realizing his deadly mistake the Beast knows he will be a monster forever if he cannot learn to love her (“If I Can’t Love Her”).

Act 2

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 Belle helps him back to the castle. There 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 meets with the asylum owner Monsieur D’Arque. They plan to lock Maurice away to blackmail Belle into marrying Gaston (“Maison de Lunes”). In the castle, the Beast and Belle attend a lovely dinner and personal ball, where they dance together in the ballroom (“Beauty and the Beast”). After, the Beast (who plans to tell Belle he loves her) asks her if she is happy here, she responds positively but notes that she misses her father. He offers her his Magic Mirror to view him: he is sick and lost in the woods. The Beast allows Belle to leave in order to save him; 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 is able to nurse him back to health she explains the transformation she seems to have gone through while with the Beast (“A Change in Me”). A mob arrives, lead 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 doesn’t realize the error in her gesture. The townspeople immediately fear the Beast, Belle insists he’s 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”). At the castle, the objects are able to 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 him and taunting him. The Beast has lost the will to live at Belle’s departure and Gaston moves in for the killing blow when Belle arrives, the Beast immediately turns on Gaston but spares his life. The Beast and Belle are reunited just as Gaston plunges his dagger into the Beast’s back but loses his footing and falls to his death. On the balcony Belle assures the Beast he will live but they both know she is helpless to save him, she begs him not to leave her because she has found home in his company (“Transformation Song”), but despite this, he dies; Belle sobs on his body and says she loves him just before the last petal falls. A transformation takes place and the Beast is alive and human once more, though Belle does not recognize him at first she looks into his eyes and see the Beast within and they kiss. The two sing of how their lives have changed because of love (“End Duet”) and they dance once more as the company gathers in the ballroom (“Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)”).

Musical numbers

*New songs for the musical

† Instrumental Songs ‡ "A Change in Me" was not in either the movie or the original sountrack; it was added to the soundtrack in 1997.

Broadway Cast

Original Broadway Cast

• Beast - Terrence Mann
• Belle - Susan Egan
• Gaston - Burke Moses
• Lumiere - Gary Beach
• Cogsworth - Heath Lamberts
• Maurice - Tom Bosley
• Mrs. Potts - Beth Fowler (Fowler played the role for a total of seven years)
• Babette - Stacey Logan
• Madame de la Grande Bouche - Eleanor Glockner
• Lefou - Kenny Raskin
• Chip - Brian Press
• Monsieur D'Arque - Gordon Stanley

Final Broadway Cast

• Beast - Steve Blanchard
• Belle - Anneliese van der Pol
• Gaston - Donny Osmond
• Lumiere - David de Vires
• Cogsworth - Glenn Rainey
• Maurice - Jamie Ross
• Mrs. Potts - Jeanne Lehman
• Babette - Ann Mandrella
• Madame de la Grande Bouche - Mary Stout
• Lefou - Aldrin Gonzalez
• Chip - Marlon Sherman
• Monsieur D'Arque - Billy Vitelli

Notable Broadway cast replacements (approximate dates given where available)^[7][4]

• Beast: Chuck Wagner (1997), James Barbour (1998), Jeff McCarthy (2004), Steve Blanchard (who played the "Beast" for the last eight years of the Broadway run)
• Belle: Deborah Gibson (1997), Kerry Butler (1997), Toni Braxton (1998; the first African American to play Belle on Broadway), Andrea McArdle (1999-00), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (2002-03; Sigler's Broadway debut), Megan McGinnis (2003), Christy Carlson Romano (2004), Ashley Brown (2005-06, Brown's Broadway debut), Sarah Uriarte Berry (2006), Anneliese van der Pol (2007, Broadway debut). A total of seventeen actresses playing the part of Belle in the Broadway production, with Sarah Litzsinger playing it the longest.^[8]
• Gaston: Marc Kudisch (1995), Christopher Sieber (2001), Donny Osmond (2006),
• Lumiere: Lee Roy Reams (1995), Meshach Taylor (1998, Broadway debut), Bryan Batt (2001-02), Patrick Page (2003), Jacob Young (2006, Broadway debut), John Tartaglia (2006)

Recording

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, and Gary Beach as Lumiere. The song "A Change In Me" is not on the cast recording because the song was added to the shows when Toni Braxton joined the production in 1998 and has been kept in the production ever since. However, the song was performed on Disney's national touring jukebox musical, Disney's On the Record (2004). The Original London Cast Recording was released in 1997. Principle cast included Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle, and Alasdair Harvey as Beast.

Differences Between Play and Movie

• The objects' story line was changed, instead of being turned into objects they were made to slowly transform into objects as the spell went on.
• There are seven new songs (not including reprises).
• The parts of Madame de la Grande Bouch and Babette were expanded.
• Monsieur D'Arque's part was expanded.
• The story of the spell was altered: instead of the deadline being the prince's twenty-first birthday, the deadline was an undisclosed number of years. This way, there was no set age for the prince.
• The Beast was made to look more human.
• Phillipe, Belle's horse, was completely cut out of the story.
• The part of Chip was cut down slightly.
• The part of the Three Silly Girls (Gaston's fangirls) was expanded.
• The timeline is different. In the movie it seems Belle is with the Beast for weeks or even months, in the play she is with him for only days.
• Gaston's wardrobe was expanded.

Awards and nominations

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

Links to performances

• Indianapolis Civic Theatre (Production Photos)
• Theatre Cedar Rapids Beauty and the Beast (Production Photos) Cedar Rapids, IA
• Chattanooga Theatre Centre (Production Photos) Chattanooga, TN
• Music Theatre Louisville (Archive Page) Louisville, KY
• Actor's Playhouse (Review) Coral Gables, FL
• Finnish version,2007, Helsinki City Theatre Helsinki, Finland
• Mexican Production Mexico

References

External links

• Beauty & The Beast - Disney On Broadway Official Homepage
• Beauty and the Beast info page on StageAgent.com - Beauty and the Beast plot summary & character descriptions
• Beauty & The Beast Audition Advice & Show Information from MusicalTheatreAudition.com
• Internet Broadway Database Entry