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A Newly-Reimagined Production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to Premiere North American Tour in June 2025 in Celebration of the Beloved Title’s 30th Anniversary
New York, NY (January 25, 2024) – Disney Theatrical Group, under the direction of Andrew Flatt, Anne Quart, and Thomas Schumacher, announced today that a newly reimagined North American tour of Beauty and the Beast will launch in June 2025.
“We’ve heard from audiences for three decades now that Beauty and the Beast has touched them in a profound way – these characters, songs, and this sweeping story,” said Thomas Schumacher, Chief Creative Officer, Disney Theatrical Group. “How proud we are, then, to bring this refreshed and human take on the show – with the scale and spectacle the title deserves – to longtime fans and an entirely new generation. This Beauty is for them.”
Based on the Academy Award®-winning feature film, Beauty and the Beast is one of the most beloved stage musicals of the last half-century. The Tony Award®-winning Broadway production ran for 13 years (1994 – 2007) and remains one of the Top 10 longest-running Broadway shows. Worldwide, there have been productions in 37 countries, seen by more than 25 million people and translated into 17 different languages.
The new tour will hold technical rehearsals and launch in Schenectady, NY at Proctors in June 2025, prior to the official opening in Chicago, IL at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in July, followed by a stop in Minneapolis, MN at the Orpheum Theatre in August. Casting and the anticipated two-year tour route will be announced at a later date.
Reuniting to create this new production are members of the original Tony Award®-winning artistic team, including composer Alan Menken (who wrote the film’s beloved score with the late lyricist Howard Ashman), lyricist Tim Rice, book writer Linda Woolverton, with direction and choreography by Matt West, scenic design by Stanley A. Meyer, costume design by Ann Hould- Ward and lighting design by Natasha Katz.
“We are thrilled to have once again gathered this world-class creative team on Beauty and the Beast, under the masterful direction of original team member Matt West. Together they created a beloved show in 1994, and today they’re telling that story with all the charm and romance of the original production, and newly resonant for today’s audiences. It’s a pleasure to be back in the room with this peerless team as they re-discover and expand Beauty and the Beast,” shared Executive Producer Anne Quart.
Critics have raved about the show throughout its history, from its 1994 Broadway premiere through the recent smash U.K. and Australian productions of the newly reimagined version:
“The astonishments rarely cease! Its lavishness is delirious.”
– The New York Times
★★★★ “A tale as old as time, but as exhilarating as ever!” – London Evening Standard
“A spectacular stage extravaganza!” – New York Post
★★★★ “Visual magic…Witty, exuberant with breathtaking choreography.” – Sydney Morning Herald
“You will have the time of your life! All the great songs and great moments are here.” – Good Morning America
★★★★ “Joyously entertaining!” – London Sunday Express
“The most lavish, opulent, eye-popping show ever!”
– New York Daily News
★★★★★ “Full Broadway spectacle.” – London Daily Mail
★★★★★
– Sydney Arts Guide
About Disney’s Beauty & the Beast
Based on the 1991 Academy-Award-winning animated feature film, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994 where it was nominated for nine Tony® Awards, winning for Best Costume Design, and ran for 13 years. It still ranks as one of the longest-running and highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time. Since its debut, the title’s visibility and success have expanded globally with subsequent productions produced around the world.
The structure and tone of the story and score – as conceived for the 1991 film by its executive producer and lyricist Howard Ashman with continued evolution for the Broadway adaptation three years later – made Disney history. Only once before – in Menken and Ashman’s previous film musical The Little Mermaid – had a Disney film been structured like a stage musical where the songs are integral to the plot and characterization. This Menken/Ashman innovation is credited with the 1990’s Disney animation renaissance that went on to create such film classics as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Hunchback of Notre Dame and helped re-introduce the book musical form to popular culture.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, directed & choreographed by Matt West, features Alan Menken’s Academy Award®-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (including the Academy Award®-winning title song and the show-stopping “Be Our Guest”), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including “If I Can’t Love Her” and “A Change In Me”). The production features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay. Sets are by Stanley A. Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony Award® winner for Beauty and the Beast), and lighting by Natasha Katz.
New dance music arrangements are by David Chase. Longtime Menken collaborators Michael Kosarin and Danny Troob are music supervisors/arrangers and orchestrators, respectively.
Completing the design team, John Shivers is a sound designer, Darrel Maloney is a projection & video designer, and David H. Lawrence is a hair & make-up designer. Jim Steinmeyer is the illusion designer, as he was on the original 1994 production. Jason Trubitt is the production supervisor and Myriah Bash is the general manager. Anne Quart serves as executive producer.
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.
For more information, visit beautyandthebeastthemusical.com, Instagram, and Facebook.
