title: Lake Texcoco

text: The Valley of Mexico is a basin with an average elevation of above mean sea level located in the southern highlands of Mexico's central "altiplano". Lake Texcoco formerly extended over a large portion of the southern half of the basin, where it was the largest of an interconnected chain of five major and several smaller lakes (the other main lakes being Xaltocan, Zumpango, Chalco and Xochimilco lakes). Much of the lake was fed from groundwater aquifers; fresh water poured in from Lake Chalco and Xochimilco's freshwater springs, and the thermal springs of Zumpango and Xaltocan, as well as some in Texcoco itself, provided saline water. During periods of high water levels—typically after the May-to-October rainy seasons—the lakes were often joined as one body of water, at an average elevation of above mean sea level. In the drier winter months the lake system tended to separate into individual bodies of water, a flow that was mitigated by the construction of dikes and causeways in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. Lake Texcoco was the lowest-lying of all the lakes, and occupied the minimum elevation in the valley so that water ultimately drained towards it. The Valley of Mexico is a closed or endorheic basin. Because there is no outflow, evapotranspiration is estimated to be 72–79% of precipitation.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: Mexico City suffered from periodic floods; in 1604 the lake flooded the city, with an even more severe flood following in 1607. Under the direction of Enrico Martínez, a drain was built to control the level of the lake, but in 1629 another flood kept most of the city covered for five years. At that time, it was debated whether to relocate the city, but the Spanish authorities decided to keep the existing location.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: Eventually the lake was drained by the channels and a tunnel to the Pánuco River, but even that could not stop floods, since by then most of the city was under the water table. The flooding could not be completely controlled until the twentieth century. In 1967, construction of the "Drenaje Profundo" ("Deep Drainage System"), a network of several hundred kilometers of tunnels, was done, at a depth between . The central tunnel has a diameter of and carries rain water out of the basin. The eastern discharge tunnel was inaugurated in 2019.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: The ecological consequences of the draining were enormous. Parts of the valleys were turned semi-arid, and even today Mexico City suffers from lack of water. Due to overdrafting that is depleting the aquifer beneath the city, Mexico City is estimated to have sunk 10 meters (33 feet) in the last century. Furthermore, because soft lake sediments underlie most of Mexico City, the city has proven vulnerable to soil liquefaction during earthquakes, most notably in the 1985 earthquake when hundreds of buildings collapsed and thousands of people died.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: The term "Texcoco Lake" now refers only to a big area surrounded by salt marshes east of Mexico City, which covers part of the ancient lake bed. Also there are small remnants of the lakes of Xochimilco, Chalco, and Zumpango.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: The modern Texcoco Lake has a high concentration of salts and its waters are evaporated for their processing. A Mexican company, "Sosa Texcoco S.A" has an solar evaporator known as El Caracol.


title: Lake Texcoco

text: Land reclamation of the lakebed was part of Mexico's attempts at development in the twentieth century.


title: Amy Pond

text: Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". Amy is a companion of the series protagonist the Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, played by Matt Smith. She appears in the programme from the fifth series (2010) to midway through the seventh series (2012). Gillan returned for a brief cameo in Smith's final episode "The Time of the Doctor".


title: Amy Pond

text: The Doctor first meets Amelia when she is seven years old (portrayed by Caitlin Blackwood) and disturbed by a crack in her wall. He promises to return to the lonely girl in five minutes and take her with him in the TARDIS, but accidentally arrives twelve years later, by which time adult Amy has become sceptical about her "imaginary friend". However, she eventually decides to travel with him, and the duo are later joined by her fiancé Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill). Amy and Rory marry at the end of the fifth series. In the sixth series, Amy gives birth to their daughter, Melody Pond, who is revealed to be recurring character (since the fourth series) River Song (Alex Kingston).


