Conference koolit::disney

    I watched Siskel and Ebert and they raved about "Beauty and the Beast"
    proclaiming it a "classic" and a serious contender for a Best Picture
    Oscar (!!) this year.  Wow!!
    
    And when a rough cut was shown at the New York Film Festival this fall,
    it received a standing ovation...
    
    "20/20" and VH-1's Flix have each had special segments covering the
    making of the film and it looks absolutely terrific.  It looks like
    Disney has a real winner on their hands, which they seriously need...
    
    It opens this Friday.  
    
    - Skip

    For spoiler info, see 15.91 for the USENET entry I had placed about the
    preview showing this past fall mention in .1.
    
    Claude
    
    Who wish he could  take a sick day Friday but can't :^(, I'll just have
    to stand in line Friday night with the rest of them.

    Claude,
    
    Hmmm....good idea...maybe I'll take Friday afternoon off and go see a 
    flick....can't beat the crowd or the price (matinee price). 
    
    If I go I'll post a review in here.
    
    Mike_whose_HDD_Birthday_Bash_is_is_a_mere_235_days_away

    Not only can't I take a day off Friday from work (too damm busy), but I
    just found out that the Adams Family Movie starts Friday as well ;^(

    Re:.3
    
    Mike ,I can beat the matinee price. I won 4 tickets to a special
    showing at the Braintree Showcase this Saturday. 
    
    Bill

    Rep to <<< Note 286.4 by SALEM::BERUBE_C "Good Morning WDW!, in 157 days" >>>
>                          -< Decisions Decisions.... >-

    Well I  made  my  decision  and  just  got back from the 6:00pm show in
    Bedford and all I can  say is 'I WANT THE VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!, and the wife
    want to go back in a week or so and see it again.
    
    The overal impression  is just above the quality of The Little Mermaid,
    the ballroom screen is  just  great and that's all I'll say for now.  I
    don't want to spoil it for anyone, but several song are Oscar material!
    
    Claude
    
    

    Thumbs up!!! Saw this on Saturday in Framingham, I think its the
    best movie Disney has ever done.  The music is fantastic, the animation
    is the best!!!! Don't miss this one in the movies.  If it ever comes
    out on video, it won't do it justice.
    
    Pat

    I saw it Friday night at the 8 pm show in Nashua and it was absolutely
    wonderful.  Never before have I been to a movie that lived up to its
    hype... and beyond.  We enjoyed it more than "The Little Mermaid."  My
    wife and I will definitely be back to see this again in the theatre.
    
    The animation is superb.  I wasn't sure if they could pull off the
    Beast, but they did, in spades.  The songs are terrific (the theme from
    "Beauty and the Beast" is a sure bet to win the Oscar for Best Original
    Song).  And there's lots of humor.  It's a fun, fun movie.  Go see it!!
    
    I was going to try to list some of my favorite scenes but there are
    just too many of them...
    
    In Friday's Globe, the reviewer wrote, "'The Little Mermaid' told the
    world that Disney was back in the animation business.  'Beauty and the
    Beast' tells us that Disney is back to stay."  Amen to that.
    
    - Skip

    Absolutely wonderful!!!! My husband and I took our two daughters to see
    this last night. The animation is excellent. It gives of an almost
    3-d look especially during the ballroom scene. Humorous...yes and
    at one point I must admit that one my girls was scared. This was
    the scene where the wolves attack the beast. But other than that
    it was all that the reviews have said. I liked it so much, I just
    this morning ordered the Belle and Beast dolls from Sears for
    my girls for Christmas. (btw my girls are 2 and 4)
    
    JH
    

    VH-1 had a segment on "Beauty..." yesterday. The animators downplay
    the ballroom scene because it was computer generated. They feel that
    people will think the whole movie was done that way...and it wasn't.
    
    The scene was an attempt to have a "sweeping effect" and using iron was
    the best way to accomplish this goal.
    
    Mike

    My husband, son and I saw this over the holiday weekend.  Fabulous!
    I'll see it again! (maybe this week)  The Beast's facial expressions
    were incredible!  The banquet hall scene was good.  
    My husband remarked that he didn't ever remember women in Disney
    animated films being so "true to life" (the bar maids or french maid 
    at the end).  Is this true?
    
    A must see!
    
    kathy
      

    RE: "true to life"
    
    	Entertainment Tonight had two retired Disney animators on the other
    night who confirmed your husbands point -- when asked by the
    interviewer why Disney might havemade them so 'true to life' so-to-speak,
    they replied, kind of mishceviously, that Disney might be trying to see
    what they could "get away" with.  Belle, on the other hand, is supposed
    to be more like Snow White, Cinderella, etc. -- not so "true to life".
    
    	Moe 

    I have to say that I sort of wish that Belle had been not so
    Cinderella/Snow White like. One of the points of the movie is that
    she's independent and a little out of the ordinary, but she looked like
    every other major female character that Disney folks draw. The male
    characters were more "true to life" and different looking.  
    
    But, that is a nit, the animation is lovely. The songs are like very
    good stage musical numbers.  (I especially like "More than this
    Provincial Life"). All in all I really enjoyed it, and the kids in the
    theater were enthralled.
    
    At the risk of being burned at the stake as a heretic, I have a soft
    spot in my heart for the Truffault "Belle et la Bete." To me it will
    always be the best "Beast." But Truffault fans will not be
    disappointed, the Disney version is different and can be enjoyed for
    its own merits.
    
    	--Catherine--*      
    48-HOURS-to-the-GRAND-FLORIDIAN/PREMIER-CRUISE!
    

    We've been looking for a song book/sheet music for "Beauty and the
    Beast". We've called around to several music stores and they've said
    that the music has not been released yet. I'd say by January it will be
    out.
    
    By the way The Beauty and the Beast extravaganza at the  Theater of the
    Stars in MGM stars Belle, Gaston, and the Enchanted Prince, performing
    songs from the film.
    
    Mike

    Rep to <<< Note 286.6 by SALEM::BERUBE_C "Good Morning WDW!, in 155 days" >>>

>    Well I  made  my  decision  and  just  got back from the 6:00pm show in
>    Bedford and all I can  say is 'I WANT THE VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!, and the wife
>    want to go back in a week or so and see it again.

    Forgot to mention this little tidbit, one of the reasons for my wanting
    the Video, it  the  first  time Disney has a Animation character, named
    after me.  
    
    For your trivia nuts out there, and  those of you who have not seen the
    feature yet, No there is no character named Claude in  it, but there is
    another Character with one of my names ;^).
    
    Claude

    Is it "Beast"?
    
    ;^)

    Rep to <<< Note 286.18 by VISUAL::SCOPA "I'd rather be in Orlando" >>>

>    Is it "Beast"?
>    ;^)
    
    Sorry mike you'll have to guess again. ;^)

    Well, using my keen deductive reasoning (and ELF), I believe it to be
    Gaston.  Thank you thank you, no applause, please.  But now we can have
    some fun by modifying the lyrics to "Gaston's Song" to fit Claude... 
    :-)
    
    No one notes like Gaston,
    Can SET HOSTS like Gaston,
    Sails the lagoon in big boats like Gaston,
    Soon in the conference he'll be moderating.
    My, what a guy, Gaston...
    
    Well, it's a feeble first try but you get the idea.
    
    - Skip

re:       <<< Note 286.20 by MR4DEC::AWILLIAMS "Not this hare, cueball!!" >>>

>                -< Are you especially good at expectorating?? >-

    Only when I'm down with the flu
    
>    Well, using my keen deductive reasoning (and ELF), I believe it to be
>    Gaston.  Thank you thank you, no applause, please.  
    
    Gee now you know why I only have the G listed in Elf.
    
>    But now we can have
>    some fun by modifying the lyrics to "Gaston's Song" to fit Claude... 
>    :-)
>    
>    No one notes like Gaston,
>    Can SET HOSTS like Gaston,
>    Sails the lagoon in big boats like Gaston,
>    Soon in the conference he'll be moderating.
>    My, what a guy, Gaston...

