Beauty and the Beast (musical)

Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton. It is based upon the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007, becoming Broadway's eighth longest-running production in history.

The musical has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities. It has also become a popular choice for high school productions.

Background
According to an article in The Houston Chronicle, "The catalyst for Disney's braving the stage was an article by New York Times theater critic Frank Rich that praised Beauty and the Beast as 1991's best musical.... Theatre Under The Stars executive director Frank Young had been trying to get Disney interested in a stage version of Beauty about the same time Eisner and Katzenberg were mulling over Rich's column. But Young couldn't seem to get in touch with the right person in the Disney empire. Nothing happened till the Disney execs started to pursue the project from their end.... When they asked George Ives, the head of Actors Equity on the West Coast, which Los Angeles theater would be the best venue for launching a new musical, Ives said the best theater for that purpose would be TUTS. Not long after that, Disney's Don Frantz and Bettina Buckley contacted Young, and the partnership was under way." A stage condensation of the film, directed by Robert Jess Roth and choreographed by Matt West, both of whom moved on to the Broadway development, had already been presented at Disneyland at what was then called the Videopolis stage.

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

Original Broadway production
The musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 18, 1994 and ran there until September 5, 1999, transferring 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 5,464 performances, and is Broadway's eighth-longest running production in history (As of August 2011). 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.

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

The Broadway production closed to make way for Disney's next musical venture, The Little Mermaid. 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 film of the same style I.E. Princesses 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.

Original London production
The West End production opened at London's Dominion Theatre on April 29, 1997 and closed on December 11, 1999. Featured were Julie Alanah Brighton as Belle, Alasdair Harvey as the Beast, Burke Moses reprising his role 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. Notable replacements included Michelle Gayle and Annalene Beechey as Belle and John Barrowman and Earl Carpenter as the Beast, Alex Bourne as Gaston and Terry Doyle as Maurice. The show won the Olivier Award as Best New Musical for 1998.

National tours
The show had three US national tours. The first opened on November 15, 1995 and closed in 1999. It featured Kim Huber as Belle and Fred Inkley as the Beast. The 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. 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. A 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 features all new sets and costumes.

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 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.

Other productions
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, including Susan Egan, Terrence Mann, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler, Burke Moses and Tom Bosley reprised their roles. 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.
 * Los Angeles

The Toronto production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre on August 8, 1995 and closed in 1998. The production starred Kerry Butler as Belle and Chuck Wagner as the Beast, and Terry Doyle as Maurice. Notable replacements included Melissa Thomson as Belle and Steve Blanchard as the Beast. The lesser known Halifax production at the Neptune Theatre was the longest running production in the theatre's history.
 * Canada

Beauty and the Beast was staged at the Warwick Arts Centre, February 8-11, 2012.
 * United Kingdom

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

In South America, 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 and Saulo was 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 Brazilian's version of Miss Saigon, this second incarnation of Beauty And The Beast failed to create any critical buzz, or to be a box office success.

In Spain there have been three productions of the show. The first one, based on the original Broadway production, had its Madrid debut on December 2, 1999 at Teatro Lope de Vega. The original cast included Xenia Reguant (later replaced by Julia Möller) as Belle, Carlos Marín (later replaced by Joe Luciano) as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos (later replaced by Manuel Bandera) as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as Lefou, Germán Torres as Lumiere, 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. More recently, its record was surpassed by Mamma Mia!, Hoy no me puedo levantar and Sam Mendes' Cabaret.

In 2007, a second version produced by Stage Entertainment premiered on October 3, at Teatro Coliseum, Madrid, for a limited run of 6 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 Lumiere, 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 BTM, with some changes in the cast, including Mercè Martínez as Mrs Potts, Marta Capel as Babette 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 Lumiere, Mone as Mrs Potts, Frank Capdet as Cogsworth, Marta Capel as Babette, Eva Diago as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Enrique R. del Portal as Maurice.