title: Amy Pond

text: Amelia Pond is introduced in the first episode of the fifth series (2010), "The Eleventh Hour", as a seven-year-old girl living with only her aunt when the Doctor (Matt Smith) crashes into her front yard one night. She asks him to investigate an unusual crack in her wall, but he is interrupted by an alert from the TARDIS. He promises Amelia that he will return in five minutes, but is inadvertently late by twelve years. In the intervening period, Amelia's family and friends believe the Doctor is just her imaginary friend; her insistence that he is real leads to her being treated by psychiatrists. When the Doctor returns, Amy is nineteen years old and working as a kissogram. She helps him save Earth from the galactic police force, the Atraxi, and when he returns two years later she begins travelling with him as his companion. At the end of "Flesh and Stone", Amy reveals that they had left Earth on the eve of her marriage to Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and attempts to seduce the Doctor. The Doctor finds Rory and takes him and Amy to 16th century Venice on an intended romantic date after which Rory continues travelling with them. In "Amy's Choice", Amy is pressured to resolve her conflicted feelings for the Doctor and Rory and realises the depth of her love for Rory. At the end of "Cold Blood", Rory is killed by a Silurian, then is erased from history by the cracks in the universe. Because he is part of Amy's own time-line, she ceases to remember him. The Doctor takes Amy to 19th century France to lessen his guilt about Rory's loss and she forms a close friendship with famed painter Vincent van Gogh (Tony Curran).


title: Amy Pond

text: In the fifth series finale, "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang", Rory reappears in 102 AD as a Roman centurion. He triggers Amy's memories, but as she remembers, it is revealed that the centurion Rory is actually an Auton—a duplicate of living plastic—created from Amy's memories to help capture the Doctor. Rory's consciousness tries to fight his programming, but he is compelled to shoot and kill her. Amy's body is kept alive in the Pandorica, a special prison intended to trap the Doctor. The Auton Rory protects it for 2000 years. The Doctor realises that Amy is connected to the cracks in the universe which originated from a temporal explosion on her wedding day. He tells her that her parents had been erased by the crack in her wall and urges her to remember them. After he uses the Pandorica to reboot the universe, the Doctor travels back through his timeline and is able to plant memories in Amy of the TARDIS. Amy awakes on her wedding day in a timeline where her parents are again part of reality and marries a restored Rory. Her memories are stirred by the TARDIS-shaped diary River Song (Alex Kingston) leaves for her. Once Amy remembers the Doctor, he is restored to reality. It is mentioned in "The Sarah Jane Adventures" serial "Death of the Doctor" that the Doctor dropped Amy and Rory off on a "honeymoon planet", and the couple continues their honeymoon aboard an interstellar cruise ship which the Doctor saves from crashing into a populated planet.


title: Amy Pond

text: The sixth series (2011) begins with Amy and Rory living a normal domestic life. They receive an anonymous invitation to the Utah desert where they reunite with the Doctor —now aged nearly two hundred years since they have last met —and fellow invitee River Song. Amy witnesses the Doctor's death at the hand of an astronaut in an Apollo space suit, but they discover the Doctor also invited a younger version of himself, with whom they travel to 1969 Washington, D.C. to investigate strange occurrences involving the Silence, an alien race who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. While there, Amy informs the Doctor she is pregnant before attempting to shoot a little girl in an Apollo space suit, believing it will stop her from killing the future Doctor. In the girl's orphanage room, Amy finds strange pictures of herself holding a newborn baby. When the Doctor questions Amy about the pregnancy, she insists she was wrong and further investigation by the Doctor is inconclusive. Throughout their adventures, Amy is plagued by strange visions of a woman wearing an eye-patch (Frances Barber) appearing sporadically only to her. In "The Almost People" it is revealed that the Amy presented (on screen) insisting she is not pregnant, is actually a Ganger – a duplicate animated by the real Amy's consciousness – while the real Amy is in the captivity of the eye-patched woman and about to give birth. In "A Good Man Goes to War", her baby —named Melody Pond —is kidnapped by the eye-patched woman, Madame Kovarian, who will train her to one day kill the Doctor. River Song then arrives and tells Amy that she is an adult Melody.


