Beauty and the Beast (musical)
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| Beauty and the Beast | |
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| 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 1995 Australia 1995 Austria 1995 Canada 1995 Japan 1995 Los Angeles 1995 1st National US Tour 1997 Germany 1997 Mexico City 1997 West End 1998 Argentina 1999 China 1999 Spain 1999 2nd National US Tour 2001 Brazil 2001 National UK Tour 2004 South Korea 2007 Mexico City 2008 Japan |
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 grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities.[2] It has also become a very popular choice for high school productions.[3]
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.
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[edit] 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's Hollywood 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.[4]
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."[5]
[edit] 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,Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumiere and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts.
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 currently playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.[6] It has been reported that Disney Theatrical is planning on reviving the show on Broadway for the 2008 holiday season, but Disney has not yet officially confirmed this.[7]
The Los Angeles production opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 12, 1995 and closed on September 29 1996. Most of the Original Broadway Cast including Susan Egan, Terrence Mann, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler, Burke Moses & Tom Bosley reprised their roles for the production. Notable replacements have included Yvette Lawrence as "Belle" and James Barbour as the "Beast". The sets in this production were widely considered to be the largest out of all the other 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.
The Toronto production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre on August 8, 1995 and closed in 1998. The production starred Kerry Butler as "Belle" and Chuck Wagner as the "Beast". Notable replacements included Melissa Thomson as "Belle" and Steve Blanchard as the "Beast".
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". Notable replacements included Michelle Gayle as "Belle" and John Barrowman as the "Beast"[8] The show won the Olivier Award as Best New Musical for 1998. [9]
The show kicked off 2 National US Tours. The first one started on November 15, 1995 and ended in 1999. The first Tour featured Kim Huber as "Belle" and Fred Inkley as the "Beast". The 2nd National Tour started in 1999 and ended in 2003. Featured were Danyelle Bossardet as Belle and Grant Norman as the Beast. Notable replacements on the Tours have included Sarah Litzsinger, Erin Dilly, Sarah Owen and Jennifer Shrader as "Belle" and Roger Befeler as the "Beast". The 2 National Touring Companies in whole visited 137 engagements in 90 North American Cities. About 5.5 million people in the United States and Canada have seen the Tour since it's opening. Rumours have been circulating on the Internet recently saying that Disney will be starting a 3rd National Touring Company by the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. This has yet to be confirmed by Disney.
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 and ended on April 12. 2003 at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh. The Tour starred Annalene Beechey as "Belle", Alistair Robins as the "Beast" and Ben Harlow as "Gaston". Notable replacements included Dianne Pilkington as "Belle", Alex Bourne as the "Beast" and Earl Carpenter as "Gaston. The National UK Tour in whole visited Liverpool (November 2nd 2001 - December 1, 2001), Bristol (December 7, 2001 - March 23, 2002), Dublin (March 28, 2002 - June 1st 2002), Birmingham (June 6, 2002 - August 10, 2002), Southampton (August 15, 2002 - October 19, 2002), Manchester (October 24, 2002 - February 8, 2003) and Edinburgh (February 13, 2003 - April 12, 2003).
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 and a 4 months in Antwerp, Belgium, Disney and Stage Entertainment brought the show to Berlin, Germany in 2006. This new production is currently playing in Madrid, Spain with Julia Moller reprising her role as Belle which she played in Madrid's original long runnig production (1999-2002) replacing Xenia Reguant with Carlos Marin as the "Beast", who was also replaced by Joe Luciano. The Broadway production is also currently playing a second time in Mexico City since September 2007 and in Hiroshima, Japan since February 2008.
There have also been amateur productions of Beauty and the Beast in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, Hungary, Canada, the United States of America, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and Slovenia.
The Broadway Production of Beauty and the Beast has been performed in 6 foreign languages: Spanish, German, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean. The show has also been translated into different languages for the leased amateur productions.
[edit] Plot summary
- Act I
On a cold winter night, an old beggar woman comes upon a glorious castle belonging to a young prince. She asks the master of the castle to allow her to stay the night, away from the cold, and in return she would give him a single rose, but the prince was vain and uncaring and turned her away solely for her appearance. As he did this, she warned him not to be fooled by appearances, as true beauty lies within, only to be rejected again. Seeing his horrible heart for what it truly was, she transformed into a beautiful enchantress and turned the prince into a hideous Beast and his servants into different objects. She gave him the rose to use as an hour-glass. The one way he could break the spell was to learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell…
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 off 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 turned into a candelabra, Cogsworth, the head of household turned into a clock, and Mrs. Potts, the head of the kitchen turned 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 and Madame de la Grande Bouche, an operatic wardrobe, attempt 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 instead of taking the chance to run home. 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, 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 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 (“Home - Reprise”), 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 sees the Beast within and they kiss. The two sing of how their lives have changed because of love and they dance once more as the company, now changed back to their human form, gathers in the ballroom (“Transformation/Finale").