On October 24, 2013 the Stage Entertainment production Beauty and the Beast will make it's French-language premiere at the Mogador Theatre (Théâtre Mogador) in Paris, France

According to DisneyBeauty and the Beast has been performed around the world in a total of 14 countries in 116 cities including Argentina (1998 and 2010), Australia (1995), Austria (1995), Brazil (2001 and 2009), Canada (1995), China (1999), Germany (1997), Ireland (2002 as part of the UK National Tour), Japan, (1995), Mexico (1997), Israel (2006), South Korea (2004), Spain (1999 and 2007),Greece (2007), Poland (2008) and the United Kingdom (1997).

In 2005, Disney and Stage Entertainment produced a new version of the show 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 Milan, Italy, with Arianna as Belle and Michel Altieri as the Beast. The Broadway production played a second time in Mexico City beginning in September 2007 and in Hiroshima, Japan beginning in February 2008. It opened in South Africa in September 2008. 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.

Amateur productions
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 theatre companies of both an amateur and professional level.

Planned film production
A live film adaptation of the musical was in the works according to Alan Menken. However, in a recent Den of Geek interview, Alan Menken stated the planned film version of the Beauty and the Beast stage musical "was canned." In June 2014, it was announced that a live-action film version of Beauty and the Beast is in the works with Bill Condon directing and Evan Spiliotopoulos writing the script.Condon plans on including most, if not all, of the Menken/Rice songs from the Broadway musical.

Act I
On a cold winter night in a far away land, an old beggar woman comes upon a glorious castle belonging to a young prince. She asks the master of the castle to allow her to stay the night, away from the cold, and in return she will give him a single rose. But the prince is vain and uncaring and turns her away solely for her appearance. As he does this, she warns him not to be fooled by appearances, as true beauty lies within, only to be rejected again. Seeing his horrible heart for what it truly is, she transforms into a beautiful enchantress. The Prince begs her forgiveness, but she will not hear him. As punishment she 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 by the time the last petal falls.

Some years later, a beautiful young woman named Belle makes her way into her provincial French village one morning in order to get a book from the local book seller. On the way she expresses her wish to live in a world like her books, full of adventure and romance, while the townspeople note her unparalleled beauty but find her love of books odd (“Belle”). Belle has also attracted the attentions of Gaston (the local hunter and town hero) who admires her only for her beauty and not her intelligence.

Belle, however, is not oblivious to her peers’ views of her. She voices her concerns about it to her father, Maurice, an eccentric inventor. He assures his daughter 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)”).

In the woods, Maurice becomes lost when a pack of wolves attacks him; he finds his way to a mysterious castle on the edge of the Crossroads and enters. The servants of the castle include 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 that still seems to retain her flirtatious tendencies, Mrs. Potts, the head of the kitchen turned into a tea pot, and Chip, the son of Mrs. Potts. They welcome him, but the horrid Beast arrives and orders Maurice to be locked away in the dungeon for trespassing.

Back in town Gaston proposes to Belle, which she politely rejects (“Me”). Appalled by Gaston’s forwardness, Belle once again voices her need for a life outside this provincial one (“Belle (Reprise)”). Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou, returns from the woods wearing the scarf Belle knitted for Maurice. Belle realizes her father is in danger and heads into the woods to look for him.

She ends up at the castle where she finds her father locked away in a dungeon. She makes a deal with the Beast, Maurice goes free but she remains instead. They agree and Maurice is sent back to town without being allowed to say goodbye. Belle is given a guest room and ordered by the Beast to join him for dinner. She mourns her situation (“Home ”), but Mrs. Potts and Madame de la Grande Bouche, an operatic wardrobe, attempt to cheer her up (“Home (Reprise)”).

Back in town, 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 plan (“Gaston (Reprise)”).