    Gee I like that, have to do something about the fourth line though.
    
    Claude

    The Disney Store had a book of the songs ina big, simple to play
    format. Sorry I didn't know the price.
    
    }iLinda

    Yep,
    
    Picked up the EZ Play songbook last night ($8.05 with MKC card). My
    daughter was playing the ivories last night with the tunes.
    
    Mike

    The December "Computer Graphics World" has a cover story on "Beauty..."
    Here are some interesting tidbits about the film and 3D graphics:
    
      o Over 1 million drawings were created for the film.
      o A total of 600 animators, artists, and technicians worked on this
        project.
      o 14 artists created 1300 backgrounds for the film.
      o Other films having 3D graphics include The Great Mouse Detective,
        Oliver and Company, The Little Mermaid, and The Rescuers Down Under.
      o Besides the ballroom scene, the scene with the chandelier, adorned
        with forks, was also computr generated.
      o The ballroom was modeled to scale. Does anyone want to take a guess
        as to the length and width of the room? There are 28 windows in the
        ballroom and a 72 foot-high ceiling crowned with an 86 by 61 foot
        dome filled with a hand painted mural.
      o There are 158 candle flames in the ballroom....96 in the chandelier
        alone. The article says that all the reflections created by the
        candle flames were animated.
      o Certain parts of the film were also used to try some 3D effects.
        There were the various carts and beer wagons....the chorus lines of
        dancing plates, goblets, and eating utensils in "Be Our Guest".
      
    
    Mike

    I guess most of us were surprised when we first found out Robby Benson
    was the voice of the Beast.
    
    The second surprise was to hear his singing voice. He doesn't get much
    to sing and I wondered whether that was by accident or planned.
    
    Mike

    Mike, 
    
    You just hit upon my only gripe with BatB and that is, the Beast didn't
    get his own song.  Belle and Claude, er, I mean... Gaston did, but the
    Beast did not.  It's too bad because from the brief bit Benson does
    sing, he sounds like he has a very good voice.
    
    Oh well...
    
    - Skip

    rep to last several,
    
    One of  the  reasons  I  can think of why the Beast didn't have his own
    song was that it  would  of been a sad song and not as upbeat and happy
    as the rest of them.    Think  of  it, the song would of told about the
    Beast being a jerk when young hence the spell and how he has to somehow
    get a woman to truely love him  for  what's  inside and not for what he
    looks like, which was pretty much cover by the beatiful naration at the
    begining.  The only way to have allowed the Beast to sing more would of
    been through more duets with Belle and still keep the songs upbeat like
    the rest.
    
    Claude

    Okay, I'm admitting it right here and now that I am obsessed with
    "Beauty and the Beast" and it's music. I must listen to the soundtrack
    in it's entirety at least 4 times a day. 
    
    I am fascinated by Paige O'Hara's voice. I truly enjoy listening to
    "Claude....er "Gaston" and even find myself singing along trying to
    sound like Richard White.
    
    "Be our Guest" is a fun tune and "Something There" is enjoyable...I
    wish it was a longer tune.
    
    I can listen over and over to the instrumental cuts on the second half
    of the CD...especially "The Beast Lets Belle Go", "Battle on the
    Tower", and my favorite "Transformation".
    
    I constantly hmm, sing, or whistle several of these songs throughout
    the course of the day.....I have "Beauty-and-the-Beast-itis".
    
    I guess it's time for me to see the film.....haven't seen it yet but
    will see it within the week.
    
    Mike

    I read in the paper the other day that BatB has made over $80 million
    at the box office (as of Jan. 6th).  Is this a record for an animated
    film (Disney or otherwise)??  Does anyone know what "The Little
    Mermaid" pulled in??
    
    - Skip
    
    P.S.  Mike, I can't believe you haven't seen it yet.  What are you
    waiting for??  To get it for your birthday??  Hurry up and go see it
    for Walt's sake...

    Skip,
    
    I know! I know! Hard to believe erh?
    
    Michael Eisner will be attempting to pull off his biggest trick of his
    Disney career this Friday when he begins his campaign to have
    "Beauty..." picked by the Oscar voters as Picture of the Year. No
    animated film has ever won it.
    
    Mike

    re: Oscar
    
    Has any animated film even been nominated for Best Picture??
    
    I think it'd be an incredible feat if "Beauty and the Beast" were just
    nominated...
    
    - Skip

    re: -.1
    
    I think your question is right on...I don't believe that any animated
    film has ever been nominated!
    
    -Jay
    

    It might get nominated (which would be a first), but it doesn't have a
    CHANCE of winning.  The movie is too commercially successful.  98% of
    the time, the winner is some pretentious crap that didn't do well
    enough in its initial run, so they figure it will do better now.
    
    I think it SHOULD win (I've seen it twice so far), but I doubt it will.
    
    tom

    re: animated films and the Oscar
    
    I did a little checking over the weekend and no animated films has ever
    been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.  The closest they've come was
    nominating "Mary Poppins", which has animated sections.
    
    By the way, it hasn't been mentioned here yet but "Beauty and the
    Beast" won three Golden Globe awards over the weekend:  Best Music,
    Best Song (for its title song), and Best Comedy or Musical.  Maybe this
    is an indication of what's to come...
    
    - Skip

    Well gang I finally saw "Beauty..." yesterday. It exceeded my own
    expectations. Here are some specific comments on the film:

  - I liked the way we get right into the story.

  - Did everyone get the idea that the animators wanted to wow us early on
    in the film? I noticed some things early on that I had never recalled
    seeing in animation before. Remember when Belle is crossing the bridge
    as she enters the town? I felt I was riding on her shoulder.

  - I was quite familar with the music and songs before yesterday and it
    was quite rewarding to see the film match up with the music. By the way
    the CD soundtrack is excellent and contains quite a bit of the early
    dialog.

  - Did anyone notice the chair Gaston was sitting in just before the
    "Gaston" song? What did the chair/Gaston combo represent? The animators
    purposely designed the chair in the manner they did to make a point.

  - Belle is quite the heroine and I have news for Len. Last night I dumped
    Jessica Rabbit. Len she's all yours....Belle has won my heart. She's a
    woman of the 90's...courage, insight, resourceful....hopefully the
    first in a long line of "new age" Disney heroines. Frankly women have
    been on the short end for years. Snow White was too fragile, Cinderella
    was spineless, and Ariel was an airhead. I salute the animators for
    finally giving us someone like Belle. I am looking forward this Summer
    to having my picture taken with Belle at MGM.

  - Those of you going to see the film should study the first time we see
    the Beast. The first time we see him he appears 4 times the size of
    Belle and then in the Ballroom scene he is probably 1 1/2 times the
    size of our heroine.

  - There are many heros/heroines in the film. You really have to decide
    which one you feel is the true savior...quite the team effort. Some 
    people may feel that Chip is the hero.

  - The "Something There" section of the film is one of my favorite parts
    to the film. As a matter of fact as I am typing this I am listening to
    that song on my portable CD player.

  - The characterization of the Castle and it's inhabitants deserves
    another "Bravo!" especially Jo Ann Worley's portrayal of the wardrobe.

  - The Ballroom scene is unbelievable. As a writer in the Image group for
    the past four years I can truly appreciate the effort needed to render
    the images/frames needed to produce that ballroom scene. But you cannot
    truly see how perfect a job was done unless you see a cel with a
    ballroom scene. The marble pillars look abolutely real.

  - I'll admit there were parts of the movie that moved me to the point of
    watery eyes....hey that hasn't happened since hmmmm maybe "E.T." The
    characters were that lifelike.

  - Last night I pulled out "The Little Mermaid" and just watched a bit of
    it to compare the two films. There is a larger gap between the two than
    I had thought. The animation techniques in "Beauty..." far surpass
    "...Mermaid"........who knows what "Aladdin" will bring.

