BEAUTY AND THE BEAST North American Tour Find Full Cast
The tour will launch in Schenectady, NY on June 25, before its official opening in Chicago in July.
The full cast has been announced for the North American tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the first North American production of the musical presented by Disney in over 25 years. The tour will launch in Schenectady, NY on June 25, before its official opening in Chicago in July.
The production features 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 alternating as Chip. They join previously announced stars Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast.
The Ensemble includes 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.
Based on the 1991 Academy Award-winning animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994 and still ranks as the 10th longest-running show in the industry’s history. Nominated for nine Tony® Awards, winning for Best Costume Design, Beauty remains one of the highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time. The title’s visibility and success have expanded globally with productions of the stage show and the smash Oscar-nominated 2017 live-action film, which grossed over $1B worldwide.
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), Tim Rice, who wrote lyrics for the stage adaptation, book writer Linda Woolverton, director and choreographer Matt West, scenic designer Stanley A. Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward and lighting designer Natasha Katz.
About Disney’s Beauty & the Beast
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.
Longtime Menken collaborators Michael Kosarin and Danny Troob are music supervisor/arranger and orchestrator, respectively. New dance music arrangements are by David Chase. David Andrews Rogers is music director.
Completing the design team, John Shivers is sound designer, Darrel Maloney is projection & video designer, and David H. Lawrence is 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 nearly six million audience members.
