Beauty and the Beast 1997 - Articles Page 4

Disney's beloved Olivier Award-winning stage musical Beauty and the Beast - re-imagined and re-designed in a completely new production staged by members of the original award-winning creative team – will come to Birmingham in 2022, as part of the recently opened UK & Ireland Tour.

The Fulton Theatre embarks on the largest production in its history, with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Over 250 custom and handcrafted costumes, commissioned and created in collaboration with Maine State Music Theatre, will sparkle underneath the stage lights and invite audiences into the magical world of LIVE theatre.

Dick & Dom, real names Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood, will be known to audiences from their many hit TV shows including Dick and Dom in da Bungalow; Diddy TV; Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old; Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom and many others. They are no strangers to the stage either having appeared in the West End production of Spamalot plus their many pantomime and festival appearances.

Disney's beloved Olivier Award-winning stage musical Beauty and the Beast - re-imagined and re-designed in a completely new production staged by members of the original award-winning creative team – will come to Birmingham in 2022, as part of the recently opened UK & Ireland Tour.

Broadway Records announced today the release of the world premiere recording of MY MARCELLO. With music by Rosabella Gregory, lyrics by Dina Gregory and book by Corey Brunish, the recording features performances by two-time Tony Award winner Santino Fontana, two-time Tony Award nominated Laura Osnes, and more.

BroadwayWorld has learned details of Paper Mill's upcoming 2021-2022 season. Productions set include Jason Robert Brown's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, a production titled 'A Jolly Holiday' in partnership with Disney on Broadway, CLUE - the 1997 off-Broadway Peter DePietro musical based on the popular Hasbro board game, the long awaited THE WANDERER based on the life and music of Dion, and the Broadway smash-hit SISTER ACT.

While many may consider musical theatre to be rather niche (and it is compared to a lot of other mainstream entertainment, don’t get me wrong), it might surprise them just how popular many of the more mainstream musicals are.

Today's top stories: Nicole Kassell will direct The Wizard of Oz remake, First Date starring Samantha Barks and Simon Lipkin comes to BroadwayHD, and more!

On Wednesday, Jan 13 (8:30pm PT) Join actor Jonathan Freeman as he shares behind-the-scenes stories from voicing the villain Jafar in the Aladdin franchise and appearances on Broadway in Disney's Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast.

Today (October 22) in live streaming:The next round of Next On Stage, Jodi Benson visits Ten Minute Tidbits, and so much more!

Yesterday, the nominees for the 2020 Tony Awards were announced! Jagged Little Pill leads with 15 noms. Did your favorite get nominated? Check out the full list below, as well as reactions from some of the nominees! 

Today (October 14) in live streaming: Kate Rockwell, Chilina Kennedy and Jenn Colella visit Backstage Live, Broadway for Biden hosts a pep rally, and so much more!

The nationally recognized virtual talk show, Studio Tenn Talks: Theater Conversations with Patrick Cassidy, has released the latest fall lineup with stars including Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera, Debbie Gibson and more.

Today's top stories: Madonna is working on a screenplay with Diablo Cody, and more!

The Walt Disney Family Museum will host Oscar-, Grammy-, Tony- and Golden Globe-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken for an intimate evening of music and storytelling. Streamed live on Thursday, August 6th, this special event will be presented in two partsa?"a paid fundraising program followed by a free musical performance.

The MAC Award-winning Piano Bar Live! continues this Tuesday, July 21st at 7:15 pm ET, with this week's Guest Host Michael Orland and featuring Ashley Argota, Dan Bauer, The Bleam Sisters, Hadiza Dockeray, Robin Lyon, Julie Sheppard, Nancy Timpanaro, Peter Allen Vogt, Mystery Guests & MORE!.

Films from throughout cinematic history have been brought to the Broadway stage for years. Which shows do you pick in each decade?

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

The Philly POPS kicks off Spring Break with a splash of Broadway magic at The Met Philadelphia in Disney's Broadway Hits.

The Museum of Pop Culture today announced the October opening of Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume in partnership with the Walt Disney Archives. Through more than 70 original items including ball gowns, sorcerers' capes, military uniforms, tiaras, and of course glass slippers, the exhibition immerses visitors into the world of Disney and shows how our understanding of its iconic characters is shaped through the artistry and creativity of its costumes. Watch for more information on their website.

We're heading to the Pridelands to get a behind-the-scenes look at the three hyenas of Disney's smash hit musical The Lion King: James Brown-Orleans (Banzai), Enrique Segura (Ed), and Bonita Hamilton (Shenzi) as the trio celebrates 5000 performances together on Broadway. Check it out with this video!