Back at the castle, the Beast grows impatient as Belle has yet to join him for dinner. Cogsworth informs him she refuses to come, after a shouting match between Belle and the Beast (which ends in a victory for Belle) he tells her if she cannot eat with him then she will not eat at all. In his quarters, he sulks and notes his fate should the spell not break (“How Long Must This Go On?”). Eventually Belle does become hungry and ventures into the kitchen where the servants offer her dinner despite their master’s orders. They treat her to an amazing cabaret show (“Be Our Guest”).

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

Act II
In the woods, Belle is attacked by wolves and is only rescued when the Beast comes to her aid, but he is injured during the fight, and collapses and Belle helps him back to the castle instead of taking the chance to run home. She cleans his injuries and after a brief argument about whose fault this is, the Beast thanks her for her kindness and thus their friendship is born. Wanting to give her a thank-you gift, the Beast gives Belle his huge library, which excites her. She notes a change in the Beast’s personality as the servants note a change in Belle and the Beast’s relationship (“Something There”). They express their hope of being human once more (“Human Again”) while Belle asks the Beast to accompany her to dinner that night.

Back in the village, Gaston and Le Fou meet with the asylum owner Monsieur D’Arque. They discuss their plan to have Maurice away locked away to blackmail Belle into marrying Gaston (“Maison Des Lunes”).

In the castle, the Beast is prepped by Lumière and Cogsworth for the dinner. Though the Beast is still very nervous, they remind him how the rose has begun to wilt at an alarm rate. Still unsure if he can do it, the two show the newly groomed and elegant Beast his reflection, and for the first time in a long while, he does not find himself appalling. With his confidence rebuilt the Beast meets Belle and escorts her to the dining room. The two have a lovely dinner and personal ball, where they dance together in the ballroom (“Beauty and the Beast”). After, the Beast (who plans to tell Belle he loves her) asks her if she is happy here, she responds positively but notes that she misses her father. He offers her his Magic Mirror to view him: he is sick and lost in the woods. The Beast allows Belle to leave in order to save him; she departs after a tearful goodbye (“If I Can’t Love Her (Reprise)”).

Belle finds her father and brings him back to their house in the village. After she is able to nurse him back to health, she explains the transformation she seems to have gone through while 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 doesn’t realize the error in her gesture. The townspeople immediately fear the Beast, but Belle insists he’s gentle and kind. Gaston catches her tone and recognizes the Beast as his rival for Belle’s affections and organizes the mob to kill the Beast (“The Mob Song”).

At the castle, the servants are able to keep the lynch mob at bay but Gaston breaks through and finds the Beast in his tower. He engages in a fight with him, mercilessly beating 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 plunges his dagger into the Beast’s back. This act of violence causes Gaston to lose his footing and though the Beast reaches out to catch him, he falls to his death.

Belle helps the Beast back onto the balcony. While he is glad to see her one last time, she assures the Beast he will live but they both know she is helpless to save him. She begs him not to leave her because she has found home in his company (“Home - Reprise”). Despite her heartfelt pleas, the beast dies in her arms; Belle is inconsalble as she weeps over his body. She whispers she loves him just before the last rose petal falls. The balcony begins to shimmer to her amazement as a glorious transformation takes place right before her eyes. When it is finished the Beast is gone, now before her stands a handsome prince, who is alive once more.

Though Belle does not recognize him at first, the Prince asks her to look within and recognize the Man within the Beast. She looks into his eyes and immediately recognizes him and they kiss. The entire castle is affected as the spell begins to break all over. Lumière, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts rejoice to find they are human again. Belle and the Beast make their way to the Ballroom. The two sing of how their lives have changed because of love and they dance once more as the entire palace, now changed back to their human form, celebrate the tale as old as time. (“Transformation/Finale").

