Beauty and The Beast is a timeless tale with a moral that true love can be discovered in the heart of another, not in his appearance. The lesson can be appreciated in any period in history and by anyone of any age. Many versions have been transformed into movies, television shows and books. But the one that stands out in our time is the Disney classic.
Released 15 years ago, Beauty and the Beast was the first animated feature film to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.
Three years after ongoing stage performances in Houston, it officially opened at the Palace Theatre for a permanent home on Broadway. And in 1999, the play moved to its current location at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Now the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts welcomes the award-winning Beauty and the Beast production to its stage, Feb. 1-5. The geniuses at Disney kept the integrity of their feature film and created a three-dimensional masterpiece that has won critical acclaim and numerous Tony Awards. The producers took liberties expanding the elements from the cartoon to create the vibrantly colored sets, technical wonders and magic that only Disney could devise. Several additional music scores were introduced into the production with the help of lyricist Tim Rice, known for his work on The Lion King.