  How well did I like it? Well, yesterday my daughter had to babysit and
  couldn't go with us....I wanted to return late this afternoon and see it
  with her but piano and dance lessons got in the way. I will return to see
  it again.

  I cannot finish without paying homage to the team of Alan Menken and Howard
  Ashman for the music of this film. There is no doubt that this film will
  bring in megabucks for Michael Eisner.

  Phew! Now that I've seen the movie I don't have to hide when I see Linda
  Gibson in the hallways. She was brutal last week. I had to see the movie
  before running into Linda again......and I thank Linda for finally giving
  me the push that I needed.

  In summary, Walt Disney Pictures' "Beauty and The Beast" is truly an
  outstanding work of animation that combines topnotch music, state of the
  art animation, and storytelling at it's best to proove to many people that
  the Disney magic is still aound us and will continue in it's fine tradition
  for many years to come. There is no doubt in my mind that this film
  deserves a nomination for Picture of the Year and when you realize that
  many people may return to see it for a second or third time, that fact
    alone makes a case for giving it the Oscar.
    
    
    
I will be first in line when the video is released.

Mike

    Gee, Mike, I only hit you with the small stick twice.  :-)
    
    You did me a favor by convincing me to buy the CD of the soundtrack. 
    People in adjoining offices are listening to "Be my guest, be my guest..." 
    being hummed off-key.
    
    Linda 
    
    

    
    Hi all,
    
    I generally am "in-the-woodwork" on this conference. But I had to jump
    in for this one. I took my 5 year old daughter to see this on Sunday.
    Without a doubt the best animation effort ever. Blows Mermaid away and
    I thought that was great.
    
    My wife was unable to attend due to a committment. When she got home I
    said this is probably the movie that will push me to buy a laserdisk
    player. It's that good. I can't imagine not watching this on LV.
    
    I just love the title song that plays over the credits. Paige's voice
    is a marvel.
    
    The best praise I can offer this film is that I cared about the
    characters. This is high praise indeed; especially considering it is an
    animated film. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this film unless
    they are cold as a stone...
    
    Regards to all...
    
    Jim
    

    
    	Well, now that the news has broken about " 101 Dalmations " coming
    out on video in April ( April 10th, I believe, is the actually release
    date. Check with your local video store to be sure ), Disney animation
    fans must be wondering " When will ' Beauty and the Beast ' be out on
    video ? ' " Well, " B + B " fans should be pleased to hear that the
    latest word out of Burbank is the video version of the film is expected
    to hit stores state-side during the first two weeks of November.
    	The only catch is -- given how well " Fantasia " sold during its
    50-days-only promotion -- Disney's giving some very serious thought to
    doing the same thing with " Beauty and the Beast. " Of course, a lot of
    these marketing decisions will be finally be decided after Disney finds
    out how " B + B " does at the Oscars. But -- at the very least --
    Disney animation fans can plan on having their very copies of this
    truly snazzy film by next Christmas.
    	And -- speaking of next Christmas -- be sure to catch the special
    " Aladdin " preview Disney's going to tack on to the beginning of " 101
    Dalmations. " The advance word coming out of Disney's feature animation
    department is that this could be the film to top " B + B. " ( I'll
    believe it when I see it ).

    
       Well since I am a stockholder I am glad to be in the minority on
     this one.  I didn't enjoy this film very much.  The anamation was 
     amazing but the story and character development just did not happen.
     I really did not think that the sound track was anything special
     either.  I will be quite (happily) surprised if this film wins any
     oscars for anything other than anamation achievement stuff. 
     I had a problem with Belle being the mirror image of Ariel,
     showed little imagination there.  The big difference for me was that
     when I left the movie house I did not remember any of the characters
     names except Belle, and Gaston.  Which said to me that I must have 
     been given no reason to care much about them.  I know after I saw 
     TLM, I knew the names of all the characters. 
     No accounting for taste, I guess.  
    
                 -Rob
    
      

    Rob,
    
    You're not alone in your thoughts on Belle. My wife also feels that
    Belle and Ariel are similar...even after I pointed out that...
    
         - Ariel is an airhead and Belle is quite intelligent (after all
           her father is an inventor).
    
         - Ariel is probably 15-16 and Belle is 18-21.
    
         - Ariel's features are smaller than Belle's features (Belle has
           stronger cheekbones, thicker eyebrows, and fuller lips....that
           European look.
    
    Other than this feeling about Belle what else did you find about the
    film that puts you "...in the minority on this one."?
    
    Mike

    
       Mike,
    
           I guess I would have to say that I just was not thrilled with 
       the story.  It felt contrived, forced, and rushed. 
       I felt no connection with the Castle characters.  I
       guess I don't relate well to inanimate objects (candlesticks,clocks
       tea pots).  I didn't feel sorry for the beast at all.  Once again
       the animation was fantastic but even here I felt that the opening
       scenes were top notch and much attention was paid to details.  
       Much of the animation after this seems like less time and money 
       were spent.  I imagine that this kind of thing is normal and 
       quite common in full length animation but, I noticed it in this 
       film more than most.   The only song from the sound track that I
       can even recall is the one about Gaston and that is only because 
       his name was repeated constantly. 
       I think the Ariel-Belle thing is really only in the face, and that
       is what I did not like.  It looks like they just changed the hair 
       color on some Little Mermaid cells and said " look it's Belle". 
       Like I said I do seem to be in the minority with my opinions and 
       that is good for Disney.  I still don't see how ths film is going 
       to approach the profits made from TLM.  TLM merchandise is still
       selling.  I guess I wanted a new character from Disney, something 
       on the order of Sebastian, I didn't get it, or I somehow missed it.
    
                                     -Rob
     
    

    Well attached is the  complete lyrics to the songs from 'Beauty and the
    Beast' from Usenet, I have  deleted  replies  14,15,22 and 26 from this
    topic since they as a whole didn't include all the lyrics.
    
    Enjoy
    
    Claude
    
Article: 6101
From: quark@bucsf.bu.edu (Paul Fu)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Beauty and the Beast Lyrics
Date: 30 Jan 92 04:26:47 GMT
Sender: news@bu.edu
Organization: Boston University, School of Medicine/Dept. Computer Science
 
Attribution is as known.  Corroborated with vocal selections where
appropriate.  Errors to 'quark@bucsf.bu.edu' 
 
paul
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
				Lyrics 
				 from
 
			  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
 
			  Music by Alan Menken
			 Lyrics by Howard Ashman
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From: quark@bucsf.bu.edu (Paul Fu, Jr.)
 
                               "Prologue"
 
NARRATOR
Once upon a time,
In a far away land,
A young Prince lived in a shining castle.
Although he had everything his heart desired,
the Prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind.
 
But then, one winter's night,
an old beggar woman came and offered him a single rose
 in return for shelter from the bitter cold.
Repulsed by her haggard appearance, 
the Prince sneered at the Gift,
and turned the old woman away.
 
But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances,
for Beauty is found within.
And when he dismissed her again,  
the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.
 
The prince tried to apologize,
but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart.
And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast 
 and placed a powerful spell upon the castle and all who lived there.
 
Ashamed of his monstrous form,
the Beast concealed himself inside his castle,
with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.
 
The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose,
which would bloom unitl his twenty-first year.
 
If he could learn to love another,
and earn their* love in return by the time the last petal fell,
Then the spell would be broken.
 
If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.
 
As the years past, 
he fell into despair and lost all hope, 
 
For who could ever learn to love .... a beast.
 
 
(* in the movie, changed to "her")
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From : Brian Soriano (NQIY@vax5.cit.cornell.edu)
	 Kathy Li aka the Rev. Mom (celit!shipit.fps.com/kathy@UCSD.EDU)
			       	
                               "Belle"
			
			Belle: Paige O' Hara
			Gaston: Richard White
		
BELLE
Little town, it's a quiet village.
Ev'ry day like the one before.
Little town, full of little people,
waking up to say:
 
TOWNSPERSON 1-5
Bonjour! Bonjour!
Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour!
 