Differences between the musical and film

 * In the film prologue it is stated that the enchanted rose "would bloom until [the Beast's] 21st year." In the stage adaptation this is changed to an unspecified "many years."
 * During the opening song “Belle,” instead of sitting at a fountain and singing about the contents of her favorite book to a passing herd of sheep, Belle grabs the arm of a nearby townsperson and shows them instead.
 * The three town Bimbettes (or Silly Girls as they're called in the musical) plead Gaston to choose one of them over Belle on his way to her cottage; he smugly assures them that his marriage to Belle will have no effect on any future rendezvous he will most likely have with them, meaning that he would not be a very faithful husband to Belle and would cheat on her constantly with the other women of the village. The Bimbettes also have more dialogue and an expanded role than in the film (including wailing and crying like infants before Me even begins), including actually witnessing and even partaking in the mocking of Maurice's claims about the Beast holding Belle prisoner, though they still don't appear during The Mob Song. In addition, they are implied to not be waitresses in this version due to being dismissed from the tavern alongside everyone else except LeFou in the reprise. In addition, their witnessing (and reacting angrily) to Belle's initial refusal towards Gaston was cut, presumably in order to avoid any implications that they might have supported Belle going with Gaston, and they are also shown to be gossiping about Belle in the opening song, when in the film, they only comment on Gaston passing by.
 * In addition, in the musical, the Silly Girls are depicted in a more garish light in terms of physical appearances instead of being extremely attractive in the film. This was presumably done in order to further highlight Belle's status as the most beautiful woman in the village.
 * Gaston’s marriage proposal to Belle takes place in her front yard as she attempts to hang laundry; there are also no villagers present to witness Gaston’s humiliation until after she runs inside.
 * In addition, the pre-made wedding ceremony was also cut, with Gaston actually going in and proposing to Belle in a more traditional (albeit still arrogant) manner. As a result, the triplets were made aware of Gaston's plans for proposal beforehand (as noted above) instead of their being unaware of Gaston being the groom until after he arrived.
 * In addition, how Belle handled Gaston's proposal was done differently. In the film, Belle tricked him into coming to the door and then quickly hurled him out by opening the door, resulting in him landing in a mudpool after losing balance. In the musical, Belle simply politely dismisses him with implied refusal. It should be noted that this was similar to how Belle initially refused Gaston in the 1989 draft of the film.
 * Philippe the horse is removed from the story. Instead, Belle knits Maurice a scarf for good luck for his trip to the inventors’ fair. After he becomes prisoner of The Beast, the scarf is found in the woods by LeFou- having been sent there by Gaston to fetch a deer for the feast after his presumed marriage to Belle- and worn back to town (not knowing who it belongs to), thereby alerting Belle to her father’s disappearance. She heads into the woods on foot.
 * Maurice’s wood-chopping machine is not located in the basement of the home he and Belle share- instead it is on the back of a bicycle-like contraption, which he rides to the fair in place of Philippe.
 * LeFou sings many of the male villagers’ lines during “Gaston.”
 * Prior to the reprise, all of the villagers, except LeFou and Gaston, are dismissed from the tavern shortly before the reprise, while in the film, everyone in the tavern heard the plan Gaston had, or at least enough details about it to deduce what he was planning. This was presumably done to avoid any implications that the villagers were all in the know about Gaston's plan of blackmail and supporting him. In addition, the reprise itself featured expanded lyrics making more clear that Gaston was fully aware of the dirtiness of his plan and has no remorse whatsoever in carrying it out. As a result, Gaston and LeFou sing the final lyrics of the reprise instead of the chorus.
 * The Feather Duster's name is Babette. In the film, it never says her name just like the wardrobe.
 * The Wardrobe in Belle’s room (unnamed in the Disney film) is called Madame de la Grande Bouche and revealed to be a former famous opera diva, something that had previously only been alluded to in the Marvel Comic serial's second and twelfth issue.
 * The dog-turned-footstool of the castle is not present in this version.
 * Chip the teacup, though present, has his role greatly diminished due to the difficulty of pulling off his character convincingly. The head of his actor is usually stuck through the tops of tables and rolling carts wearing a teacup-shaped helmet. He is not seen individually mobile until after the spell is broken and he is human again.
 * Belle and the Beast’s argument about her joining him for dinner takes place inside of her bedroom- instead of opposite sides of a closed door.
 * Belle joins Lumiere and the other dancing dishes during “Be Our Guest,” instead of remaining seated at a table and merely observing the spectacle.
 * The magic behind the transformations is slightly modified: Instead of being fully transformed (as shown in the movie), the characters are slowly transforming into their respective objects. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Babette the Feather Duster lament this fact, revealing that some of the servants have already completely transformed and cannot speak, see, or move; they fear the same will happen to them if the spell is not broken soon, such as Cogsworth gaining a key in his back as the storyline unfolds. In addition, the original film originally implied that the curse's effects were instantaneous for all involved.
 * As Lumiere and Cogsworth take Belle on a tour (right before she sneaks off to explore the West Wing), the Beast makes his way to her room with a plate of food in hopes of making amends with her. However, he overhears Belle voicing her distaste of him, and throws the plate away in anger and sulks off.
 * A scene only briefly seen in the background in the film is expanded upon, where Belle teaches the Beast to read. Additionally, the book they read in the film is Romeo & Juliet while in the musical it is King Arthur.
 * During the Mob Song, Belle and Maurice are not imprisoned in their own basement; instead they decide to get a head start on the angry villagers and sneak off to the castle halfway through the musical number.
 * During the fight on the roof, Belle is physically below Gaston and Beast, calling up to them rather than reaching down from a higher balcony.
 * Gaston repeatedly stabs Beast in the back rather than only once before losing his balance.
 * After the Beast gets stabbed and Gaston loses his balance, the Beast is seen trying to rush and help him before he falls of the roof.
 * After the spell is broken, Cogsworth and Madame de la Grande Bouche appear to have a romantic connection.
 * In the Spanish version, only "Beauty and the Beast " keep exactly like in the film, the other songs were slightly modified (some words were different).

