BEAUTY AND THE BEAST A Musical in 2 Acts. Book by Linda Woolverton (based on her screenplay for the Walt Disney animated film of the same name). Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Palace Theatre, New York - 18 April, 1994 : closed 5 September, 1999 (2250 perfs); re-opened 12 November 1999 at the LuntFontanne Theatre and is still running! Directed by Robert Jess Roth. Choreography by Matt West. Scenic design by Stan Meyer. Costume design by Ann Hould-Ward. Lighting design by Natasha Katz. Sound design by T. Richard Fitzgerald. Illusions by Jim Steinmeyer, John Gaughan. Prosthetics, John Dods. Musical direction and incidental music arrangements by Michael Kosarin. Orchestrations by Danny Troob. Musical supervision and vocal arrangements by David Friedman. Fight director, Rick Sordelet. Dance arrangements by Glen Kelly. Produced by Walt Disney Productions (Ron Logan, Robert McTyre, Theatrical Production Division). STORY Act I On a cold winter night, an old beggar woman comes upon a glorious castle belonging to a young prince. She asks the master of the castle to allow her to stay the night from the cold, and in return she will give him a single rose, but the prince is vain and uncaring and turns her away solely for her appearance. As he does this, she warns him not to be fooled by appearances, as true beauty lies within, only to be rejected again. Seeing his horrible heart for what it truly is, she transforms into a beautiful enchantress and turns the prince into a hideous Beast and his servants into various household objects. She gives him the rose to use as an hour-glass. The only way he can break the spell is to learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal falls ("Prologue"). 10 years later, a beautiful young woman named Belle makes her way into town one morning in order to get a book from the local book seller. On the way she expresses her wish to live in a world like her books, full of adventure, while the townspeople note her unparalleled beauty but find her love of books odd ("Belle"). Belle has also attracted the attentions of Gaston (the local hunter and town hero) who admires her only for her beauty and not her intelligence. Belle, however, is not oblivious to her peers' views of her. She voices her concerns about it to her father, Maurice, an eccentric inventor. He assures his daughter that she is anything but strange ("No Matter What"). The two then put the finishing touches on his invention and Maurice heads off to an invention fair donning a scarf knitted for him by Belle ("No Matter What (Reprise)"). In the woods, Maurice becomes lost when a pack of wolves attacks him; he finds his way to a mysterious castle on the edge of the Crossroads and enters. The servants of the castle include Lumière, a maître d' turned into a candelabra, Cogsworth, the head of household turned into a clock, Babette, a maid turned into a feather duster that still seems to retain her flirtatious tendencies, Mrs. Potts, the head of the kitchen turned into a tea pot, and Chip, the son of Mrs. Potts. They welcome him, but the horrid Beast arrives and locks Maurice away in the dungeon for trespassing.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODU3MzQ=