title: Amy Pond

text: A flashback in "Let's Kill Hitler" introduces Amy and Rory's childhood friend Mels (Nina Toussaint-White). As teenagers, it was Mels who pointed out that Rory had been in love with Amy for some time, which led to the two dating. In the present, Mels hijacks the TARDIS and directs it to 1939 where she is shot by Hitler (Albert Welling) and regenerates into River Song, revealing that Amy had grown up alongside her daughter, who was trained by the Silence to kill the Doctor. Amy is later persuaded by the Doctor to let her adult daughter make her own way in life. In "The Girl Who Waited", Amy becomes separated from the Doctor and Rory on a planet's quarantine facility and lives on her own for 36 years before they return. The Doctor wants to go back in time to rescue the younger Amy, but the older Amy insists that they take both of her. However, the Doctor knows the TARDIS will not accept the paradox and is forced to leave the older Amy behind. In "The God Complex", the Doctor breaks Amy's faith in him after he discovers that they are trapped in a prison for a being that kills by feeding on faith. At the conclusion of that episode, not wanting to risk their lives further, he parts ways with her and Rory after giving them a house and car. Amy appears briefly in "Closing Time", where she is shown to have become a fashion model, noted for a perfume campaign with the slogan "For The Girl Who Is Tired of Waiting". Series finale "The Wedding of River Song" depicts an alternate universe created by River refusing to kill the Doctor in Utah, as previously shown. Amy leads a secret organisation which fights the Silence. She reunites the Doctor with River and later kills Madame Kovarian for kidnapping Melody and depriving her of raising her baby. After history is restored, River visits Amy and reveals that the Doctor has faked his death. At the end of the 2011 Christmas special, the Doctor returns to Amy and Rory two years later (in their time) and has Christmas dinner with them.


title: Amy Pond

text: The series seven opener "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012) shows Amy, still working as a fashion model, signing papers for her and Rory's divorce. In the episode, the Doctor engineers a reconciliation between the two during the mission, allowing them to discuss their feelings for each other. It is revealed Amy left Rory because she has been infertile since "A Good Man Goes to War", and knew he wanted children. The couple continue traveling with the Doctor on small adventures in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" and "A Town Called Mercy", but leave at the end of each to return to their normal lives. In "The Power of Three", Amy says that the Doctor has been in her and Rory's life for ten years, and she now works as a journalist. The couple realise they have to choose between their normal lives and their life with the Doctor. They are inclined to choose the former, but Rory's father Brian (Mark Williams) encourages the pair to continue travelling with the Doctor. Their next adventure, "The Angels Take Manhattan", is their last. In the story, Amy and Rory are threatened by the evil Weeping Angels, whose touch will send them into the distant past to die alone. Having witnessed this eventuality, they attempt suicide, creating a paradox which destroys all but one Angel, but also renders the area permanently off-limits to the Doctor's TARDIS. In the present, the surviving Angel sends Rory back in time, and knowing the Doctor cannot recover him, Amy allows the Angel to touch her too so she can be with him. Gravestones in a New York cemetery reveal that Rory died at the age of 82 and Amy died at the age of 87. River arranges for Amy to leave the Doctor a message in the afterword of a 1930s pulp fiction novel, where she says she is happy with Rory and that they worry about the Doctor travelling alone. "P.S.", a mini shows-episode supplement based on the original script for this episode, shows that Rory and Amy adopted a son, in 1946, and named him Anthony Brian Williams. Gillan reprises the role in "The Time of the Doctor" (2013), in which Matt Smith departs the series. During the Eleventh Doctor's regeneration, he hallucinates images of young Amelia Pond on board his TARDIS, before a vision of adult Amy approaches and says a final goodbye.


title: Amy Pond

text: In addition to the television series, Amy has appeared in several BBC-licensed "Doctor Who" novels, audio dramas, and comics. The first set of corresponding New Series Adventures novels—"Apollo 23", "Night of the Humans" and "The Forgotten Army"—were published in April 2010 and feature solely the Eleventh Doctor and Amy. The next set—comprising "Nuclear Time", "The King's Dragon" and "The Glamour Chase"—were released in July 2010 and feature the Doctor, Amy, and Rory. In Michael Moorcock's lengthier "The Coming of the Terraphiles", which takes place during a time in the fifth series Rory is absent, Amy is proposed to by one of the characters, to whom she declines. In April 2011, another set of New Series Adventures were released to correspond with Amy and Rory's travels in the sixth series, containing "Dead of Winter", "The Way Through the Woods", and "Hunter's Moon". A subsequent series of three books were published in June. In September, another longer novel was published, "The Silent Stars Go By", which sees the trio face the Ice Warriors. In addition, Amy appears singularly alongside the Doctor in four 2010 "Decide Your Destiny" books, as well as alongside Rory in six "2in1" adventure chapter books. The three also feature in the Quick Reads Initiative novella "Magic of the Angels".