BELLE
There goes the baker with his tray, like always,
the same old bread and rolls to sell.
Ev'ry morning just the same,
since the morning that we came,
to this poor provincial town.
 
	BAKER: Good morning, Belle!
	BELLE: 'Morning monsieur.
	BAKER: Where are you off to?
	BELLE: The bookshop. I just finished the most wonderful story--about a 
	       beanstalk and an ogre and a...
	BAKER: That's nice. Marie, the baguettes! Hurry up!
 
WOMEN
Look, there she goes-
That girl is strange, no question.
Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
 
WOMAN
Never part of any crowd.
 
BARBER
'Cause her head's upon some cloud.
 
TOWNSPEOPLE
No denying she's a funny girl that Belle!
 
MAN 1                  WOMAN1
Bonjour!
                       Good day!
How is your family?
 
WOMAN2                 MAN2
Bonjour!
		       Good day!
How is your wife?
 
WOMAN 3		       MAN3
I need six eggs!
		       That's too expensive!
 
BELLE
There must be more than this provincial life!
 
	LIBRARIAN: Ah, Belle!
	BELLE: Good morning! I've come to return the book I borrowed.
	LIBRARIAN: Finished already?	
	BELLE: Oh, I couldn't put it down. Have you got anything new?
	LIBRARIAN: Not since yesterday!
	BELLE: That's allright. I'll borrow...this one.
	LIBRARIAN: That one? But you've read it twice!
	BELLE: Well, it's my favorite! Far off places, daring swordfights, 
	       magic spells, a prince in disguise!
	LIBRARIAN: If you like it all that much, it's yours.
	BELLE: But sir!
	LIBRARIAN: I insist!
	BELLE: Well, thank you. Thank you very much!
 
MEN
Look, there she goes.
The girl is so peculiar!
I wonder if she's feeling well.
 
WOMEN
With a dreamy, far off look,
 
MEN
and her nose stuck in a book,
 
TOWNSPEOPLE
what a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle!
 
BELLE
Now isn't this amazing! 
It's my favorite part because--you'll see!
Here's where she meets Prince Charming.
But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!
 
CUSTOMER
Now it's no wonder that her name means 'Beauty'.
Her looks have got no parallel.
 
SHOPKEEPER
But behind that fair facade, I'm afraid she's rather odd.
Very different from the rest of us,
 
TOWNSPEOPLE
She's nothing like the rest of us.
Yes, different from the rest of us is Belle!
 
	LEFOU: Wow! You didn't miss a shot, Gaston. You're the greatest hunter
 	       in the whole world!
	GASTON: I know.
	LEFOU: No beast alive stands a chance against you-- and no girl for 
	       that matter.
	GASTON: It's true, Lefou. And I've got my sights set on that one.
	LEFOU: The inventor's daughter?
	GASTON: She's the one-- the lucky girl I'm going to marry.
	LEFOU: But she's...
	GASTON: The most beautiful girl in town.
	LEFOU: I know, but...
	GASTON: That makes her the best! And don't I deserve the best?
	LEFOU:	Well, of course. I mean you do, but...
 
GASTON
Right from the moment when I met her, saw her,
I said, "She's gorgeous" and I fell.
Here in town there's only she who is beautiful as me.
So I'm making plans to woo and marry Belle!
 
WOMEN
Look there he goes. 
Isn't he dreamy?
Monsieur Gaston, oh he's so cute!
Be still, my heart, I'm hardly breathing.
He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute!
 
TOWNSPEOPLE	GASTON		TOWNSPEOPLE
Bonjour!
		Pardon!
Good day!	
				Mais, oui.
You call this bacon?
				What lovely grapes!
Some cheese,
				Ten yards!		
one pound!
		'scuse me!
I'll get the knife.
		Please let me through!
This bread,
				Those fish,
it's stale!
				they smell!
Madame's mistaken.
 
BELLE							TOWNSPEOPLE
There must be more than this provincial life!		Well, maybe so X X X
 
GASTON
Just watch, I'm going to make Belle my wife!		X X X X
 
TOWNSPEOPLE
Look, there she goes. 
The girl is strange, but special.
A most peculiar mademoiselle!
It's a pity and a sin she doesn't quite fit in.
But she really is a funny girl.
A beauty but a funny girl.
She really is a funny girl, that Belle!
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From : Brian Soriano (NQIY@vax5.cit.cornell.edu)
	 Kathy Li aka the Rev. Mom (celit!shipit.fps.com/kathy@UCSD.EDU
			       
   			     "Belle [Reprise]"
				
			Belle: Paige O' Hara
			
 
	BELLE: Is he gone? Can you imagine, he asked me to marry him! Me, the 
	      wife of that boorish, brainless...
 
"Madame Gaston"-- can't you just see it?
"Madame Gaston"-- his "little wife".
No sir, not me! I guarantee it.
I want much more than this provincial life!
 
I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.
I want it more than I can tell.
And for once it might be grand,
to have someone understand.
I want so much more than they've got planned...
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From : quark@bucsf.bu.edu (Paul Fu Jr.)
 
			     "Gaston"
				
			Gaston: Richard White
			Lefou: Jesse Corti
			CHORUS
 
	GASTON:  Who does she think she is?!
		 That girl has tangled with the wrong man!
		 No one says "no" to Gaston!
	LEFOU:	 Darn right!
	GASTON:	 Dismissed!  Rejected!  Publically humiliated!
		 Why, it's more than I can bear.
	LEFOU:   More beer?
	GASTON:  What for?  Nothing helps.  I'm disgraced.
	LEFOU:   Who you?  Never!  Gaston, you've got to pull 
		 yourself together!
 
LEFOU
Gosh, it disturbs me to see you Gaston,
Looking so down in the dumps.
Ev'ry guy here'd love to be you, Gaston,
even when taking your lumps.
There's no man in town as admired as you,
You're everyone's favorite guy.
Everyone's awed and inspired by you,
and it's not very hard to see why!
 
No one's slick as Gaston,
no one's quick as Gaston,
no one's neck as incredibly thick as Gaston's.
For there's no man in town half as manly,
Perfect, a pure paragon!
You can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley,
and they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on.
 
LEFOU and BEERDRINKERS
No one's been like Gaston,
a kingpin like Gaston,
No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston.
 
GASTON
As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating!
 
LEFOU and BEERDRINKERS
My, what a guy, that Gaston!
 
Give five "hurrahs!"
Give twelve "hip hips!"
Gaston is the best and the rest is all drips.
 
No one fights like Gaston,
Douses lights like Gaston,
 
BEERDRINKER 1
In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gaston.
 
THREE BLONDES
For there's no one as burly and brawny.
 
GASTON
As you see I've got biceps to spare.
 
LEFOU
Not a bit of him scraggly or scrawny,
 
GASTON
That's right!
And every last inch of me's covered with hair.
 
BEERDRINKERS
No one hits like Gaston,
 
OTHER BEERDRINKERS
Matches wits like Gaston,
 
LEFOU
In a spitting match nobody spits like Gaston.
 
GASTON
I'm especially good at expectorating!
Ptoooie!
 
ALL
Ten points for Gaston!
 
GASTON
When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs
every morning to help me get large.
And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs
so I'm roughly the size of a barge!
 
ALL
No one shoots like Gaston,
Makes those beauts like Gaston.
 
LEFOU
Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Gaston.
 
GASTON
I use antlers in all of my decorating!
 
GROUP of BEERDRINKERS 
Say it again!
 
ANOTHER GROUP of BEERDRINKERS
Who's a man among men
 
FIRST GROUP
And let's say it once more.
 
SECOND GROUP
Who's that hero next door?
 
ALL
Who's a super success?
Don't you know?
Can't you guess?
Ask his fans and his five hangers-on.
There's just one guy in town,
Who's got all of it down!
 
LEFOU (*)
And his name's 
G-A-S-...T...
G-A-S-T-E...
G-A-S-T-O...
Oh!
 
ALL
Gaston!
 
