Thomas Schumacher, who’s the president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, has revealed in a recent feature on Nightline that he is working on a revival of Beauty & the Beast. "I'm not announcing location or time," he said. "But I am deep in it, so yeah, it's happening." In a more recent interview with Broadway.com, Schumacher said “We’re working on a revival of it with the entire original team but with a completely new design for every element: new dance arrangements, whole new staging ideas. It’s really fun for that team to be able to dive back in.”
For those who may or may not already know, Beauty & the Beast became Disney’s very first theatrical venture after Frank Rich (who was the New York Times' chief theatre critic at the time) called the 1991 animated film the best Broadway musical he had seen all year. The stage adaptation opened in New York on April 18th, 1994, and while the initial critical response was mixed, Beauty & the Beast came to Broadway at a time when there weren’t a lot of options for family-friendly shows to see. To make a long story short, the show became an enormous hit all over the world. The Broadway production closed after 13 years and 5,461 performances on July 29th, 2007.
For many children, Beauty & the Beast was the first Broadway show they ever saw. It was certainly the first show I ever saw in New York. Since then, I’ve seen other productions at various places such as a community theatre, high school, non-equity tour, and regional theatre. While I wouldn’t go as far to say that Beauty & the Beast is one of my all time favorite shows, it does hold a special place in my heart.
While Tom Schumacher hasn’t given any details yet as to when this revival would be taking place, I thought I’d give some of my casting ideas. For the coveted role of Belle, I’ve seen many people suggesting Broadway alums who are already well established. Personally, I think they should go for a fresh face. Audiences all over the world have their own preconceived notions of who Belle is suppose to be, that I think by going with a fresh face, they’d more quickly be able to identify the performer as Belle because that would be the first thing they see her as.
After all, no one knew who Susan Egan was when she originated the role on Broadway at the age of 24. Prior to that, she had made her professional theatre debut as Kim MacAfee in a 1991-92 national touring production of Bye Bye Birdie that starred Tommy Tune & Ann Reinking. When that tour wrapped up, Susan Egan took Tommy Tune’s advice by moving to New York feeling more industry people there would know exactly what to do with her as opposed to Los Angeles. She tried auditioning for in coming revivals of Carousel, Grease, and My Fair Lady, but was ultimately referred to Beauty & the Beast. At first, Susan Egan was very reluctant to audition because while she had not yet seen the film, she thought it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway. Yet, her agent managed to convince her otherwise. When Susan Egan went in for the audition, her only focal point was the material she was given. The creative team, who had already gone through many different actresses offering up impersonations of Paige O’Hara’s performance in the animated film, was impressed with Egan’s interpretation because she was bringing her own ideas to the table. For her final audition, director Robert Jess Roth told Egan to approach the role as ‘a straight ingénue’, and she was ultimately cast after proving to be capable of playing Belle both straight and comically.
Now on to my casting ideas...
For those who may or may not already know, Beauty & the Beast became Disney’s very first theatrical venture after Frank Rich (who was the New York Times' chief theatre critic at the time) called the 1991 animated film the best Broadway musical he had seen all year. The stage adaptation opened in New York on April 18th, 1994, and while the initial critical response was mixed, Beauty & the Beast came to Broadway at a time when there weren’t a lot of options for family-friendly shows to see. To make a long story short, the show became an enormous hit all over the world. The Broadway production closed after 13 years and 5,461 performances on July 29th, 2007.
For many children, Beauty & the Beast was the first Broadway show they ever saw. It was certainly the first show I ever saw in New York. Since then, I’ve seen other productions at various places such as a community theatre, high school, non-equity tour, and regional theatre. While I wouldn’t go as far to say that Beauty & the Beast is one of my all time favorite shows, it does hold a special place in my heart.
While Tom Schumacher hasn’t given any details yet as to when this revival would be taking place, I thought I’d give some of my casting ideas. For the coveted role of Belle, I’ve seen many people suggesting Broadway alums who are already well established. Personally, I think they should go for a fresh face. Audiences all over the world have their own preconceived notions of who Belle is suppose to be, that I think by going with a fresh face, they’d more quickly be able to identify the performer as Belle because that would be the first thing they see her as.
After all, no one knew who Susan Egan was when she originated the role on Broadway at the age of 24. Prior to that, she had made her professional theatre debut as Kim MacAfee in a 1991-92 national touring production of Bye Bye Birdie that starred Tommy Tune & Ann Reinking. When that tour wrapped up, Susan Egan took Tommy Tune’s advice by moving to New York feeling more industry people there would know exactly what to do with her as opposed to Los Angeles. She tried auditioning for in coming revivals of Carousel, Grease, and My Fair Lady, but was ultimately referred to Beauty & the Beast. At first, Susan Egan was very reluctant to audition because while she had not yet seen the film, she thought it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway. Yet, her agent managed to convince her otherwise. When Susan Egan went in for the audition, her only focal point was the material she was given. The creative team, who had already gone through many different actresses offering up impersonations of Paige O’Hara’s performance in the animated film, was impressed with Egan’s interpretation because she was bringing her own ideas to the table. For her final audition, director Robert Jess Roth told Egan to approach the role as ‘a straight ingénue’, and she was ultimately cast after proving to be capable of playing Belle both straight and comically.
Now on to my casting ideas...