Kyra Belle Johnson and Company in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Photo by Matthew Murphy. (c) Disney

Be Our Guest at Beauty and the Beast, Disney’s first North American production of the beloved musical in over 25 years. This enchanting and timeless tale is brought to life in a breathtaking musical filled with the romance and spectacle audiences know and love.

But before you go, polish your knowledge of this fairy tale that’s as old as time with these fun facts:

Overview

• The incredible new production is from the same producers of Aladdin, The Lion King and Frozen.

• Members of the creative team from the original, ground-breaking Broadway musical have reunited to tell this classic tale, including EGOT-winner Alan Menken (music) and Linda Woolverton (book), who also wrote the songs and screenplay, respectively, for the animated feature film.

Original Broadway Production

• Beauty and the Beast was the inaugural production of Disney Theatrical Group, and Broadway audiences took it to heart immediately, leading to an extraordinary 13-year run.

• Today, it still ranks as one of the longest-running shows in the history of Broadway.

• Based on the 1991 Academy Award®-winning animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994. Nominated for nine Tony® Awards, it won for Best Costume Design (Ann Hould-Ward).

• Worldwide, there have been productions in 37 countries, seen by more than 25 million people and translated into 17 different languages.

About the Animated Film (1991)

• Beauty and the Beast was the first animated feature film ever nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture.

• The film went on to win the Oscar® for Best Original Score and introduced the hit song “Beauty and the Beast,” which won the second of the film’s Academy Awards® as Best Original Song. The Peabo Bryson/Celine Dion recording of the tune soared to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

• The songs “Belle” and “Be Our Guest” were also both nominated for an Oscar®.

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North American Tour Tech

• Over 180 lights are used throughout the show on tour.

• More than 17 tons of scenery, lighting, and video are suspended above the stage on the North American tour.

• It takes 75 people to deliver each performance of Beauty and the Beast on tour, including actors, stage crew, musicians, dressers, hairstylists and make-up artists.

• The North American touring production uses (9) trucks to transport costumes, set pieces and other materials, plus (1) truck carrying merchandise, from city to city.

• During the ‘Gaston’ production number, Gaston and Lefou, along with the ensemble, clink their mugs over 821 times.

North American Tour Costumes

• To create the costumes, over 31 U.S. and 4 E.U. fabric vendors, along with a total of 15,000 swatches, were used.

• It took 186 costume makers, artisans and craftspeople to construct the costumes.

• There are 29,311 rhinestones on Belle’s yellow ballgown.

• It takes 4 crew members to put Belle into her yellow ballgown look.

• The fastest costume quick-change in the show is 24 seconds: the ensemble changes into their tap costumes mid-number for the ‘Be Our Guest’ finale.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) NewsCenter is the organization’s editorial platform for stories, announcements, interviews, and coverage of theatre and cultural programming in Colorado. We are committed to producing accurate, trustworthy, clearly sourced journalism that reflects our mission and serves our community. Reposted courtesy of Disney Theatrical Group.