(*) not in movie.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From : quark@bucsf.bu.edu (Paul Fu, Jr.)
 
			     "Gaston [Reprise]"
 
			Gaston: Richard White
			Lefou: Jesse Corti
 
	MAURICE: Help! Someone help me!
	INNKEEPER : Maurice?
	MAURICE: Please!  Please!  I need your help!
		 He's got her, he's got her locked in the dungeon
	LEFOU: Who?
	MAURICE: Belle!  We must go!  Not a minute to lose!
	GASTON: Whoa!  Slow down Maurice!  Who's got Belle locked in
		a dungeon?
	MAURICE: A Beast!  A horrible, monstrous Beast!
	BEERDRINKERS: <heckle at MAURICE>
	BEERDRINKER ONE: Is it a big Beast?
	MAURICE: Huge!
	BEERDRINKER TWO: With a long, ugly snout?
	MAURICE: Hideously ugly!
	BEERDRINKER THREE: And sharp, cruel fangs?
	MAURICE: Yes, yes!  Will you help me?
	GASTON: All right, old man.  We'll help you out.
	MAURICE: You will?  Oh, thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!
		[Maurice is expelled]
	INKEEPER: Crazy old Maurice!
	BEERDRINKER ONE: He's always good for a laugh.
	GASTON:  Crazy old Maurice.  Hmmmmm.  Crazy old Maurice.  Hmm.
 
GASTON
Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking.
 
LEFOU
A dangerous pastime,
 
GASTON
I know.
But that wacky old coot is Belle's father,
and his sanity's only "so-so".
Now the wheels in my head have been turning,
since I looked at that loony old man.
See, I promised myself I'd be married to Belle,
and right now I'm evolving a plan!
 
(to Lefou)				LEFOU
If I .... (whisper) ...			
					Yes!
Then we'd ... (whisper) ...	
					No!  Would she?
.... (whisper) ... Guess!	
					Now I get it!
 
BOTH
Let's go!
No one plots like Gaston,
Takes cheap shots like Gaston,
Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston.
 
CHORUS
So his marriage we soon will be celebrating!
My, what a guy!
Gaston!
				
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From : Brian Soriano (NQIY@vax5.cit.cornell.edu)
	 Kathy Li aka the Rev. Mom (celit!shipit.fps.com/kathy@UCSD.EDU      
 
                             "Be Our Guest"
 
			Lumiere: Jerry Orbach
			Mrs. Potts: Angela Lansbury
 
 
	LUMIERE: Ma chere mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest 
		pleasure that we welcome you tonight.  And now, we invite you 
		to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly 
		presents...your dinner.
 
Be our guest.  Be our guest.
Put our service to the test.
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie,
and we provide the rest.
Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres.
Why, we only live to serve!
Try the gray stuff, it's delicious.
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!
They can sing, they can dance.
After all, miss, this is France.
And a dinner here is never second best.
Go on, unfold your menu.
Take a glance and then you'll be our guest.
Oui, our guest. Be our guest!
 
LUMIERE AND CHORUS
Beef ragout, cheese souffle.
Pie and pudding en flambe.
 
LUMIERE
We'll prepare and serve with flair a culinary cabaret!
You're alone and you're scared, 
but the banquet's all prepared.
No one's gloomy or complaining,
while the flatware's entertaining!
We tell jokes. I do tricks,
with my fellow candlesticks.
 
BEERSTEINS
Und it's all in perfect taste that you can bet.
 
LUMIERE AND CHORUS
Come on and lift your glass.
You've won your own free pass,
to be our guest.
 
LUMIERE
If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest!
 
LUMIERE AND CHORUS
Be our guest. Be our guest. Be our guest!
 
LUMIERE
Life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving.
He's not whole without a soul to wait upon.
Ah, those good old days when we were useful.
Suddenly those good old days are gone.
Ten years we've been rusting,
needing so much more than dusting.
Needing exercise, a chance to use our skill.
Most days we just lay around the castle.
Flabby, fat and lazy,
you walked in and oops-a-daisy!
 
MRS. POTTS
It's a guest! It's a guest!
Sakes alive, well, I'll be blessed!
Wine's been poured and thank the Lord,
I've had the napkins freshly pressed.
With dessert, she'll need more tea.
And, my dear, that's fine with me.
While the cups do their soft-shoein'
I'll be bubblin'!  I'll be brewin'!
I'll get warm, piping hot.
Heavens sake, is that a spot?
Clean it up! We want the company impressed.
We've got a lot to do! 
Is it one lump or two?		CHORUS
For you, our guest.		She's our guest!
She's our guest!		Be our guest!
 
CHORUS
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Our command is your request.
It's ten years since we've had anybody here, 
and we're obsessed!
With your meal, with your ease,
yes, indeed, we aim to please.
While the candlelight's still glowing,
Let us help you, we'll keep going!
 
LUMIERE AND CHORUS
Course by course, one by one!
'Till you shout, "Enough, I'm done!"
Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest.
Tonight you'll prop your feet up!
But for now, let's eat up!
Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!
Please be our guest!
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From: pb2i+@andrew.cmu.edu (Pamela J. Bernhardt)
 
			     "Something There"
 
			Belle: Paige O'Hara
			Beast: Robby Benson
			Mrs. Potts: Angela Lansbury
			Lumiere: Jerry Orbach
			Cogsworth: David Ogden Stiers
 
BELLE
There's something sweet,
and almost kind,
but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined.
And now he's dear,
and so I'm sure,
I wonder why I didn't see it there before.
 
BEAST
She glanced this way,
I thought I saw.
And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw.
No, it can't be,
I'll just ignore,
But then she's never looked at me that way before.
 
BELLE
New, and a bit alarming!
Who'd have ever thought that this could be!
True, that he's no Prince Charming,
but there's something in him that I simply didn't see.
 
LUMIERE
Well, who'd have thought!
 
MRS. POTTS
Well, bless my soul!
 
COGSWORTH
Well, who'd have known?
 
MRS POTTS  
Well, who indeed!
 
LUMIERE
And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?
 
MRS. POTTS				LUMIERE
It's so peculiar,		
Wait and see				We'll, wait and see
 
LUMIERE and MRS. POTTS and COGSWORTH
A few days more.
There may be something there
That wasn't there before.
 
COGSWORTH
'Ere*, perhaps there's something there
That wasn't there before.
 
MRS.POTTS
There may be something there
That wasn't there before.
 
* in vocal selections, "You know,"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
			     "The Mob Song"
 
			Gaston: Richard White
			Belle: Paige O'Hara
			Cogsworth: David Ogden Stiers
			Lumiere: Jerry Orbach
			Mrs. Potts: Angela Lansbury
 
	GASTON:	The Beast will make off with your children! 
		[Crowd gasps.]  He'll come after them in the night!
	BELLE: No!
	GASTON:  We're not safe til his head is mounted on my wall!
		 I say we kill the Beast!
	MOB: Kill the Beast!
 
MAN ONE
We're not safe until he's dead!
 
MAN TWO
He'll come stalking us at night!
 
WOMAN
Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!
 
MAN THREE
He'll wreak havoc on our village,
if we let him wander free!
 
GASTON
So it's time to take some action, boys!
It's time to follow me!
 
Through the mist, through the woods
Through the darkness and the shadows
It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride!
Say a prayer, then we're there
At the drawbridge of a castle
And there's something truly terrible inside:
It's a beast!--He's got fangs, razor sharp ones!
Massive paws, killer claws for the feast!
Hear him roar!  See him foam!
But we're not coming home,
'Til he's dead!!!
Good and dead!
Kill the Beast!
 
	BELLE: No!  I won't let you do this!
	GASTON: If you're not with us, you're against us!  
		Bring the old man!
	MAURICE: Get your hands off me!
	GASTON: We can't have them running off to warn the creature!
	BELLE: (muffled) Let us out!
	GASTON: We'll rid the village of this Beast!  Who's with me?!? 
	VARIOUS:  I am!!            I am!!!
			   I am!!
 
