Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage


Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage is a Broadway-style musical at the Theater of the Stars, on Sunset Boulevard, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World. It is based on the popular animated film Beauty and the Beast, including many of the original songs and characters. While most of the soundtrack is prerecorded, the actors playing Belle and Gaston speak and sing live. Two versions of the show have been presented since opening day.

Disney's Hollywood Studios (1991 – present)

Plot summary of current version

The stage show changed considerably from the original version to the currently running version, causing it to more closely resemble 1991 film of the same name. However, because the show is condensed to approximately 25 minutes, many cuts and edits are made.
The show opens like the Broadway musical: An old beggar woman asks a spoiled and selfish prince if he will allow her to stay in his castle for the night from the bitter cold, in exchange for a single rose; to which the prince turns her away. Because his heart is cold, the old beggar woman turns into a beautiful enchantress who punishes the prince by transforming him in to an ugly, scary, and hideous Beast. Everyone in the castle gets a punishing transformation as well. The prince can only break the spell by learning to love another, and earning their love in return, and failure to do so will cause him to "remain a beast for all time".
Years later, Belle is walking in the quiet little French village where she lives. The other villagers agree that Belle is beautiful, but she is also no ordinary character. Gaston, the handsome young hunter of the town, boasts how he loves Belle and asks her to marry him.. Belle politely refuses. Soon though, "under a series of mysterious circumstances", Belle finds herself inside the Beast's enchanted castle. She is confronted by the magical castle inhabitants, Cogsworth the clock, Lumiere the candelabra, Mrs. Potts the teapot, and her son, Chip the teacup. Cogsworth thinks that they made a mistake by allowing Belle inside, but the others believe she could be the one to break the curse. So they throw her a feast and, simultaneously invite her to "Be Our Guest". The Beast abruptly ends the celebration and expresses his fear that Belle could never learn to love him. Belle, on a tour through the castle, enters the West Wing and discovers the rose. The Beast is furious at Belle, because he told her never to enter that part of the castle. All of this causes Belle and the Beast to argue. But the others advise Beast to be a gentleman, because Belle could be the one to break the curse. The castle's charming inhabitants discover that there is "Something There" that wasn't there before, and the two fall in love.
Meanwhile, Gaston declares that Belle has rejected him for the last time. He convinces the villagers that the Beast is a monster, and the village is not safe until he is dead. So they decide to kill him. The townspeople take over the castle, ruining everything in sight. Gaston fights the Beast, and Belle appears just to see Gaston make his final blow. Seeing the Beast nearly dead, Belle admits she loves him just as the rose's last petal falls. This breaks the curse, and the Beast is magically transformed back into the Prince. The entire cast returns for a final dance, and declare that the love of "Beauty and the Beast" will thrive forever. Instantly, Belle and the prince reappear in their traditional costumes.
During the curtain call, Belle and the Prince give a lucky person in the audience a rose similar to the one in the movie.

Original version (1991–2001)

The original version opened for the film's 1991 premiere. Its first performance was at 1:30 pm on November 22, 1991, the same day the film was released. When the Theater of the Stars was moved in September 1993, the show was temporarily moved to the Premiere Theater on New York Street. The show reopened in July 1994, in the now covered and newly rebuilt Theater of the Stars on Sunset Blvd.
Order of songs in the original version:
The second version of the show debuted in March 2001 and now features the songs much nearer to the order in which they are presented in the film. It is currently the longest-running stage show at a Walt Disney World Theme Park.
Order of Songs in the Current Version:
The stage version was shown on various television shows.
For many years, the a capella group Four for a Dollar performed as a preshow. The group was dressed as technicians for the show, with the group coming on stage pretending to do a mic check before beginning to perform.