title: Amy Pond

text: Amy, Rory, and the Doctor appear in IDW Publishing's comic book series "", published from May to December 2012, which is a crossover between "Doctor Who" and "". They team up with the crew of the USS "Enterprise"-D to stop an alliance between the Borg and the Cybermen. Amy and Rory appear briefly in the mini-series "Prisoners of Time" where they join other past companions and versions of the Doctor in battling the main villains of the series. During a battle with some Autons, 11 introduces them to Clara Oswald.


title: Amy Pond

text: Amy Pond has appeared in several "Doctor Who" video games. Voiced by Gillan, she appears in all five episodes of "" which were marketed as extra episodes. The virtual character was created using rotoscoping of Gillan's movements. She also is featured, voiced by Gillan, in the 2010 video games "" and "", made for the DS and Nintendo Wii respectively. Amy also appears in the smartphone app game .


title: Amy Pond

text: "Doctor Who" executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat came up with the name for the character. Moffat chose the name "Pond" to create a link between Amy and River Song, who would be revealed to be Amy's daughter. Moffat's predecessor, Russell T Davies, stated in an interview with "Dose" magazine that "We've held off on companions for a long time, so you'll get rewarded with a great, big, strong character in Amy Pond, when she arrives. I think that plan's been good."


title: Amy Pond

text: Andy Pryor, the casting director, suggested Gillan to Moffat after her performance in the fourth series episode "The Fires of Pompeii", in which she played a soothsayer, but Moffat originally thought Gillan was "wee and dumpy". Later, however, he stated that she was "exactly right for the role", though she portrayed the character differently from how Moffat originally wrote. Gillan was reportedly the last to audition for the role, and stood out as she was "a bit kookier" than the others. Moffat said of the casting, "We saw some amazing actresses for this part. But when Karen came through the door, the game was up — she was funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too." "Doctor Who" executive producer and drama chief at BBC Wales Piers Wenger concurred, "We knew Karen was perfect for the role the moment we saw her. She brought an energy and excitement to the part that was just fantastic." Gillan was aware of the show but was not as big a fan of it as her mother was, due to it not being on when she was growing up. However, she watched some with her mother after it returned in 2005, and was also a fan of other science fiction such as "The X-Files", "The Outer Limits", "" and "".


title: Amy Pond

text: Gillan auditioned for the role in both her natural Scottish accent and an English one, and it was not until after she was cast that it was decided Amy would be Scottish. Gillan commented that she felt the Scottish accent better suited the character. A younger version of Amy, known as "Amelia", appears in several episodes. Amelia was played by Gillan's real-life 10-year-old cousin Caitlin Blackwood. Though the two actresses had not met until the set of the show, Gillan recommended Blackwood for the role; Blackwood, however, still had to undergo rigorous auditions first. Blackwood and Gillan did get to act together in "The Big Bang", which Gillan initially found "weird", though the two actresses became used to it quickly.


title: Amy Pond

text: Gillan stated that "having read the first episode I was utterly smitten [with the show], and with the character. Amy's a sassy lady, funny and passionate, and her relationship with the Doctor has a really interesting dynamic". Gillan believed that the Doctor still saw Amy as the same seven-year-old girl he first met, and described their relationship as brother and sister, with Amy sometimes acting as an "annoying little sister". She also did not want Amy, like previous companions, to stand around "in awe of the Doctor all the time" or "mope around" while he was not there; Amy would "do her own thing, whether it's fighting monsters in strange new worlds or just getting on with her life in her own village". During her first series, Gillan wanted Amy to act "like a child in an adult body" because she had not properly grown up. She appears more guarded because "she doesn't like to show her emotions because she wants to be strong". However, she begins her second series as a more settled person, and shows more emotion, especially with the birth of her daughter.