VILLAGERS
Light your torch!
Mount your horse!
 
GASTON
Screw your courage to the sticking place!
 
VILLAGERS
We're counting on Gaston to lead the way!
 
WOMEN
Through a mist, through a wood,
Where within a haunted castle,
Something's lurking that you don't see every day.
 
VILLAGERS
It's a beast!  One as tall as a mountain,
We won't rest 'til he's good and deceased!
Sally forth! Tally ho!
Grab your sword!  Grab your bow!
Praise the Lord and here we go!
 
	GASTON: We'll lay seige to the castle and bring back his head!
	BELLE: I have to warn the Beast!  This is all my fault!  
		Oh, Papa, what are we going to do?
	MAURICE: Now, now, we'll think of something...
 
VILLAGERS
We don't like what we don't understand
in fact, that scares us
And this monster is mysterious at least!
 
MEN
Bring your guns! Bring your knives!
Save your children and your wives!
We'll save our village and our lives!
We'll kill the Beast!
 
	COGSWORTH: I knew it. I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up.
	LUMIERE: Maybe it would have been better if she'd never come at
		 all!  Could it be?
	MRS POTTS: Is it she?
	LUMIERE: Sacre bleu!  Invaders!
	COGSWORTH: Encroachers!
	MRS POTTS: And they have the mirror!
	COGSWORTH: Warn the master!  If it's a fight they want, we'll 
		   be ready for them!!  Who's with me?!
 
	GASTON: Take whatever booty you can find, but remember, 
		the Beast is MINE!
 
CASTLEWARE
Lights ablaze, banners high,
We go marching into battle,
unafraid, although the danger just increased.
 
VILLAGERS
Raise the flag!  Sing the song!
Here we come, we're fifty strong
And fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong!
Let's kill the Beast!
 
	MRS POTTS: Pardon me, master...
	BEAST: Leave me in peace.
	MRS POTTS: But, sir!--The castle is under attack!
 
VILLAGERS
Kill the Beast!  Kill the Beast!
 
	LUMIERE: This isn't working!
	FEATHERDUSTER: But, Lumiere, we must do something!
	LUMIERE: Wait, I know!
 
VILLAGERS
Kill the Beast!
Kill the Beast!
 
	POTTS: What shall we do, Master?
	BEAST: It doesn't matter, now.  Just let them come.
 
VILLAGERS
KILL THE BEAST!
KILL THE BEAST!
KILL THE BEAST!
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* From: demirtjis@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Ann Demirtjis)
 
		     "Beauty and the Beast"
 
		Mrs. Potts: Angela Lansbury
 
		Tale as old as time,
		True as it can be.
		Barely even friends,
		Then somebody bends
		Unexpectedly.
 
		Just a little change,
		Small, to say the least.
		Both a little scared,
		Neither one prepared,
		Beauty and the Beast
 
		Ever just the same.
		Ever a surprise.
		Ever as before,
		Ever just as sure
		As the sun will rise.
 
		Tale as old as time
		Tune as old as song.
		Bittersweet and strange,
		Finding you can change,
		Learning you were wrong.
		
		Certain as the sun
		Rising in the East.
		Tale as old as time,
		Song as old as rhyme.
		Beauty and the Beast.
 
		Tale as old as time,
		Song as old as rhyme,
		Beauty and the Beast.
 
	Mrs. Potts: Off to the cupboard with you now, Chip.  It's
		    past your bedtime.  Goodnight, love.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
--
 
| Paul Fu, Jr.	| 	"And they said grad school was easier..."	|
| Boston Unversity - School of Medicine	and College of Liberal Arts	|
| Internet: quark@bucsf.bu.edu	or ...@bu-pub.bu.edu			|

    LEt's see...
    
    
    ....pretty much caught up on work....
    
        ....my daughter is done with her mid-year exams....
    
            .....I've got a bit O' the Itis....
    
                 .....maybe I'll take a half-day this afternoon and....
    
                      ....take in a movie!

    This just in...
    
    "Beauty and the Beast" just received a nomination for Best Picture in
    the Academy Awards in such company as "Bugsy", "JFK", "The Prince of
    Tides" and "The Silence of the Lambs".
    
    It's first time an animated film has ever been nomianted.
    
    Yeeeeeehhhhaaaaaaaa!!!!
    
    - Skip

    And there was clapping in the audience when "Beauty.." was named. I
    believe the picture got 6 nominations in all.
    
    The reason why animated films never receive best picture nominations is
    because the audience is watching drawings and not people, although
    let's face it, the voices in this picture made a difference.
    
    Mike

    Mike,
    
    Do you have the other nominations??  The only one they had on the radio
    this morning was its nomination for Best Picture.
    
    If it received a total of 6, I can guess that it was nominated for Best
    Orginal Score, Best Original Song (Theme from "Beauty and the Beast",
    "Be Our Guest") and maybe technical awards such as Best Sound, Best
    Sound Effects Editing...
    
    - Skip

    These are the nominees for the awards :-
    
        Best Picture
            Beauty & the Beast
            Bugsy
            JFK
            The Prince of Tides
            Silence of the Lambs
            
        Best Actor
            Warren Beatty - Bugsy
            Robert Deniro - Cape Fear
            Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
            Nick Nolte - The Prince of Tides
            Robin Williams - The Fisher King
            
        Best Actress
            Geena Davis - Thelma & Louise
            Laura Dern - Ramblin' Rose
            Jodie Foster - Silence of the Lambs
            Bette Midler - 
            Susan Sarandon - Thelma & Louise
            
        Best Director
            Boyz and  the Hoods
            Bugsy
            JFK
            Silence of the Lambs
            Thelma & Louise
            
        Best Supporting Actor
            Tommy Lee Jones - JFK
            Harvey Keitel - Bugsy
            Ben Kingsley - Bugsy
            Michael Lerner - Barton Fink
            Jack Palance - City Slickers
            
        Best Supporting Actress
            Dianne Ladd - Ramblin' Rose
            Juliet Larson - Cape Fear
            Kate Nelligan - The Prince of Tides
            Mercedes Rule - The Fisher King
            Jessica Tandy - Fried Green Tomatoes
    
    - see EOT::MOVIES 3846.* for more info.

    re: .50
    
    Re-reading .49, I see that my question wasn't clear.  What I was (and
    still am) looking for is what other nominations "B&tB" received??
    
    Most likely, they'll be in tomorrow's Globe and I'll post them here
    (assuming of course, that anyone besides me is interested...).
    
    - Skip

    Beauty and  the  Beast received a total of Six (6) Oscar nominations in
    the following Four (4) categories
    
        Best Picture

        Best Score

        Best Sound

        Original Songs
          Beauty and the Beast
          Belle
          Be Our Guest
    

Article: 6490
From: talevy@aristotles.rutgers.edu (Tre)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Nominations for Beauty and the Beast and the competition...
Date: 19 Feb 92 20:56:53 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
 
 
Here is the nominations I lifted from clari news (a UPI service).
I edited out the other awards, after all, we are only concerned with
the important stuff! ;) 
Enjoy:
 
 
	BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (UPI) -- Nominations for the 64th Annual Academy
Awards, announced Wednesday:
	Best picture -- ``Beauty and the Beast''; ``Bugsy''; ``JFK''; ``The
Prince of Tides''; ``The Silence of the Lambs.''
 
	Best Music -- Alan Menken, ``Beauty and the Beast''; Ennio Morricone,
``Bugsy''; George Fenton, ``The Fisher King''; John Williams, ``JFK'';
James Newton Howard, ``The Prince of Tides.''
 
	Best song -- ``Beauty And The Beast'' from ``Beauty and the Beast''; 
``Belle'' from ``Beauty and the Beast''; ``Be Our Guest'' from ``Beauty
and the Beast''; ``(Everything I Do) I Do It For You'' from ``Robin
Hood: Prince of Thieves''; ``When You're Alone'' from ``Hook.''
''
	Best sound -- ``Backdraft''; ``Beauty and the Beast''; ``JFK''; ``The
Silence of the Lambs''; ``Terminator 2: Judgment Day.''
 
