APPLETON, Wis. — The 30th anniversary tour of Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast” is dancing into Appleton this month.
This tale as old as time stars Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast. Johnson most recently played Sophie in the national tour of “Mamma Mia!” while Philippe has portrayed Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in “Hamilton” on Broadway and on the road, as well as Sir Sagramore in Broadway’s production of “Camelot.”
Philippe first saw the stage musical “Beauty and The Beast” pretty late, as a freshman in college. Johnson got to know it much earlier — in sixth grade she played a sugar cube in a middle school production.
“Disney stories are all in our DNA, whether we know it or not. They are part of the American experience. And I think that one thing that’s going to be really exciting is the multigenerational experience of this,” Philippe said.
Based on the 1991 animated film, “Beauty and The Beast” tells the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and Beast, who is really a young prince trapped in a spell, who has to remain a Beast unless he can learn to love and be loved.
The show features catchy songs written by composer Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, including “Be Our Guest” and “Gaston.” The witty dialogue is by Linda Woolverton. “Beauty and The Beast” was the first animated movie to receive an Oscar nomination for best picture.
“Something that really stands out to me in this story that I think is timeless is the idea of walking into any room with preconceived notions based on the way someone looks,” Johnson said.
“And allowing yourself to be open, and learn new things, and forgive and give second chances and finding love in spaces that you maybe wouldn’t have expected to.”
Appleton is the first Wisconsin city the Disney fairytale is asking to be its guest. The tour heads to Madison later this Broadway season.
Take a behind-the-scenes look at the musical magic:
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle (left) and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast (right) in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
(From left to right) Danny Gardner as Lumière, Kathy Voytko as Mrs. Potts, Kevin Ligon as Maurice, Cameron Monroe Thomas as Babette, Javier Ignacio as Cogsworth and Holly Ann Butler as Madame in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and the national touring company of Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle (left) and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast (right) in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle (left) and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast (right) in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Harry Francis as Lefou (center-left) and Stephen Mark Lukas as Gaston (center-right) with the national touring company of Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle (center-right), Danny Gardner as Lumière (center-left) and the touring company in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle in Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
The national touring company of Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast.” (Disney/MurphyMade/Matthew Murphy)
“Beauty and The Beast” runs at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center from Oct. 21 to 26. Get ticket information, here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source spectrumnews1.com ’
