The upcoming national tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast鈥攖he first to be presented by Disney in North America in more than 25 years鈥攈as found its full cast, joining previously announced stars Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast. The tour launches June 25 in Schenectady, with an official opening planned in July when the production is in Chicago.
Newly announced cast members include Stephen Mark Lukas as Gaston, Danny Gardner as Lumiere, Kathy Voytko as Mrs. Potts, Javier Ignacio as Cogsworth, Harry Francis as Le Fou, Kevin Ligon as Maurice, Holly Ann Butler as Madame, Cameron Monroe Thomas as Babette, and Beatrice Goddard Beggs and Levi Blaise Coleman sharing the role of Chip.
The ensemble will feature Vinny Andaloro, Benjamin Cheng, Spencer Dean, Julian Marcus De Guzman, Michael Dikegoros, Masumi Iwai, Darrell T. Joe, Emily Larger, Lena Matthews, Caleb McArthur, Sam Rose Pearson, Melaina Rairamo, Ellen Roberts, Grace Marie Rusnica, Ben Sears, Michael Seltzer, Jasmine Pearl Villaroel, and Kate Wesler.
As previously reported, several creatives from the original Broadway team will reunite to create the new production, including composer Alan Menken (who wrote the film鈥檚 beloved score with the late lyricist Howard Ashman), lyricist Tim Rice, book writer Linda Woolverton, director and choreographer by Matt West, scenic designer Stanley A. Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, lighting designer Natasha Katz, and illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer.
The reimagined tour will also feature new dance music arrangements by David Chase, music supervision and arrangements by Michael Kosarin, orchestrations by Danny Troob, sound design by John Shivers, projection and video design by Darrel Maloney, and hair and makeup design by David H. Lawrence. Jason Trubitt is the production supervisor, and Myriah Bash is the general manager. Anne Quart serves as executive producer.
Based on Disney's 1991 Academy Award-winning film, Beauty and the Beast opened on Broadway April 18, 1994. The production closed July 29, 2007, after 46 previews and 5,461 regular performances, making it the current 10th longest-running Broadway show of all time. The original production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won one, for Best Costume Design.
Previous Disney-produced North American tours of Beauty and the Beast played for almost eight years from November 1995 through August 2003, for a combined total of 2,893 performances to more than 5.7 million audience members. The show is currently running in Australia.
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