 
 
***********If I had a wish, I'd trade it in for a star*****************
 
 
					-Theresa Levy
					 talevy@hardees.rutgers.edu

    Thanks, Claude, for posting its nominations and its competition in each
    category.  
    
    At first glance, it seems a shoe-in for Best Original Song but I hope
    that having three different songs nominated doesn't split the vote and
    allow "Everything I Do..." from "Robin Hood" to win.  I really hope it
    wins in this category (and Best Picture, too, of course) because from
    everything I've read, Howard Ashman did much more than write the lyrics
    to the songs.  He was more of a creative force behind the whole
    project.  And it'd great if the Academy recognized him with another
    award (granted, posthuomously).
    
    Well, now we wait and toon in on March 30th to see how the Academy
    votes...
    
    - Skip

    Skip,
    
    I too am afraid that the three songs may very well split the vote. I
    personally like "Be Our Guest" the best of the three....I like "Gaston"
    too but it wasn't nominated.
    
    I think that one of the three songs will win it and I think "Be Our
    Guest" has a shot because maybe the voters will remember the film
    footage during the song. 
    
    These songs have captured more people than the "Mermaid" songs so they
    have a good shot.
    
    I wonder if Eisner is telling the animators, "Today the nomination,
    tomorrow the Oscar" when visiting them as they work on "Alladin".
    
    Mike

    I hate to be blasphemous but, I hope Bryan Adams wins and then Disney
    can have all the other Oscars.  I'm Canadian so I want Bryan to win.
    
    Regards,
    JP

    Set Mod
    
    Del Note
    
    ;^)

Article: 6534
From: Chris.Harrower@cpanet.UUCP (Chris Harrower)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: IMPORTANT VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENT!
Date: 20 Feb 92 06:05:24 GMT
Sender: FredMail@cpanet.UUCP
 
From the February 21, 1992 edition of "Video Business"
 
Magazine...
 
 
Buena Vista Home Video will offer retailers merchandise from
 
Disney's 101 Dalmatians as part of a promotions package tied to
 
the release of Touchstone rental titles "Billy Bathgate" and
 
"Deceived" on April 1.  This is the first time Buena Vista has
 
combined in a single promotion two of its labels, as well as
 
rental and sell-through releases.
 
 
Separately, Video Business has learned from reliable sources that
 
Disney's "Beauty And The Beast" is scheduled for a November, 1992
 
release at $24.99. With over $100 million in box-office receipts,
 
the acclaimed film has become Hollywood's biggest-grossing
 
animated feature, surpassing the previous record holder, Disney's
 
Little Mermaid.  In addition, Beauty And The Beast has become the
 
first animated feature to be nominated for best picture honors at
 
the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Oscar" awards.
 
 
In it's recent 1991 Annual Report, Disney chairman Michael Eisner
 
wrote in his letter to shareholders,"...someday the home video of
 
Beauty And The Beast will sell 20 million cassettes worldwide the
 
way Fantasia is now doing."
 
 
BV spokesman Steve Feldstein told VB, "We have made no decision
 
on the video release of Beauty And The Beast."
 
 
()_()     Chris Harrower  1:270/417@fidonet.org
 (_)   The Ink And Paint Club BBS   (717) 295-4633
 
 * Origin: The Ink And Paint Club (1:270/417)

I thought that B&tB was good rather than excellent. 

The songs were practically forgettable after enjoying the wittier, catchier 
show tunes featured in "The Little Mermaid".  The only memorable tune in 
B&tB, for me anyway, was the beautiful love theme which plays over the credits
(and is currently in the top 40.)

Robbie Benson's natural singing voice during the duet featuring Belle and the 
beast was highly distracting, and the only perceived 'flaw' that made me suspend
disbelief while watching the movie.  One might say that Robbie's voice 
abruptly "stepped out of character".  The duet would have been more effective 
had Robbie's singing voice been electronically altered, as was the case with 
his speaking voice.

As mentioned in a previous reply, as likable as Belle was, I found her too 
much like Ariel, and therefore still don't understand Belle's reputation as 
the strongest female lead in Disney's library of animated features.  I was 
surprised to learn that Jodi mumblemumble did not perform the voices of both 
characters.  She may as well have.

While on the topic of Deja Vu, did anyone else notice that David Ogden Stiers
'borrowed' John Houseman's "Paper Chase" voice and persona for the part of 
the clock?  I liked Stiers on "MASH", but he robbed Houseman's bones in lieu
of dreaming up an original characterization for B&tB.  

Although much of the animation was spectacular, portions of the film
(such as 'external' scenes involving townspeople, and in particular the 
synchronization of dialogue with animated lips) were not as good as I 
had expected to see.  On the other hand, the stained-glass scene featured 
at the start of the film was so well done, I wondered if real stained glass 
was filmed and overlaid with animation.

Despite generic show tunes, inconsistent animation (which I had read about 
and fully expected), and the unoriginal characterizations of Belle and the 
clock, B&tB features clever work with enchanted objects, and is certainly 
worth taking in.  Chip alone is worth the price of admission!

Shawn

    I hadn't heard anything about Robbie Benson's voice being
    electronically altered.
    
    As a matter of fact I saw an interview with Benson and he did the voice
    of the beast during the interview.
    
    Mike

    I agree with Mike - I saw an interview on the Disney Channel where
    Benson said "he's had this voice inside him for a long time.  And
    finally has a chance to let it out."
    
    Kathy
    

    I saw that interview with Robbie during the weekend Disney was
    descrambled.  He can make a gruff sounding voice if asked to do so, 
    but it just isn't the same voice heard in B&tB.  That is not meant to 
    knock Robbie at all, because assisted or not, I think that he did an 
    excellent job with his character.  His natural singing voice contrasts 
    too sharply with his "beast" speaking voice in the film, that's all.
    
    Robert Englund (the actor who plays Freddie Kruger in the "Nightmare 
    On Elmstreet" series) also attempts to recreate his "Freddie" voice 
    without technical assistance on request during radio and TV interviews, 
    but he really can't effectively recreate the voice on his own, either.
    
    Shawn 
                                                             

    To get back to .59... I agree that I was surprised at the lack of
    attention paid to lipsyncing the characters to the voice-overs. A lot
    of it wasn't even close: especially in the close-ups of the characters.
    For instance, when Mrs. Potts is singing while B&tB dance, there seems
    to be no relationship between lip movement and Angela Lansbury's voice.
    
    I did think the backgrounds were excellent. I agree about the stained
    glass in the church.. phenomenal! 
    
    Also, I wasn't impressed with the looks of any of the characters at the
    end of the picture (I won't give the ending away). I think Glen Keane
    did a great job with the Beast, but it didn't seem like the same effort
    was put into the other characters.
    
    Am I missing something ? Best picture of the year ? Did you folks think
    so?? I thought the plot was rather skimpy, and the depth of the
    characters shallow. 
    
     

    Regarding the characters at the end of the movie:  
    
    I hope that I'm not giving too much away if I note that Mrs. Potts 
    was drawn as a _very_ elderly woman with a _very_ young son.  Since
    the movie is a fantasy, I was willing to believe anything, but
    this was another case of [what appeared to be] an oversight.
                                                                          
    The Prince was drawn rather primitively compared with other characters, too.
    