title: Amy Pond

text: Gillan had substantial input into Amy's costume, as well as her hair and make-up. In the first episode, costume designer Ray Holman stated that Amy's identity was not clear and that she wore her own clothes later on. Gillan thought that Amy had inner confidence to wear clothes that showed "a bit of skin from time to time". Gillan said she tried on many things, but when it came to short skirts she "just thought it was right" and showed that Amy was "comfortable and confident about her look". She believed that the skirts reflected what young women typically wear at her age. Executive producer Piers Wenger also noted that Amy's 1970s flying jacket, which she wears "quite a lot", reflected Gillan was a "born adventurer" and Amy developed a love for travel and adventure. In the sixth series, Amy wears more jeans and longer trousers; Gillan stated, "she's getting a little bit more tomboyish as she becomes more of an action girl". Amy never wears heels, as Gillan desired that the footwear be functional for saving the world.


title: Amy Pond

text: As the Doctor accidentally did not return for her until twelve years later, Amy grew up a different person than she would have. She had become "cynical" and "distrustful" as the Doctor did not return as he had promised and she was forced to believe he was just an imaginary friend, and had resorted to being "tough". Moffat theorised that Amy would have taken her anger out on Rory and would have been "mean" about things such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. The second episode, "The Beast Below", was to introduce Amy into the role of the Doctor's companion and how much he needed one. Though Amy soon tries to seduce the Doctor, Moffat believed that it was consistent with the cynical character he had built up. It was also a reflection of how the two had just escaped from death and shared a hard time together, and Amy's tendency to do things "in the heat of the moment". In "Amy's Choice", meant to challenge the Doctor and Amy's relationship, Rory dies in an alternate universe that was a result of psychic pollen that had entered the TARDIS. This is when Amy truly realises her feelings for Rory. As a primary part of the series' story arc, Rory officially dies and is erased from history and Amy's memory. Though Rory later returns, he is an Auton duplicate who kills her, which reflected Moffat's belief that all good love stories end in tragedy. The end of "The Big Bang", in which Amy stands up at her wedding and declares the Doctor is real, was the Doctor's success at restoring Amy to the spirit of the girl he first met.


title: Amy Pond

text: Moffat had always intended for Amy and Rory to get married "from the off". Gillan stated, "What I love about that relationship is that we really saw it develop to get to the stage where they were happy together. Because we started off at a point where Amy didn't want to be committed to him, and he absolutely did, and that just gave us somewhere to go with it, rather than just them being happy together. So it was interesting, and it evolved, and Rory really became a hero in the process". She was pleased that the audience was able to see Amy's life "pan out", starting when she was a child and through her marriage and daughter. Gillan stated that the aftermath of "A Good Man Goes to War" would "change her in a big way for the long run and I think we are going to get to see Amy in a really different light". According to Moffat, by the seventh series, Amy and Rory had become "a crack team"; so used to being the Doctor's companions that instead of marvelling at him they "treat him like a big kid they have to look after".


title: Amy Pond

text: In December 2011, it was announced that the seventh series would be Amy and Rory's last. Previously in November, Gillan had stated that once Amy had left, she did not want to make returning cameos, as she believed it would "take away from the big, emotional goodbye". Gillan had arranged her exit with Moffat and the two decided on how Amy should leave. Gillan stated that she wanted to go "on a high when the character was at her prime" and that she "[wanted] to see her go with everything that she wants". Gillan would make a brief appearance at the end of the 2013 Christmas special, The Time of the Doctor, with Amy Pond saying a final goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor just before he regenerates, bringing actors Gillan and Matt Smith together for a brief moment at the conclusion of Smith's last regular appearance as the Doctor.


title: Amy Pond

text: With the premiere of "The Eleventh Hour", two viewers anonymously quoted in "The Telegraph" complained that Amy's character was too "sexy" for a family programme like "Doctor Who". Executive producer Piers Wenger stated that Amy was intended to be "feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn’t promiscuous." On a similar note, Gavin Fuller, writing for "The Daily Telegraph"s website, criticised Amy's "attempted seduction of the Doctor" in the episode "Flesh and Stone", claiming that it "did seem out of keeping with the usual tone of the series", and that "Given the number of young children who watch, it may not have been the most appropriate of scenes to screen".