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts- Managing Director), recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, begins the new year with the world premiere Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and written with Richard Curtis. Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber begins performances Thursday, January 30, 2020, and will continue through Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ). JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the major sponsor of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Paper Mill Playhouse's 2019-2020 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 9, 2020 at 7:00pm.

On Wednesday, November 20th Jeopardy! celebrated the 25th anniversary of Disney on Broadway with a category devoted to five clues about DOB's stage adaptations, and accompanied by production footage.

The first clue that ANASTASIA was going to be different than what I expected was a note on the title page reading, “Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures.” Plural? A savvy journalist, I quickly asked Siri to bring up the imdb page for “Anastasia”. Turns out Fox made ANASTASIA twice, the 1997 animated off-brand Disney princess movie and a 1957 film that scored Ingrid Bergman's second Oscar and marked Helen Hayes' transition to the big screen. And it turns out the musical version has more in common with LES MISERABLES and RAGTIME than BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Gone is the hell-wizard Rasputin, his talking fruit bat sidekick, and the singing demon caterpillars. At intermission, I asked my third grade niece, Adalyn, how she was liking it. “It's awesome…it's real people, like no Beast or anything. No animals.” We decide that Disney staged musicals are great but more it's more impressive when you can achieve the magic without a story that departs from reality. ANASTASIA is historical fiction hypothetical. It poses a “what if…?” that a daughter of the last czar of Russia (The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna) escaped when the czar's family was executed in 1918. Rumors persisted for decades that Anastasia did, in fact, escape. In 2007, DNA testing confirmed the remains of all four Grand Duchesses were in the Imperial grave. In this version, Terrence McNalley's book follows Anastasia's rediscovery of her identity after surviving the attack on her family and sustaining some plot enabling amnesia. Renamed “Anya” she grows up and makes a life in post-Revolution Russia. Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress (in a staggeringly moving performance by Joy Franz) has fled to France and offered a cash reward for anyone escorting the rumored alive Anastasia to Paris. The wily duo Vlad (Edward Staudenmayer) and Dmitry (Jake Levy) pull a My Fair Lady style makeover on Anya to collect the Dowager's prize. They are pursued by Gleb (Jason Michael Evans). A Soviet officer drawn to Anya romantically but tasked with finding and eliminating the last Romanov. Anya's memory becomes somewhat coaxed back, but the Dowager has stopped seeing Anastasia claimants after too much heart-break from countless frauds. It sounds dark, but with high-tech digital scenery and inspired performances across the cast it is delightful. Stephen Flaherty (Music) and Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics), responsible for bringing us RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, LUCKY STIFF, as well as the Oscar nominated songs carried over from the animated film. ANASTASIA is a perfect context for this pair. “Stay, I Pray You” (my favorite song of the evening) is evocative of RAGTIME's “New Music”. The two songs literally race my heart in a strangely specific way. My real test of a National Tour at Gammage is how fast I get the music playing in my car on the way home. At ANASTASIA I was already finding, “Stay, I Pray You” walking through the parking lot. The rest of the score is similarly haunting. Lila Coogan, as Anya/Anastasia, powers through the score with nuance, clarity, and passion. Tari Kelly, as Countess Lily, and Stadenmayer (Vlad) were Adalyn's favorite performances and I have to agree. This incredibly gifted pair take the “triple threat” designation (singer, dancer, actor) and go quadruple with the addition of flawless comic timing. The choreography by Peggy Hickey is masterful. It somehow combines inventive and traditional throughout and the ten-minute slice of “Swan Lake” infused into “Quartet at the Ballet” is the highlight of the second act. It's a fun-size version that gets an under-represented art form onto the plate. This kind of trope often means the plot putting the plot on hold. But here, it is the connective tissue between Anya, Dmitry, the Dowager, and Gleb as they each bring us up to speed heading into the show's climax. Ultimately, the show's success comes from applying a higher artistic standard to the “previously-animated-film-now-theatrically-staged” genre. It cashes in on the name draw of the 1997 film then gives the viewer something much more enriched than what they think they are coming to see.

Laguna Playhouse announces the final cast and creative team to join acclaimed film, TV and theatre veterans Frances Fisher (a?oeTitanic,a?? Native Gardens, Barbeque), as a?oeQueen Eleanora?? and Gregory Harrison (a?oeTrapper John, M.D.,a?? Broadway's Chicago, Steel Pier), as a?oeKing Henry IIa?? in THE LION IN WINTER