Join Jess and Miranda of "Theatre in the D" for their review of the new national tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. They discuss the show's spectacular choreography, its changes from the original, and whether the stage version captures the magic of the romance.
Christina Rose Hall and Aaron Kaburick Join BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Tour
The tour is celebrating its one-year anniversary on July 10.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the first North American touring production of the musical presented by Disney in over 25 years, will celebrate its one-year anniversary on July 10 at the Civic Theatre in San Diego, CA.
Playing 34 cities since its launch last summer, the North American tour of Beauty and the Beast has set box office and attendance records in many of them, from Madison, WI to Atlanta, GA. The tour will play in 32 cities in the 2026-27 season.
New to the company as of July 7 are Christina Rose Hall as Mrs. Potts and Aaron Kaburick as Maurice. They join current stars Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast, along with Stephen Mark Lukas as Gaston, Danny Gardner as Lumiere, Javier Ignacio as Cogsworth, Harry Francis as Le Fou, Holly Ann Butler as Madame, Cameron Monroe Thomas as Babette, and Levi Blaise Coleman and Kanoa Edgar alternating as Chip.
The Ensemble includes Vinny Andaloro, Benjamin Cheng, Spencer Dean, Julian Marcus De Guzman, Michael Dikegoros, Leigh-Ann Esty, Masumi Iwai, Darrell T. Joe, Emily Larger, Lena Matthews, Caleb McArthur, Melaina Rairamo, Ellen Roberts, Grace Marie Rusnica, Ben Sears, Michael Seltzer, Jasmine Pearl Villaroel and Kate Wesler.
Based on the 1991 Academy Award-winning animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994 and still ranks as one of the longest-running shows in the industry's history. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Best Costume Design, Beauty remains one of the highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time. The title's visibility and success have expanded globally with productions of the stage show and the smash Oscar-nominated 2017 live-action film, which grossed over $1B worldwide.
Meet the New Cast Members
Christina Rose HALL (Mrs. Potts). National Tours: Les Misérables, Always…Patsy Cline. Regional: The Goodman, Paramount Theatre, Firebrand Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Marriott Theater, Writer's Theater, Chicago Shakes, Milwaukee Rep, Mercury Theater, Apollo Theater, Hope Rep and Main Street Theater. SMU Alum. Proudly represented by GTG. Love to my family, given and chosen. Dedicated to my Mom.
Aaron Kaburick (Maurice). Broadway: Mrs. Doubtfire, Hello, Dolly!, Something Rotten!, Motown, Sister Act, Billy Elliot. National Tour: Clue!, Mrs. Doubtfire, Billy Elliot, Annie, The Full Monty. TV: “Girls5eva,” “Maisel,” “Law & Order,” “Fosse/Verdon.” Boston University. Hometown: Carlinville, IL.
About Disney's Beauty and the Beast
The structure and tone of the story and score made Disney history. It was just the second time that a Disney film had been structured as a stage musical where the songs are integral to plot and characterization. This Menken/Ashman innovation is credited with the 1990's Disney animation renaissance that went on to create such film classics as Aladdin, The Lion King and Hunchback of Notre Dame and helped re-introduce the book musical form to popular culture.
Beauty and the Beast, directed & choreographed by Matt West, 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 features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay. Sets are by Stanley A. Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony Award winner for Beauty and the Beast) and lighting by Natasha Katz.
Longtime Menken collaborators Michael Kosarin and Danny Troob are music supervisor/arranger and orchestrator, respectively. New dance music arrangements are by David Chase. David Andrews Rogers is music director.
Completing the design team, John Shivers is sound designer, Darrel Maloney is projection & video designer, and David H. Lawrence is hair & make-up designer. Jim Steinmeyer is the illusion designer, as he was on the original 1994 production. Jason Trubitt is the production supervisor and Myriah Bash is the general manager.
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