title: Amy Pond

text: Critics noted that Amy did not develop much throughout the 2010 series. Dan Martin of "The Guardian", in a mid-series review, wrote, "I wonder whether I really know Amy Pond. Beneath the sass and the sauce and the wit and (there's no getting away from this) the skirts, I've yet to completely empathise with her, or work out what makes her tick". In a review before the finale, Martin called her "a revelation", although she sometimes "felt a little one note...But I'd put all of that down to guest writers responding to a character brief that probably said little more than 'feisty redhead'". IGN's Matt Wales shared similar sentiments, writing, "Despite Gillan's effortless charisma, Pond was frequently painted in largely two-dimensional strokes that made for a brash, sometimes irritating turn. It's testament to Gillan's abilities and brilliant chemistry with Smith that she remained thoroughly watchable throughout but, bereft of back story (albeit intentionally), it was hard to really get involved with the character". Paul Kerton of Zap2it, however, wrote in a review of "The Eleventh Hour" that Amy's "brilliantly executed introduction to the show stood out. Amy's character after just one episode is already one with depth". Tor.com's Teresa Jusino was also more positive towards Amy in the fifth series, writing that she was equally "competent, intelligent, and [quick-thinking]" as she was flawed and made mistakes, which made her relatable and "a successful female character".


title: Amy Pond

text: Chris Haydon of Den of Geek argued that Amy was "much more than the supposed eye candy many journalists unfairly referred to her as, or indeed much more than a female human to accompany the Gallifreyan Time Lord. She is far more three-dimensional and developed than the pre-existing judgements made her out to be". He also praised Gillan's acting abilities and the way her relationship with Rory helped "render [her] character into something quite special". "The Daily Telegraph" Michael Hogan considered Amy "the joint best assistant of the rebooted Who era – far superior to Catherine Tate and Freema Agyeman, equally as excellent as Billie Piper". He also praised her relationship with the Doctor, saying that they were "totally believable as best friends". Patrick Mulkern of "Radio Times" praised Amy for being "cheerfully free...of the emotional baggage that mired her predecessors" and also reacted positively to her attempted seduction of the Doctor. "SFX" named Amy and Rory the second-best science fiction and fantasy romance. In 2012, leading up to her departure, Martin wrote that Gillan's acting had improved, becoming less of "a rootless collection of personality traits and enunciated sentence peaks" and someone more rounded. He also noted that Amy was unique because so much had happened to her and she became intwined in the Doctor's life, which allowed the audience to see her "develop and change".


title: Amy Pond

text: "The Guardian"s Krystina Nellis argued that Amy functioned more as a plot prop than a strong female character, citing the importance of giving birth to River Song. Charlie Jane Anders of io9, while positive towards her relationship with Rory, opined that Amy was still "a bit of a cartoon character" in "The Wedding of River Song", believing that her killing Madame Kovarian was "no substitute" for dealing with what Kovarian had done to her child.


title: Amy Pond

text: The character has gone on to be referenced in popular culture. American supernatural drama "Supernatural"'s seventh season "The Girl Next Door" (2011), a character played by Jewel Staite operates under the alias Amy Pond. Digital Spy felt the "Doctor Who" reference was "rather random", while IGN "loved" the shoutout.


