| Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Opened |
November 22, 1991 |
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Capacity |
1,500 |
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage is a Broadway-style musical at the 1,500-seat Theater of the Stars on Sunset Boulevard at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. It is based on the popular animated film Beauty and the Beast (the show opened just days after the films' release), including many of the original songs and characters. Two versions of the show have been presented since opening day.
Show Description[]
Pre-Show[]
At one point during the course of the show's run, a male a cappella group called "Four For a Dollar" performed a pre-show, performing new arrangements of classic pop, rock and roll, and Disney songs. They would perform for about 20 minutes, entertaining the crowd and getting them ready for the show. For their final song, they would dedicate a Disney song to a lucky person in the audience for a special occasion, whether a birthday, engagement, anniversary, or honeymoon. Videos of the group can be seen on YouTube.
There is currently no pre-show opening act for Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. The show now starts promptly at the scheduled time.
Show Summary[]
The stage show changed considerably from the original version to the currently running version, causing it to more closely resemble 1991 film of the same name. However, because the show is condensed to approximately 25 minutes, many cuts and edits are made.
The show opens like the Broadway musical: A beggar woman asks a spoiled and selfish prince if he will allow her to stay in his castle for the night from the bitter cold, in exchange for a single rose. The prince turns her away. Because his heart is cold, the beggar woman punishes the prince by transforming him in to an ugly, scary, hideous, beast. Everyone in the castle gets a punishing transformation as well. The prince can only break the spell by learning to love another, and earning their love in return.
Years later, Belle is walking in the quiet little French village where she lives. The other villagers agree that Belle is beautiful, but she is also no ordinary character. Gaston, the handsome young hunter of the town, tells Belle he loves her and asks her to marry him ("Belle" / "Gaston"). Belle politely refuses. Soon though, "under a series of mysterious circumstances," Belle finds herself inside the Beast's enchanted castle. She is confronted by the magical castle inhabitants, Cogsworth (a mantle clock), Lumiere (a handsome candelabra), Mrs. Potts (a kind and gentle teapot), and her son, Chip (a charming little teacup). Cogsworth thinks that they made a mistake by allowing Belle inside, but the others believe she could be the one to break the curse. So they throw her a feast, and invite her to "Be Our Guest." The Beast abruptly ends the celebration and expresses his fear that Belle could never learn to love him.
Belle, on a tour through the castle, enters the West Wing and discovers the rose. The Beast is furious at Belle, because he told her never to enter the West Wing. All of this causes Belle and the Beast to argue. But the others advise Beast to be a gentleman, because Belle could be the one to break the curse. The castle's charming inhabitants discover that there is "Something There" that wasn't there before, and the two fall in love.
We return to the tiny French village where we started, and Gaston declares that Belle has rejected him for the last time. He convinces the villagers that the Beast is a monster, and the village is not safe until he is dead. So they decide to kill the Beast ("The Mob Song"). The townspeople take over the castle, ruining everything in sight. Gaston fights the Beast, and Belle appears just to see Gaston make his final blow. Seeing the Beast nearly dead, Belle admits she loves him. This breaks the curse, and the Beast is magically transformed back into the handsome prince. The entire cast returns for a final dance, and declare that the love of "Beauty and the Beast" will thrive forever. Belle and the prince reappear in their traditional costumes ("Beauty and the Beast").
During the curtain call, Belle and the prince give a lucky person in the audience a rose.
Original Version (1991-2001)[]
The original version opened for the film's 1991 premiere. Its first performance was at 1:30pm on November 22, 1991, the same day the film was released. When the Theater of the Stars was moved in September 1993 to make room for the construction of Sunset Boulevard, the show was temporarly moved to the Backlot Theater on New York Street. The show reopened in July 1994, in the now covered and newly rebuilt Theater of the Stars on Sunset Boulevard.
Order of songs in the original version:
- "Be Our Guest"
- "Belle" / "Gaston"
- "Something There"
- "The Mob Song"
- "Beauty and the Beast"
Current Version (2001-Present)[]
The second version of the show debuted in March 2001 and now features the songs much nearer to the order in which they are presented in the film. It is currently the longest-running stage show at a Walt Disney World theme park.
Order of songs in the current version:
- "Prologue: The Enchantress"
- "Belle" / "Gaston"
- "Belle (Reprise)"
- "Be Our Guest"
- "Something There"
- "The Mob Song"
- "Beauty and the Beast"
The show's exit music after the final curtain is dropped features the pop version of the title song, performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.
TV Appearances[]
The stage show was featured on various television shows.
- The show was featured on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, when Oprah went to Disney World. She and some of her audience members got to see Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson perform the main title song from the movie. Characters such as Belle, the Prince, Chip, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth also appeared.
- When the show first premiered, excerpts from the show were shown during the 1991 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade.
- In 2005, the cast appeared on the Christmas Day parade again, only this time featuring John O'Hurley, fresh from Dancing with the Stars, singing "Be Our Guest" with the cast.