Houston (1993) Beauty and the Beast premiered in a joint production of
Theatre Under The Stars and Disney Theatrical at the Music Hall, Houston, Texas, from November 28, 1993, through December 26, 1993. Previews began November 27, 1993.
Original Broadway production (1994–2007) in 2006, in the final years of
Beauty and the Beast, before closing in 2007. The show began previews on
Broadway at the
Palace Theatre on March 9, 1994, with the official opening 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
eleventh-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, 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.
TV ice-show special (1996) On December 8, 1996, ''Disney's Beauty and the Beast: A Concert on Ice'', an ice show adaptation, was broadcast on
CBS. The special was produced by Micawber Productions and Rodan Productions and featured songs from the musical. It starred
Ekaterina Gordeeva as Belle and
Victor Petrenko as The Beast with
Scott Hamilton as Lumiere while Steve Binder directed and was hosted by James Barbour and Susan Egan.
West End production (1997–1999) 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 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. 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. The production won the
American Express Award for Best New Musical at the
1998 Laurence Olivier Awards, against other nominees
Enter the Guardsman,
The Fix and
Lady in the Dark.
West End revival (2022) The UK and Ireland reimagined tour which opened in August 2021, played a limited
London Palladium engagement from June 24 through September 17, 2022. It starred Shaq Taylor as The Beast,
Courtney Stapleton as Belle, and the rest of the tour's cast.
US national tours The show had five US national tours. The first national tour launched on November 15, 1995 at the
Orpheum Theatre in
Minneapolis, 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. A new North American tour based on the UK and Australian productions opened in June 2025 at the
Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago, with Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle,
Stephen Mark Lukas as Gaston, and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast.
UK national tours The UK national tour (prior to the closure of the West End Production in 1999) began on November 2, 2001, at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool with stops in Bristol, Birmingham, Dublin, Southampton, Manchester and ended on April 12, 2003, at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh. The tour starred Annalene Beechey (reprising her role from the London production) as Belle, Alistair Robins as the Beast, Ben Harlow as Gaston,
Julia Goss as Mrs. Potts, Stephen Matthews as Lumiere,
Barry James (reprising his role from the London production) as Cogsworth,
Billy Boyle (reprising his role from the London production) as Maurice, Karen Davies as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Kate Graham (reprising her role from the London production) as Babette, Anthony Clegg as LeFou, and Oliver Taylor (reprising his role from the London production) and Sion Eifion sharing the role of Chip. Notable replacements included
Dianne Pilkington as Belle, Alex Bourne as the Beast,
Earl Carpenter as Gaston, Marilyn Cutts as Mrs. Potts, Richard Tate as Maurice, and Drew Varley as LeFou. In September 2020, it was announced that the production embarked on a new UK and Ireland tour, which was scheduled to open at the
Bristol Hippodrome on August 25, 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. The branding and promotional graphics, including posters, venue banners, and advertising, were updated for this and subsequent tours. The new design features silhouettes of Belle and the Beast embracing over a rose, their shapes dissolving into a swirling tower of rose petals on a purple background. The imagery is accompanied by metallic logo and type, based on the Rococo style typeface, Span, by Jamie Clarke. In October 2021, Kojo was suspended (and later fired) 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 principal until Shaq Taylor stepped in as full-time replacement in early 2022.
International productions Beauty and the Beast has been performed in more than 40 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Estonia, 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. On July 15, 1995, the musical began its original Australian run in Melbourne at the
Princess Theatre, before moving on to Sydney. The original Australian cast included
Michael Cormick as The Beast,
Rachael Beck as Belle,
Hugh Jackman as Gaston, and
Ernie Bourne as Maurice. In 1995, the musical opened in Japan and was performed by the
Shiki Theatre Company. The musical continued to tour Japan until May 2017. An updated, permanent production opened at the Maihama Amphitheater at
Tokyo Disney Resort, produced by Shiki Theatre Company in association with Disney Theatrical Productions, in October 2022. The Toronto production opened at the
Princess of Wales Theatre on July 25, 1995, and closed on August 30, 1997. The production starred
Kerry Butler as Belle and
Chuck Wagner as the Beast, with Terry Doyle as Maurice. Notable replacements included Melissa Thomson as Belle and
Steve Blanchard as the Beast. The lesser known
Halifax production at the
Neptune Theatre was the longest running production in the theater's history. A Los Angeles production opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 12, 1995, and closed on September 29, 1996. Most of the original Broadway cast returned, including Susan Egan, Terrence Mann, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler, Burke Moses and Tom Bosley. Notable replacements included
James Stacy Barbour as the Beast. The sets in this production were widely considered to be the largest out of all the musical's productions in the world. After the show closed in Los Angeles, all of the sets were transferred for the production in Mexico City in 1997. A production opened in
Vienna, Austria in 1995. The principal cast included
Ethan Freeman as the Beast,
Caroline Vasicek as Belle, Kevin Tarte as Gaston, and Viktor Gernot as Lumiere.