[edit] Musical numbers
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* New song or instrumental cue
† Expanded vocal or instrumental content
‡ "Human Again" was written by Menken and Ashman for the movie, but was cut. On account of the musical's great success an entirely new animated sequence was set to this song and seamlessly inserted into 2002's Special Edition DVD release.
§ "A Change in Me" was written into the show for R&B singer Toni Braxton in 1998 and was retained thereafter.
[edit] Cast information
- 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
Notable Broadway cast replacements (approximate dates given where available)[10][6]
- Beast: Chuck Wagner (1997-1998), James Barbour (1998-1999), Jeff McCarthy (1995-1997 & 2004), Steve Blanchard (who played the "Beast" for the last eight years of the Broadway run)
- Belle: Kerry Butler (1996-1997), Deborah Gibson (1997-1998), Toni Braxton (1998-1999; first African American to play Belle on Broadway), Andrea McArdle (1999-2000), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (2002-2003; Sigler's Broadway debut), Megan McGinnis (2003-2004), Christy Carlson Romano (2004), Ashley Brown (2005-2006, Brown's Broadway debut), Sarah Litzsinger (2000-2002, 2003, & 2006), Sarah Uriarte Berry (1995-1996 & 2006), Anneliese van der Pol (2007, Broadway debut). A total of seventeen actresses have played the part of Belle in the Broadway production, with Litzsinger playing it the longest.[11]
- Gaston: Marc Kudisch (1995), Steve Blanchard (1997 - he later went on to play Beast) Christopher Sieber (2001), Donny Osmond (2006)
- Lumiere: Lee Roy Reams (1995), Meshach Taylor (1998-1999, Broadway debut), Bryan Batt (2001-02), Patrick Page (1999-2001 & 2003), Jacob Young (2006, Broadway debut), John Tartaglia (2006-2007)
[edit] 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, Gary Beach as Lumiere and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts.
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). Susan Egan covered the song on her CD So Far
The Original Australian Cast Recording was released in 1995. Principle cast included Rachel Beck as Belle, Michael Cormick as Beast, Hugh Jackman as Gaston, Grant Smith as Lumiere and Robyn Arthur as Mrs Potts.
The Original Vienna Cast Recording was released in 1996. Principle cast included Ethan Freeman as Beast, Caroline Vasicek as Belle, Kevin Tarte as Gaston, Vikto Gernot as Lumiere, Anne Manderella as Babette, and Rosita Mewis as Mrs. Potts.
The Original London Cast Recording was released in 1997. Principle 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 relaesed in 1998. Principle cast included Uwe Kroger as Beast and Leah Delos Santos as Belle.
The Original Madrid Cast Recording was released in 1999. Principle cast included Xenia Reguant as Belle, Carlos Marín as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as Lefou, Germán 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.
[edit] Differences Between Play and Movie
- In the original movie, the servants of the castle were instantaneously changed into household objects. As this would prove quite difficult for costuming needs, the nature of the spell was changed. In the musical, the servants retain their human sizes and shapes as they slowly transform into objects; for example, Cogsworth grows two clock hands on his face as a mustache as the play progresses, and Mrs. Potts's cap becomes a lid.
- 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.
- The story is altered from the movie where Belle and Maurice are trapped by the mob and are rescued by Chip, whereas in the play Belle and Maurice just leave to go warn the Beast.
- In the platinum edition of the movie, during 'Human Again,' Belle reads Romeo & Juliet to the Beast. This is not known in the original. In the play, however, Belle reads King Arthur to the Beast during 'Human Again.'
[edit] 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 | |
[edit] 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
[edit] References
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio (August 21, 2007). Long Runs on Broadway. www.playbill.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Information about Beautys grosses and productions as of July 2007
- ^ TIME magazine reported in its May 26, 2008 issue, p. 51, that this musical ranked as the fourth most frequently produced musical by U.S. high schools in 2007.
- ^ Haun, Harry (July 31, 2007). Playbill on Closing Night: Beauty and the Beast — A Roaring Success. www.playbill.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Evans, Everett. "DISNEY DEBUT; First stage musical, 'Beauty,' will test waters in Houston", The Houston Chronicle, November 28, 1993, pp. 8. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ a b Haun, Harry (July 6, 2007). Bye Bye Beauty. www.playbill.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Hill, Jim (June 3, 2008). "High School Musical 5 & 6" ?! "Beauty & the Beast" headed back to Broadway ?!. www.jimhillmedia.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
- ^ PR Newswire (29 April 1997). "DISNEY'S 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' LIGHTS UP LONDON'S WEST END TONIGHT". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Past Laurence Olivier Awards winners. www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Beauty and the Beast at IBDB.com. www.ibdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (January 28, 2003). One "Soprano" Exits, Another Returns. www.playbill.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
[edit] 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
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