Beauty and the Beast

December 2011

Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Wolverton. Adapted from the french fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast tells the story of a prince who is transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his cruel and selfish ways, and an adventurous young woman named Belle whom he imprisons in his castle. In order to become human again, the Beast must earn Belle’s love before it’s too late. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007, becoming Broadway’s ninth longest-running production in history.