Steve Barton joined the cast in 1996 as the Beast. In December 1997, the musical opened in Stuttgart at the Palladium Theatre, Stuttgart and played there until December 22, 2000. Leah Delos Santos played Belle and
Uwe Kröger played the Beast and Marc G. Dalio played Gaston. In 1999, the musical opened in China. On March 4, 2005, Beauty and the Beast had its Scandinavian premiere at
The Göteborg Opera with Fred Johanson as the Beast and
Annica Edstam as Belle. On June 16, 2005, the musical began its Philippine run at the
Meralco Theater. Produced by Atlantis Productions, it featured
KC Concepcion alternating with
Karel Marquez as Belle,
Jett Pangan as the Beast, and Calvin Millado as Gaston. In September 2005, a production in
Budapest, Hungary premiered at the Budapesti Operettszínház. In South America, Argentina was the first country to produce it, with Marisol Otero as Belle, Juan Rodó as Beast, Diego Jaraz as Gaston, Gustavo Monje as LeFou, Pablo Lizaso as Lumière, Mónica Nuñez as Mrs. Potts, Omar Pini as Cogsworth, Alejandra Radano as Babette and Rodolfo Valss as Maurice. It ran from November 26, 1998, at the Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires until August 15, 1999, before opening again in 2010. Brazil was the second country to host the musical. Disney had plans to bring it to the country in 1999, after the success in Argentina, but nobody really knew if it would work. Three years later, in 2002,
Beauty and the Beast finally opened in Brazil at Teatro Abril, one of the biggest theaters in the country. It was a huge hit, for more than one and a half years, it was presented with
Kiara Sasso playing Belle and Saulo Vasconcelos playing the Beast. In 2009, a new Belle and a new Beast were cast, Lissah Martins and Ricardo Vieira, as the musical came back to Brazil, Kiara Sasso was playing Maria in
The Sound of Music.
Beauty and the Beast remained for six months at Teatro Abril. Even though the play was brought back as a way to try to recoup some of the money lost in Brazil's version of
Miss Saigon, this second incarnation of
Beauty and the Beast failed to create any critical buzz, or to be a box office success. In Spain, there have been three productions of the show. The first one, based on the original Broadway production, had its Madrid debut on December 2, 1999, at Teatro Lope de Vega. The original cast included Xenia Reguant (later replaced by Julia Möller) as Belle,
Carlos Marín (later replaced by Joe Luciano) as Beast, Lisardo Guarinos (later replaced by Manuel Bandera) as Gaston, Víctor Ullate Roche as LeFou, Germán Torres as Lumière, Kirby Navarro as Mrs. Potts, David Venancio Muro as Cogsworth, Dulcinea Juárez as Babette, Laura Inclán as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Miguel de Grandy as Maurice. After a successful run of 27 months and about 900 performances, the production finally closed on March 3, 2002, becoming the longest-running musical ever in Madrid at that time. In 2007, a second version produced by
Stage Entertainment premiered on October 3, at Teatro Coliseum, Madrid, for a limited run of six months, but the closing was postponed due to a successful season. The original cast included Julia Möller reprising her role as Belle (later replaced by María Adamuz), David Ordinas as Beast,
Pablo Puyol as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Armando Pita as Lumière, Angels Jiménez as Mrs. Potts (later replaced by Rita Barber), Esteban Oliver as Cogsworth, Silvia Luchetti as Babette, María José Oquendo as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Lorenzo Valverde as Maurice. The production closed on January 11, 2009, and was transferred to Barcelona, where it ran from February 26, 2009, to January 10, 2010, at the BTM, with some changes in the cast, including Mercè Martínez as Mrs. Potts, Marta Capel as Babette, Patricia Paisal as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Albert Muntanyola as Maurice. In 2012, the Stage Entertainment version was relaunched as a touring production, beginning performances on September 6, at Teatro Calderón,
Valladolid. The original cast of this third Spanish production included Talía del Val as Belle, Ignasi Vidal as Beast,
Daniel Diges as Gaston, Raúl Peña as LeFou, Diego Rodríguez as Lumière, Mone as Mrs. Potts, Frank Capdet as Cogsworth, Marta Capel as Babette, Eva Diago as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Enrique R. del Portal as Maurice. In 2005, Disney and Stage Entertainment produced a new version of the show, directed by Glenn Casale, using brand new sets and costumes. After touring the Netherlands and playing in Antwerp, Belgium, Disney and Stage Entertainment brought the show to Berlin, Germany, in 2006 after a (approx.) one-year run at the
Metronom Theater in Oberhausen. This production opened in 2007 in Madrid, Spain and in 2009 in Barcelona, Spain; and Milan and Rome, Italy, with
Arianna as Belle and
Michel Altieri as the Beast. A Russian production of the show opened in 2009 in Moscow, Russia; with television actress
Yekaterina Guseva and Stage Entertainment actress Natalya Bystrova alternating the role of Belle. The Broadway production played a second time in Mexico City beginning in September 2007 and in Hiroshima, Japan, beginning in February 2008. The Broadway production opened in South Africa in September 2008 and ran until March 2009. 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. in Moscow, 2014.] 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 at
Circustheater in The Hague, starring Anouk Maas as Belle, Edwin Jonker as Beast and Freek Bartels as Gaston. Beginning October 2014, Disney Theatrical Productions, NETworks, and Broadway Entertainment Group launched an international tour in celebration of
Beauty and the Beasts 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. 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. In 2018, an Estonian
non-replica production was produced by
Disney Theatrical Productions at the
Vanemuine Teater with
Saara Pius & Kärt Anton sharing the role of Belle, Kalle Sepp & René Soom in the role of The Beast, Mihkel Tikerpalu & Oliver Timmusk in the role of Gaston, Norman Salumäe & Samuel Pilpak in the role of LeFou and
Juss Haasma & Silver Laas in the role of Lumière. A new Australian production based on the 2021 UK tour has opened now at Sydney's
Capitol Theatre in June 2023, and will go to Melbourne and Brisbane in 2024. It stars Shubshri Kandiah as Belle and Brendan Xavier as Beast.
Amateur rights 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 on both an amateur and professional level. 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". ==Original casts==