The original Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, starring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann in the title roles, opened April 18, 1994, at the Palace Theatre.
The production moved to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 12, 1999, to make room for Disney’s third Broadway venture, Aida. It finally closed July 29, 2007, having played a total of 46 previews and 5,464 regular performances.
A fun fun facts about the show's development:
• It took a year and a half to develop the Enchantress’ fireball and it is the first known throwable hand-held device of its kind. She could hold the ball of fire in her hand until it burned out without any physical damage.
• Lumiere’s hands were made of a flameproof plastic surrounding a flame device that uses one ounce of liquid butane per hand per show. In the first 10 years, it burned 700 pounds of butane.
• The Beast needed three people to help him into make-up, prosthetics, hair and wardrobe. Originally this process took over three hours before each performance; it eventually took only one hour. To help achieve his animal-like appearance, he wore special latex gloves and had special rubber toes glued to the outside of his boots.
• Lumiere’s second act headpiece was made of polyurethane and weighs less than a pound.
• Belle’s ball gown weighed 30 pounds.
Also in the cast were Gary Beach as Lumiere, Tom Bosley as Belle's father, Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts, Eleanor Glockner as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Heath Lamberts as Cogsworth, Stacey Logan as Babette, Burke Moses as Gaston, Brian Press as Chip, and Kenny Raskin as Lefou.
The ensemble included Joan Barber, Roxane Barlow, Harrison Beal, Michael-Demby Cain, Kate Dowe, David Elder, Merwin Foard, Gregory Garrison, Jack Hayes, Kim Huber, Elmore James, Rob Lorey, Patrick Loy, Barbara Marineau, Joanne McHugh, Anna McNeely, Bill Nabel, Wendy Oliver, Vince Pesce, Paige Price, Sarah Solie Shannon, Gordon Stanley, David Ogden Stiers (as the pre-recorded narrator), Linda Talcott, and Wysandria Woolsey, with Alisa Klein and Dan Mojica as swings and Chuck Wagner as standby for the Beast.
Featuring a score by Alan Menken, Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman, Beauty and the Beast had a book by the author of the original screenplay, Linda Woolverton; the musical was directed by Robert Jess Roth.
