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Identifier
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1895
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Title
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Beauty and the Beast
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Description
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Beauty and the Beast premiered at The Music Hall in Houston, Texas on November 28, 1993. It ran at the Palace Theatre until September 5, 1999 then transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11, 1999. The show closed on Broadway after 46 previews and 5,462 regular performances, becoming Broadway's sixth longest-running production in history at the time of closure. To date, it is still the tenth longest running Broadway show. It has also become a popular choice for junior, amateur, and high school productions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(musical)).
The Broadway musical potential of the film was clear and Disney CEO Michael Eisner was encouraged to venture into Broadway. All eight songs from the animated film were put in the musical, including a resurrected musical number which had been originally cut. Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production with lyricist Rice, who replaced Ashman since Ashman had died during the production of the movie. Storylines and characters from the film were expanded upon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(musical)).
Synopsis from Playbill.com: "This summer, fall under the spell of this “tale as old as time” based on the Academy Award-winning Disney film. Dazzling production numbers, including the beloved title song and "Be Our Guest," will fill the Courtyard Theater, making your heart soar. The beloved fairytale recounts the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If those lessons aren’t learned soon, the Beast and his household will be doomed for all eternity." (https://www.playbill.com/production/beauty-and-the-beast-palace-theatre-vault-0000009145)
Run time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission (https://beautyandthebeastmusical.com.au/about-the-show/#:~:text=Beauty%20and%20the%20Beast%20is%20approximately%202.5%20hours%20long%2C%20including,gunshots%2C%20violence%20and%20strobe%20lighting.)
Tony Awards Year: 1994
Number of nominations: 9
Number of wins: 1 (https://www.playbill.com/production/beauty-and-the-beast-palace-theatre-vault-0000009145)
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Opening Date
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18 April 1994
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Source
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Beauty and the Beast (1991 Disney Animated film)
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Dates of Broadway performance run
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18 April 1994 - 29 July 2007 (Original Broadway run)
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
