Beauty and the Beast - From Broadway to Tokyo

From Broadway To Tokyo

The Making of a Smash Broadway Hit

When Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast premiered in 1991, New York Times Theatre Critic Frank Rich raved, "What is the best Broadway musical comedy score of the year? Make no mistake about it, it is Beauty and the Beast. I must say I was knocked out by this one -- even though, as a theatregoer, I had to regret that Broadway's loss has been Hollywood's gain."

Rich's response was understandable. The Academy Award®-winning team of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman drew on their roots in musical theatre when writing the music for the film: Prior to writing the songs for Disney's The Little Mermaid, they had penned the acclaimed off- Broadway hit musical Little Shop of Horrors. Menken points out that he and Ashman "structured Beauty and the Beast as a stage musical. With each song, we endeavored to advance the plot. Our characters sing their thoughts and feelings within the story. It's entirely musical theatre."
A few months after Beauty and the Beast premiered, Walt Disney Company chairman Michael Eisner was in New York City for an award ceremony in his honor. As part of the presentation, Paige O'Hara and Jerry Orbach (who provided the voices of Belle and Lumiere in the original film) performed musical highlights from the Beauty and the Beast score before a celebrity-filled audience.

Witnessing the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to a live performance of Ashman and Menken's Academy Award-winning score convinced Eisner that audiences would embrace a Broadway incarnation of the hit animated film – if there was a way to overcome the challenges of translating animated magic, like the Enchanted Objects, to the stage.
Disney had already been considering expanding into live theatre for several years. "People are social beings," says Eisner. "They want to go out, which is why we at Disney are making more and more of a commitment to live entertainment. Bringing Beauty and the Beast to Broadway seemed like a perfect fit for us."

Simply staging a theatrical version of a film would have slighted both media. Eisner and McTyre felt it was imperative to avoid such trivialization, focusing instead on combining the strengths of the beloved story with the possibilities that only live theatre can offer. The challenge: "To maintain the essence of the movie, while developing a unique theatrical production."

Director Robert Jess Roth, choreographer Matt West, and scenic designer Stan Meyer began to work out just how to translate Beauty and the Beast to the Broadway stage. Outlining how the story should be expanded, including the addition of new songs, Roth then teamed up with Tony Award®-winning costume designer Ann Hould-Ward (Into the Woods) to come up with a look for the Enchanted Objects that would work on a Broadway stage.Adapting the distinctive look of the animated Disney classic for the Broadway stage proved quite a challenge for Meyer and Hould-Ward. Scenic design had to both reflect and enhance the mood of each moment in the story. The way live performers move within the scenery also had to heighten the emotion.

For the Enchanted Objects, Hould-Ward had to ensure that the costumes' shapes were immediately recognizable yet wouldn't impair the actors' ability to move and perform. (In 1994, Hould-Ward was awarded a Tony Award® for Best Costume Design for her work on Disney's Beauty and the Beast.)

John Gaughan and Jim Steinmeyer, who had created illusions for Siegfried & Roy and David Copperfield, then devised the means to show such things as Chip the cup's movements onstage and the Beast's mystical transformation back into a prince.

After several months of development, the creative team presented its vision to key Disney executives, including Michael Eisner. The response: unanimous praise and the commitment to bring Beauty and the Beast to Broadway with the active creative collaboration of the film's writer and composer.

Linda Woolverton adapted and enlarged her original screenplay for Beauty and the Beast for the Broadway stage. Alan Menken not only expanded his Oscar®-winning score, he and lyricist Tim Rice, who shared a Best Original Song Academy Award for their collaboration on Disney's feature-length animated hit Aladdin ("A Whole New World"), wrote several new songs for the Broadway version. They also introduced audiences to the song "Human Again," which was written by Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman for the film version of Beauty and the Beast, but never used.

On stage, Disney's Beauty and the Beast shines with the dreams and dedication of everyone involved. "It has been thrilling for all of us to bring this story to a new medium and to watch audiences respond," says producer Robert W. McTyre. "The play reveals the special magic of live theatre to a whole new audience."
Michael Eisner adds: "I enjoy the thought that Disney's Beauty and the Beast will be a life-long memory for a new generation of theatregoers, and that it will bring a new meaning to the name 'Disney' for veteran theatregoers."