Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Announces Full Cast For UK Tour

Disney's Olivier Award-winning stage musical Beauty and the Beast today announces the cast to star in the re-imagined and re-designed new production. Staged by members of the original award-winning creative team, Beauty and the Beast will open a UK & Ireland Tour at The Bristol Hippodrome on Wednesday 25 August 2021 (National Press Night: Wednesday 29 September).

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Courtney Stapleton and Emmanuel Kojo will play the iconic lead roles, Belle and her Beast, as spectacular new designs and state-of-the-art technology fuse with the classic story, bringing the beloved tale to new life.

Courtney's credits include Dear Evan Hansen, Six, Les Misérables and Bat Out of Hell, and Emmanuel is best known for performing in Oklahoma!, Girl from the North Country, Show Boat and The Scottsboro Boys.

Also announced today are Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Broadway Musical, Les Misérables) as Lumiere and Tom Senior (The Pirates of Penzance, Eugenius!) who will be Gaston.

Sam Bailey (The X-Factor winner 2013, Blood Brothers) will play the legendary role of Mrs Potts, with Nigel Richards (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables) as Cogsworth.

Martin Ball (Les Misérables, Wicked, Top Hat) will take the role of Maurice, Samantha Bingley (Martha In The Secret Garden) will be Wardrobe, Emma Caffrey (Curtains, 42nd Street, Funny Girl) will be Babette and Louis Stockil (Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia!) will play Le Fou.

The full company is completed with Jake Bishop, Pamela Blair, Liam Buckland, Jasmine Davis, Autumn Draper, Daisy Edwards, Alyn Hawke, George Hinson, Jennifer Louise Jones, Brontë Lavine, Thomas Lee Kidd, David McIntosh, Aimee Moore, Sam Murphy, Ashley-Jordon Packer, Emily Squibb, Grace Swaby, India Thornton and Rhys West.

Performances will begin in Bristol on Wednesday 25 August, with other engagements also confirmed for Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Dublin with more venues to be announced in due course. All tour dates and information at www.beautyandthebeastmusical.co.uk

Spectacularly reimagined in startling new designs which will use the latest theatrical innovations, this timeless romantic tale will be brought to life on stage like never before, with all the charm and elegance audiences expect from Belle and her Beast. Among the many new features of this 2021 Beauty and the Beast is an exuberant tap dance within the legendary production number Be Our Guest, created expressly for Gavin Lee, recognised as one of the great tappers on either side of the Atlantic.

Olivier Award nominee Matt West will direct and choreograph this new production, leading a team that includes composer Alan Menken, lyricist Tim Rice, bookwriter Linda Woolverton, scenic designer Stan Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward and lighting designer Natasha Katz. The team collectively received five Tony® nominations and a win for Hould-Ward's costume design, when Disney first debuted Beauty and the Beast on Broadway 26 years ago.

Beauty and the Beast Tour Dates:

Wednesday 25 August - Saturday 18 September 2021
The Bristol Hippodrome
Box Office: 0844 871 3012
www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome

Thursday 23 September - Saturday 16 October 2021
Liverpool Empire
Box Office: 0844 871 3017
www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire

Thursday 21 October - Saturday 27 November 2021
Edinburgh Playhouse
Box Office: 0844 871 3014
www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse

Thursday 9 December 2021 - Saturday 15 January 2022
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Box Office: 029 2063 6464
www.wmc.org.uk

November 2022 (back on sale soon)
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin
Box Office: 00 353 1677 7999
www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie