Disney is well known for taking the fairytales of our childhood, sweetening them, and turning them into animated musical extravaganzas for children. Beauty and the Beast was originally a French tale, written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, but it has been translated and retold almost from the moment it first appeared in print in 1756.
In 1991, Disney turned it into a musical and put it on film as part of their efforts to revitalize their famed animation department. The movie went on to smashing success, becoming the first animated feature to win a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards.
Emboldened by the success of the film, Disney decided to use it as the basis for their first attempt to transfer their magic to the stage. The live version of the musical includes all the well loved tunes from the film, as well as additional music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. The show opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in 1994, transferred to the Lunt-Fontane Theatre in 1999, and finally closed in 2007.
The Theatre League of Wichita brings professional touring companies to the city. You can enjoy Beauty and the Beast, the musical tale of a young woman who tames a beast and learns to love him, at the Century II Convention Center on December 16th through the 18th.
