EDGE Providence

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the award-winning worldwide hit Broadway musical, will launch its national tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center, where it plays from February 9th through the 14th.

Beauty and The Beast is the classic story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped in a spell placed by an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

The production features the animated film’s Academy Award-winning score with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, with additional songs with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. The book is written by Linda Woolverton.

The original creators of the Broadway production have reunited for this new touring production. The play is directed by Rob Roth and choreographed by Matt West, with Costume Design by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony Award® winner for her work on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast).

"It has been wonderful to bring the entire original design team back together to work on this new production of Beauty and the Beast," Roth said. "As a director, it is rare to have the opportunity to revisit your work 15 years later. Hopefully I’ve grown and developed as an artist, along with my collaborators, and we can bring 15 years of experience to this new production. We have remained very close as a team over the years of producing the show around the world, and it has been so much fun getting together to re-explore and reinvent the show for this new NETworks tour."

Roth believes the show is beloved by audiences for a very simple reason.

"The theme of Beauty is about seeing past the exterior into the heart of someone, and this is reflected in the design for the show, which is about transparency and layers, seeing past one thing and into another," Roth added.

Performance times are Tuesday, February 9 at 7 pm; Wednesday, February 10 at 7:30 pm; Thursday, February 11 at 7:30 pm; Friday, February 12 at 8 pm; Saturday, February 13 at 2 pm and 8 pm; and Sunday, February 14 at 1 pm and 6:30 pm.

Tickets are $63 - $36; all prices include a $3 restoration charge. Tickets are on sale now at the PPAC Box Office, located at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, online at www.ppacri.org or by phone at (401) 421-ARTS (2787). Regular Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm; Saturday 10 am to 2 pm and through curtain time(s) on show days. Discounted admission is available for groups of 20 or more; contact Paul Hiatt at phiatt@ppacri.org or at (401) 574-3162 for further information.