title: Amy Pond

text: Gillan has won over six awards up to date for playing the role of Amy Pond. In 2010 she won "Cosmopolitan" 'Women of the Year' Award. In 2011 Gillan won an "SFX" Award, a TV Choice Award, and in 2012 she won at the National Television Awards. In an online poll, with 3,000 participants, taken in late 2010, Amy Pond was listed as the fifth most popular companion.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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 – "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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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), 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. It has also become a popular choice for junior, amateur and high school productions.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Still recovering from Walt Disney's demise, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Disney established a successful renaissance period, during which Ashman and Menken became responsible for teaching the art of transforming traditional animated films into animated musicals.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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. While the film, written by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, 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. "Beauty and the Beast" became the last project on which Menken worked with Ashman. The film was released to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success, outperforming "The Little Mermaid" by becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history, as well as the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Once again, Academy Awards were won for Ashman and Menken's music. Several critics noticed the film's live musical potential, among them prolific "New York Times" theater critic Frank Rich. Lamenting the Broadway selection at the time, Rich famously praised the songwriting duo for having written "[t]he best Broadway musical score of 1991", while hailing the film as a "better [musical] ... than anything he had seen on Broadway" in 1991. Rich's review would ultimately provide Eisner and Katzenberg with the confidence needed to seriously consider the film as a potential Broadway project. Disney was also inspired by the successes of Broadway musicals such as "Cats", "Les Misérables" and "The Phantom of the Opera" strongly believing their production could be just as profitable.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, although briefly discouraged by the idea of having humans instantly transformed into inanimate objects live. 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. 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. Eisner retained final approval over all creative elements of the production, "from the lowest chorus swing performer to the director, stars and design team." Menken was initially skeptical of Roth's qualifications, as he had never directed a Broadway show before. 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: "Beauty and the Beast" became Disney's first Broadway venture, 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Roth summarized "Beauty and the Beast" as a story about "seeing past the exterior of a person and into his or her heart". 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". 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. The writer expanded the story by both "fleshing out" each character and allowing room for new musical numbers. Namely, Woolverton made the Beast a more threatening yet sympathetic figure; 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". Meanwhile, the book-loving Belle was adapted into a more headstrong and determined heroine. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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." 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. 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. 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, in turn providing the audience with an opportunity to care about the supporting characters dramatically.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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. 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). 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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". Eisner concluded that most of the film's original voice actors would be too busy to reprise their roles onstage. In her Broadway debut, then-22-year-old actress Susan Egan was cast as the musical's original Belle. 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. Despite longing to originate a Broadway role, 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." 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. 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, in turn garnering laughs from the producers – who were amused by her unique interpretation – and eventually earning several callbacks. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Egan's final week of auditions, during which she sang for Menken for the first time, was particularly challenging. On her last day of auditioning, Egan auditioned opposite several actors trying out for the roles of the Beast and Gaston. As the day concluded, 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. Only afterward did Egan celebrate by finally renting and watching the entire film for the first time. Although Egan did not feel particularly pressured about the role, she was grateful to be surrounded by a supporting cast of veteran Broadway performers.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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. Actor Gary Beach was cast as Lumiere. 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". 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: All eight of the film's original songs were retained for the Broadway adaptation. 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. 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. Lyricist Tim Rice joined Menken to co-write the new numbers, replacing Ashman who had died in 1991, before the film was released. 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. 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". Notably, Rice had similarly replaced Ashman to write the remaining songs for Disney's "Aladdin" (1992) after the lyricist died. 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. The Menken-Rice songs are sometimes billed as "additional songs composed by [Alan] Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice". 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. 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."