Musical numbers

 * Act I
 * Overture* — Orchestra
 * Prologue — Orchestra
 * Belle — Belle and Townsfolk
 * No Matter What*# - Maurice and Belle
 * No Matter What*#[Reprise]/Wolf Chase* — Maurice
 * Me*# — Gaston
 * Belle (Reprise) — Belle
 * Home* — Belle
 * Home (Tag)* Mrs. Potts / Madame de la Grande Bouche (junior Broadway)
 * Gaston† — Gaston, Lefou and townsfolk
 * Gaston (Reprise)† — Gaston and Lefou
 * How Long Must This Go On?*# — Beast
 * Be Our Guest† — Lumiere and Enchanted Objects (Ensemble)
 * If I Can't Love Her*# — Beast


 * Act II
 * Entr'acte/Wolf Chase* — Orchestra
 * Something There — Belle, Beast, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, and Chip
 * Human Again‡ — Lumiere and Enchanted Objects (Ensemble)
 * Maison des Lunes# - Monsieur D'Arque, Gaston and Lefou
 * Beauty and the Beast — Mrs. Potts
 * If I Can't Love Her (Reprise)*# — Beast
 * A Change in Me# — Belle
 * The Mob Song — Gaston and the Mob
 * The Battle* - The Mob and Enchanted Objects
 * Home* (Reprise) — Belle
 * Transformation* — The Company
 * Finale - The Company

* New song or instrumental cue

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

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

§ "A Change In Me" was written into the show in 1998 and was retained thereafter.

# not in the Junior Broadway show

Instrumentation
Beauty and the Beast requires a medium-sized orchestra of about eleven or so. The original Broadway production contained about twenty-four players. The instrumentation requires two keyboards, percussion, bass, three woodwind players, a trumpet, and strings. The first woodwind player doubles on flute and piccolo. The second on English horn and oboe. The third on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. The original Broadway had five woodwind players. The first doubled on flute and piccolo. The second on English horn and oboe. The third on piccolo, flute, and clarinet. The fourth on piccolo, flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet. The fifth on bassoon and contrabassoon. Alternate instrumentation is also given out by Music Theatre International, the company that holds the Beauty and the Beast license.

