Beauty & The Beast to Close 7/29, Mermaid Follows at Lunt

After enchanting audiences for more than 13 years, Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the inaugural Broadway musical from Disney Theatrical Productions, will take its final bow at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) on Sunday, July 29th. The Broadway production will have played 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances.

Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is Broadway's longest running American musical and the 6th longest running show of all time. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has logged in more performances than shows like Miss Saigon; 42nd Street; Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly! and many others. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the longest running production at both the Palace Theatre and the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

"For many theatergoers, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been their first introduction to the magic of Broadway musicals," producer Thomas Schumacher said. "That's a wonderful legacy for all of us at Disney Theatrical Productions, and we're so proud of the show's record-breaking run on Broadway, throughout the country and around the world. Though the Broadway production is coming to a close, through our relationship with Music Theatre International (MTI), BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will continue to live on in regional and high school productions around the world."

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, directed by Robert Jess Roth, features Alan Menken's Academy Award-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (including the Academy Award®-winning title song and the show-stopping "Be Our Guest"), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including "If I Can't Love Her" and "A Change In Me"). The production also features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay and choreography by Matt West. Sets are by Stanley A. Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony® Award winner for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) and lighting by Natasha Katz (Tony® Award winner for Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA).

"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has meant so much to me, both in remembering the joy of creating the animated film and seeing how audiences have embraced it on Broadway for all of these years," said composer Alan Menken. "I have had the pleasure of watching so many diverse and talented performers sing these roles in the past 13 years. While it saddens me to say goodbye to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I am excited to watch THE LITTLE MERMAID take shape as a Broadway musical, and to be a part of its exciting journey to the stage."

"The worldwide success of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is truly a testament to the creative team," Schumacher said. "They conceived a production that has clearly resonated with audiences throughout the world as more than 34 million people have seen BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and the show has grossed more than $1.4 billion."

Around the world, the Broadway production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has played in a total of 13 countries and 115 cities, including record-breaking box office runs in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the first Broadway musical to perform in Beijing, China in 1999 in the Chinese language. The show has been translated into six languages including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Portuguese and Korean.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST's two North American National Tours combined played 137 engagements over 370 playing weeks in 90 cities in 36 states, Washington DC and throughout Canada from November 1995 through August 2003. The tours played a total of 2,893 performances to more than 5.7 million audience members. The tours grossed more than $271 million and traveled 83,848 miles – that's enough to circle the globe more than three times!

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST officially opened on Broadway on April 18, 1994 and played at the Palace Theatre for the first five years of its run. The production transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 11, 1999.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST received nine Tony® Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Director (Robert Jess Roth), Best Book of a Musical (Linda Woolverton), Best Actor (Terrance Mann), Best Actress (Susan Egan), Best Supporting Actor (Gary Beach), Best Costumes (Ann Hould Ward), and Best Lighting (Natasha Katz) with costume designer Ann Hould-Ward winning the Tony® for Best Costume Design.

Since that time, more than 250 actors have performed on Broadway in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The show boasts a star-studded list of alumni performers including Toni Braxton (Belle), Ashley Brown (Belle), Deborah Gibson (Belle), Andrea McArdle (Belle), Donny Osmond (Gaston), Christy Carlson Romano (Belle), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Belle), John Tartaglia (Lumiere), Meshach Taylor (Lumiere) and Jacob Young (Lumiere).

In late 2004, Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was released as a licensed stage show by Disney Theatrical Productions and licensee Music Theatre International (MTI). Since then, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been performed by nearly 1,800 school, community and professional theatre groups as well as international theatre groups everywhere from Finland to the Phillipines. It premiered as, and continues to be, one of MTI's most popular musical titles and was the number one title in 2006.

Today, the cast includes Deborah Lew as Belle, Steve Blanchard as the Beast, Stephen Buntrock as Gaston, John Tartaglia as Lumiere, Jeanne Lehman as Mrs. Potts, Jonathan Freeman as Cogsworth, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Meredith Inglesby as Babette, Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Aldrin Gonzalez as Lefou, and Trevor Braun and Marlon Sherman alternating in the role of Chip.

There are three easy ways to get tickets to Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on

Broadway – Online at www.disneyonbroadway.com, via Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747 or www.ticketmaster.com, and in person at the Lunt-Fontanne box office (205 West 46th Street). Get your tickets before the final bow!