Beauty and the Beast to Close in July '07 to Make Way for The Little Mermaid

From Broadway.com: (http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=542835)

Quote:

---

After 13 years on Broadway, Disney's Beauty and the Beast will end its run on July 29. The next tenant of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and Disney's next theatrical undertaking will be The Little Mermaid, which will begin performances on November 3 with opening night set for December 6. Upon closing, Beauty will have played 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances.

Beauty and the Beast opened on April 18, 1994, and was the inaugural Broadway musical from Disney Theatrical Productions. It played its first five years at the Palace Theatre before transferring to the Lunt-Fontanne on November 11, 1999, and ranks as the sixth longest running show of all time. Disney is also currently represented on Broadway by The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre, Tarzan at the Richard Rodgers Theatre and Mary Poppins (a collaboration with producer Cameron Mackintosh) at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Composer Alan Menken said in a statement, "Beauty and the Beast has meant so much to me, both in remembering the joy of creating the animated film and seeing how audiences have embraced it on Broadway for all of these years. While it saddens me to say goodbye…I am excited to watch The Little Mermaid take shape as a Broadway musical, and to be a part of its exciting journey to the stage."

With a score composed by eight-time Academy Award-winner Menken and his late partner Howard Ashman, The Little Mermaid will feature the well-known songs "Part of Your World," "Kiss the Girl" and the Academy Award -winning Best Original Song, "Under the Sea," as well as nine new songs by Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book for the new musical is by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award -winning playwright Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife).

The Little Mermaid is based on the Academy Award -winning film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she's the girl with the perfect voice.

The Little Mermaid creative team will include director Francesca Zambello, choreographer Stephen Mear, scenic designer George Tsypin, costume designer Tatiana Noginova and lighting designer Natasha Katz. The show will have a pre-Broadway tryout at the Denver Center Attractions at Ellie Caulkins Opera House beginning July 26.

Beauty and the Beast currently stars Deborah Lew as Belle, Steve Blanchard as the Beast, Stephen Buntrock as Gaston, John Tartaglia as Lumiere, Jeanne Lehman as Mrs. Potts, Jonathan Freeman as Cogsworth, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Meredith Inglesby as Babette, Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Aldrin Gonzalez as Lefou, and Trevor Braun and Marlon Sherman alternating in the role of Chip.

Casting for The Little Mermaid has yet to be announced.

---

Just a few random comments from me IMNSVHO on this one:

- Given the number of stunt castings in this show, it's years on Broadway, the availability of community theatres to now produce this show, and the box office, this is hardly surprising news...at least it shouldn't be a shock. I'll still miss it though. If you never got to see this one, then try to catch a community theatre production in your area if NYC isn't an option for you. Last year, we had 3...yes...3...uno, dos, tres...productions of BatB in my community alone. I saw one of them....very well done!

-As much as I adore BatB (and those who know me, know I do!), it's time to go and make way for something new. And will they please....FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...please take Phantom with you?

-As much as I am looking forward to The Little Mermaid (actually...I'm more looking forward to Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein) next season, would it pain Broadway to cease and desist turning popular movies into musicals? It's starting to wear a tad thin with me. I know why Disney does this, but does everyone else have to do this as well?

-Can we please get a Broadway theatre in WDW to host shows like BatB, On The Record, various tours, etc.? Vegas has jumped onto this bandwagon, so should WDW. :yes:


Now to decide if I should get tickets for this this Summer before it goes dark...:scratchin

They're running a great special right now on Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and The Lion King. Kids are free on select performances in January, February and March. Check www.disneyonbroadway.com for more info.

Thanks for the tip Disney05!

Awww....bummer. I have yet to see the production on Broadway (or any production on Broadway for that matter!), but I was lucky enough to see the traveling group here in Detroit a few years back and I loved it!

Road Trip! We can stay at Jerrame's!

why the Little Mermaid? if anything they should be doing Aladdin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ERich2010

why the Little Mermaid? if anything they should be doing Aladdin

---

Why Aladdin? Do you just prefer Aladdin to TLM?

TLM has been in development for years, many of which it just sat there. Plus, the film is older and unlike the film Aladdin...TLM really did revive Feature animated films for WDI. In all honesty, the real question should be ....why did it take sooo long to get TLM on the stage? I can understand why they started with BatB on Broadway. That movie has a clear Broadway style of story telling. I notice it right away. Later on, I learned that was intentional due to Howard Ashman's prescence on the project. So, that translation from screen to stage was pretty smooth and seamless.

As far as I know, Aladdin only has that ~45 minute version that played in DCA. I loved, loved, loved this production of Aladdin, but it needs to be expanded and tweaked for the Broadway stage. I wouldn't be surprised if Aladdin showed up on the Broadway stage in a few years. And if you have seen this show, you maybe scratching your head regarding how they'll make this tour.

Back to TLM, has anyone else heard the rumor that Pat Carroll (original voice of Ursula) will be reprising her role on the stage? I have NO idea if this is true, but I'm throwing it out there to see if anyone else knows.

i mean that i would rather have Aladdin than TLM, but would much rather not have Beauty and the Beast leave at all. Maybe its just that i never really liked TLM that much.

plus Ariel doesnt even talk for half the movie let alone sing. kind of odd for a lead character

Who wants to start taking bets now that the one after that is going to involve Stitch in some way shape or form

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Disney05

They're running a great special right now on Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and The Lion King. Kids are free on select performances in January, February and March. Check www.disneyonbroadway.com for more info.

---

I cant find out on the site where that special is. Help me! Anyone? I would like to go see BatB before is ends, in particular since my Johnny (of the sprites) is playing in it. *vix now wipes the drool from her face----OK give me a break, I like Sportacus too. :lol:

Depending on what H&R Block says tonite depends on whether we go to WDW in Sept. so I may have to get my Disney fix in a more reasonable spending bracket. Never been to NYC, might be worth a weekend.

This makes me cry....even though TLM is, and will always be my favorite Disney movie, I've always wanted to see BatB on broadway, and now I'll never be able to...

Oh! I got to see Beauty and the Beast before it goes!