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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". 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). 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. 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. 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. 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." That song ultimately became the ballad "A Change in Me", 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)". Braxton premiered the song in the form of a live performance on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show". Both the song and Braxton's performance were well received, and "A Change in Me" has been included in the musical ever since. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: David Friedman served as music supervisor, while John Petrafesa Jr. handled sound design. 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". The original Broadway cast recording of "Beauty and the Beast" was released by Walt Disney Records in 1994. Similar cast albums followed suit, including Australian and Japanese recordings in 1994 and 1996, respectively. "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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. Meyer found it "tricky" to translate two-dimensional environments into a three-dimensional world. 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. Roth was particularly impressed with the designer's contributions to the musicals "Sunday in the Park With George" and "Into the Woods". 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." 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, during which the original fairy tale was written, and spent one year discovering how household items looked during the mid-1700s. 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. However, the designer also decided that her own creations would not exactly replicate the film's. Basing the costumes on the Rococo art movement, 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. With an unusually long work schedule of two years, Hould-Ward recalled that "this kind of timeline ... wasn't the norm in a Broadway musical" at the time.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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. Hould-Ward based the character's famous yellow ballgown on several historic portraits. 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. Weighing 45 pounds, the dress is a combination of various patterns and materials, including a hoop skirt, silk, brocade, beading, flowers and bows. 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. 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." 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. A wire frame was also used to maintain the costume's shape, 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. 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". At the same time, the designer wanted her creations to be equally as interesting on an intellectual level for parents to enjoy also.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. Scale was the most prominent "obstacle" for Hould-Ward's to overcome: "The problem was the presentation of an actor as a life-sized teapot when the characters in the film were so little in comparison". 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. Meanwhile, the costume of Lumiere alone was built by a team of forty people, 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. While transforming animation into real life, Hould-Ward also worked on incorporating the human body each costume, 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." A system of wired frames was used to help the actors support their characters' heavy garments. Such elaborate costumes had never been designed for a Broadway production before. Cogsworth's costume features a fully functioning clock on his face. Meanwhile, Madame de la Grande Bouche was the production's most expensive costume.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: The musical originally relied on heavy prosthetics and elaborate costumes in an attempt to make the musical resemble the film as closely as possible. 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. According to Egan, the studio "didn't trust the audience's ability to suspend disbelief, something theater-goers are routinely asked to do." 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. The elaborate costumes resulted in their fair share of technical difficulties, malfunctions and performance restrictions, many of which manifested during the seven-week tryouts in Houston. The costumes left little room for the performers to change between scenes, and air conditioners were fastened to them to regulate their temperatures. In general, the weight of the enchanted objects' costumes limited their dancing. Chiropractors and therapists remained on standby to assist Fowler, whose Mrs. Potts costume required her to always keep one arm in the air. 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. To build his stamina, Beach would carry the tanks during rehearsal. Beach's hand caught fire during one performance, which he did not notice until Mann subtly pointed it out using "furtive head nods". 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. 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." 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." Hould-Ward adjusted the costumes to accommodate the locations as the production traveled to various theaters.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Lighting designer Natasha Katz was hired to work on "Beauty and the Beast". 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. 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." Known for assisting David Copperfield with his illusions, Roth hired Jim Steinmeyer to work on "Beauty and the Beast". Steinmeyer had previously contributed to the musical "Merlin". The Beast's transformation sequence during the second act was much-discussed. It took about 11 weeks to set the design.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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)").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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)").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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 looses 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)").


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: "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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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 (). 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 production cost an estimated $12 million, arguably higher, becoming the most costly Broadway musical at the time. However, some analysists estimate the cost to be closer to $20 million.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: The Broadway production closed to make way for Disney's next musical venture, "The Little Mermaid". 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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, Richard Gauntlett as LeFou, and Rebecca Thornhill as Babette.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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".


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: "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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: The lesser known Halifax production at the Neptune Theatre was the longest running production in the theater's history.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: On October 24, 2013, the Glenn Casale production of "Beauty and the Beast" opened at Théâtre Mogador in Paris, France. A Russian revival was staged at the Russia theatre, in Moscow 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: The libretto was revised by the original creative team for the 2021 UK tour. 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. 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".


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: ‡ "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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

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


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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), 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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..


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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).


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Reception towards the tryouts in Houston were so enthusiastic that the production was extended for two weeks. 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." However, in 1994, "Beauty and the Beast" finally premiered on Broadway to reviews that ranged from mixed to negative, leaving critics mostly unimpressed. 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. Egan recalled that "the same five families [had] produced Broadway shows for a hundred years and Disney shook that up."


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Nearly universally panned by theater critics, they concurred that "Beauty and the Beast" was a "great spectacle, but not great theater". 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." 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. 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." Critics agreed that Roth's direction and West's were equally uninspired. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: Audiences did not share critics' negative opinions, and the musical famously resonated with the public and families. Children were especially delighted by the idea of their favorite movie performed on stage by live actors. Subsequent productions have gradually attracted kinder remarks; the national tours in particular have been well received. 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. 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.


title: Beauty and the Beast (musical)

text: "Be Our Guest" was used as the commercial for the 1994 Tony Awards. Michael Goldstein of "New York" correctly predicted that Mann would earn a Tony Award nomination for his performance. 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. 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. In 1995, some of Hould-Ward's costumes, namely Lumiere, were put on display in Nordstrom stores. Meanwhile, Belle and the Beast's ballroom costumes were exhibited at Westside Pavilion, and Mrs. Potts and LeFou appeared at South Coast Plaza.