Cast information

 * Original Broadway Cast
 * Beast - Terrence Mann
 * Belle - Susan Egan
 * Gaston - Burke Moses
 * Lumiere - Gary Beach
 * Cogsworth - Heath Lamberts
 * Maurice - Tom Bosley
 * Mrs. Potts - Beth Fowler
 * Chip - Brian Press
 * Madame de la Grande Bouche - Eleanor Glockner
 * Lefou - Kenny Raskin
 * Babette - Stacey Logan
 * Monsieur D'Arque - Gordon Stanley

Notable cast members (approximate dates given where available)


 * Beast: Chuck Wagner (1997–1998), James Barbour (1998–1999), Jeff McCarthy (1995-1997 & 2004), Steve Blanchard (who played the "Beast" for the last eight years of the Broadway run). Fred Inkley (1st National Tour in 1995)


 * Belle: Christianne Tisdale (1995), Sarah Uriarte Berry (1995-1996, 2006), Kerry Butler (1996–1997), Deborah Gibson (1997–1998), Kim Huber (1998), Toni Braxton (1998–1999; first African American to play Belle on Broadway), Andrea McArdle (1999–2000), Sarah Litzsinger (2000-2002, 2003 & 2006), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (2002–2003, Broadway Debut), Megan McGinnis (2003–2004), Christy Carlson Romano (2004), Brooke Tansley (2005), Ashley Brown (2005–2006, Broadway Debut), Deborah Lew (2006), Anneliese van der Pol (2007, Broadway Debut, Closing Cast). A total of seventeen actresses have played the part of Belle in the Broadway production, with Litzsinger playing it the longest.


 * Gaston: Marc Kudisch (1995), Steve Blanchard (1997 - he later played Beast), Hugh Jackman (Australian cast) Christopher Sieber (2001), Donny Osmond (2006 & Final Broadway Performance)


 * Lumiere: Lee Roy Reams (1995), Meshach Taylor (1998–1999, Broadway Debut), Paul Schoeffler (2001), Bryan Batt (2001–2002), Patrick Page (1999-2001 & 2003), Jacob Young (2006, Broadway Debut), John Tartaglia (2006–2007), David DeVries (Closing Cast)


 * Cogsworth: Jonathan Freeman (2006–2007)


 * Babette: Paige Davis (1st National Tour cast) Ann Mandrella (2007 Closing Cast)


 * Chip: Nick Jonas (2002), Jeremy Bergman (2002–2003), Trevor Braun (Longest-running Chip), Henry Hodges

Recordings
The Original Broadway Cast Recording was released on April 26, 1994. The CD included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as Beast, Burke Moses as Gaston, Gary Beach as Lumiere and Beth Fowler as Mrs Potts. The song "A Change in Me" is not on the cast recording because the song was added to the production for Toni Braxton during her stint as Belle. After Braxton departed the production, the song was kept in. The song was also performed on Disney's national touring jukebox musical, Disney's On the Record (2004). Broadway's original Belle, Susan Egan, recorded a cover of the song on her CD So Far.

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

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

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

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

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

Junior version
A "junior" version of the musical for middle and high school students was published by MTI. This version only included a selected number of the songs, including "Belle", "Belle (Reprise)", "Home", "Home (Tag)", "Gaston", "Gaston (Reprise)", "Be Our Guest", "Something There", "Human Again", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Mob Song", "Home (Reprise)", and "Beauty and the Beast (Reprise)". Also In Belle (reprise), The Silly Girls take Belle's part in the beginning of the song instead of Belle having to sing the whole song. Also in "Something There", Madame de la Grande Bouche and Babette sing as well. The song "Me" is completely removed in some productions, replaced with dialogue like in the original film. Most notably, Gaston survives, heeding Beasts' warning to leave and never return.