    Shawn

    re: lips not synched
    
    I didn't notice this in the two times I've seen "B&tB".  It seems like
    something that would bother me though.  It's possible that the guilty
    party is the projection system.  I've seen a couple of films ("Bird On
    A Wire" was one) where the sound was off by a bit.  I don't know what
    caused this to happen but it was most annoying.
    
    re: Cogsworth and John Houseman
    
    The reason why Cogsworth seems a bit like John Houseman is that the
    lead animator, Will Finn, used Houseman's "Paper Chase" character as
    part of the inspiration for him.  He also used Ogden-Stiers himself,
    John Cleese in "Fawlty Towers" and John Gielgud as inspirations for the
    character.  I think Cogsworth isn't so much John Houseman as he is a
    character who fancies himself as a John Houseman but cannot maintain
    that kind of control in running the castle.  Very similar in some ways
    to Cleese's Basil Fawlty.
    
    re: transformed characters
    
    I have to agree that the people the enchanted objects transform back
    into aren't nearly as interesting as the objects themselves.  A perfect
    example of this is the Beast himself.  The Beast is such a great
    character, both in how he's drawn and portrayed, that the Prince
    doesn't even come close.  In fact, he looks pretty boring.  But I can
    understand this because we only see the Prince and everyone else
    transformed at the very end and their enchanted counterparts appear
    throughout the rest of the film.  So naturally, more time and effort
    was put into crafting their appearances and I can't really fault them
    for that.
    
    re: the songs
    
    Yes, "Belle's Song" bears more than a passing resemblance to Ariel's
    "Part of Your World" from "TLM".  But if you go back a bit further,
    that song sounds very much like "Somewhere That's Green" from another
    Ashman-Menken collaboration, "Little Shop of Horrors".
    
    On the whole, I think the songs fit.  True, there's no "Under the Sea"
    or "Kiss the Girl" but the love theme sung while they're dancing in the
    ballroom helps to create a wonderful scene that I don't think would be
    possible without it.
    
    re: the Oscars
    
    There is no doubt in my mind that "B&tB" was nominated for two reasons: 
    1) the competition was weak (there haven't been a lot of really great
    films) and 2) the Disney Marketing Machine.  Also, it seems that lately
    the Academy voters are beginning to acknowledge films that are popular
    with the masses.  For example, last year, they nominated "Ghost",
    sharing the category with "Dances With Wolves" and "Goodfellas".  I
    don't expect "B&tB" to win but as a Disney and animation fan, it'd sure
    be nice to see.  
    
    Disney has made better animated films than "B&tB" and they were never
    nominated.  But the timing was right for "B&tB".
    
    Well, there, I've babbled on long enough...
    
    - Skip

    If you loved her voice in "Mermaid..." if you loved it even more as
    Belle in "Beauty..." then you want to tune in to Larry King Live
    tonight on CNN to see Paige O'Hara. I believe she'll only be on for
    half the show....and I don't know which half.
    
    Mike

    Ummm, Mike, I know you know this but Jodi Benson was the voice of Ariel
    in "The Little Mermaid", not Paige O'Hara.
    
    But you reminded me of something else.  The Oscar telecast is Monday
    night and Paige O'Hara (Belle), Richard White (Gaston), and Jerry
    Orbach (Lumiere) are scheduled to perform BatB's nominated songs during
    the show.  O'Hara and White will sing "Belle"; Orbach, "Be Our Guest". 
    This info is from TV Guide and I didn't see any reference to who will
    be performing the love theme, which is also nominated.
    
    It should be a treat for fans tuning in to root for "Beauty and the
    Beast"...
    
    - Skip

    Heh, heh. This was a test and noone fell for it.
    
    Paige O'Hara, like Skip said, did the voice of Belle but not Ariel.
    
    Good for you Skip.
    
    I guess the only sure thing for the Oscars is that "Beauty..." will
    scoff up some music Oscars.
    
    Mike_who_has_been_known_to_be_sneaky

Will Angela Lansbury be doing the title song for the Oscars?

   Gary

	Could be.  I saw some footage this morning on CBS where Paige O'Hara
(that's her name right?) was rehearsing for the number from the movie where 
Belle is signing near a fountain so maybe Miss Lansbury will be performing 
the title song.  The one thing I can be sure about is that Beauty And The
Beast will win little gold guys for it's music!

Tom

    Well, BatB got Oscars in 2 out of the 4 it was nominated for! Not 
    too bad. I didn't think it stood much chance in the 'Best Picture' 
    category anyway.
    
    The Oscars it received were Best Original Song for "Beauty and The 
    Beast" - a fitting tribute to the late Howard Ashman, and Best 
    Original Score.
    
    For those of you cut off from civilisation, Silence of the Lambs 
    took 5 - Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins, British winners for three 
    years running. Do we get to keep it yet?), Best Actress (Jody 
    Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Picture and Best 
    Adapted Screenplay.
    
    Your Early Bird Moderator,
    
    Mike B.

    For our wedding anniversary my wife gave me a "Beauty and The Beast"
    bath towel to use after I run at lunch every day and a hardcover copy
    of "Beauty and the Beast", Inside the cover she wrote. "To Disney's
    #1 Fan".
    
    Actually there are thousands of #1 fans.

    B&TB is still at the forefront down in WDW. I sense this from my recent
    call to the CRO in which I  was listening to "Something There" when I
    was put on hold.
    
    Mike

    The following is from USENET and it follows a thread that Claude posted
    to note 15, but this struck me as being pretty funny (sick guy that I
    am...).  Perfect for a Friday afternoon just before the long weekend...
    
    Have a good weekend, all!!
    
    - Skip
    
Article 8556 of rec.arts.disney:
Path: ryn.mro4.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!news.crl.dec.com!deccrl!caen!sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!ucla-cs!reiher
From: reiher@ficus.cs.ucla.edu (Peter Reiher)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: Upcoming features
Message-ID: <1992Sep4.180540.23495@cs.ucla.edu>
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 92 14:05:40 GMT-0:08
References: <37673@sdcc12.ucsd.edu>
Sender: usenet@cs.ucla.edu (Mr Usenet)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
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Nntp-Posting-Host: wells.cs.ucla.edu

In article <37673@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> rcook@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Robert Cook) writes:
>In article <Bu1Iq0.F40@world.std.com> andyi@world.std.com (Andy G Ihnatko) writes:
>>
>>You know, I always thought that Disney could do a great job adapting opera and
>>Shakespeare to animation...
>
>That's sounds like a great idea, except that I'd be a bit concerned
>about adapting from someone like Shakespeare.  
. . .
>MacBeth, for example, 

Sorry, I can't help myself.  A Disney animated version of "Macbeth" would
at least give them the perfect opportunity to reuse their recent song,
"Be Our Guest".  OK, so maybe they'd need some new lyrics, but *I*
think having Macbeth and his Lady singing it as they hack up Duncan could
be quite effective.  

	"Be our guest, be our guest, 
	 As we stab into your chest!  
	 Slide your body to the floor so 
	 We can chop away your torso!"

--
		Peter Reiher
		reiher@wells.cs.ucla.edu

    The catalogs for Sotheby's auction of the "BatB" cels are now available
    from your local Disney Store.  They're $20 a piece.  I know, because I
    picked one up last night.
    
    The catalogs are very nice and similar to what was done for the "Who
    Framed Roger Rabbit" and "The Little Mermaid" auctions.  That being
    said, I was a little disappointed with what was being offered for sale
    (not that I can afford it, anyways...).  Seeing as these are
    reproductions, not production cels, I expected to see more "favorites"
    (from my favorite sequences of the film).  
    
    But even so, it's a great addition to my animation library.  Now, one
    of those cels would make an even better addition...
    
    - Skip

    Just think gang...one more week before we get our hot little hands on
    the B&TB home video.
    
    I think I'm more exited about the Alladin trailer at the end of the
    tape than the tape itself.
    
    Mike

    re: .77
    
    >>Just think gang...one more week before we get our hot little hands on
    >>the B&TB home video.
    
    I can't wait... though, I'm getting very tempted to buy the deluxe
    edition for the "work-in-progress" video (and other extras).  It'd be a
    lock if I didn't already have the soundtrack.
    
    >>I think I'm more exited about the Alladin trailer at the end of the
    >>tape than the tape itself.
    
    Sacrilege!!  Infidel!!  Seize him!!  :-)
    
    By the by, the special BatB cels went on the auction block this past
    weekend and took in $1.25M total.  And the one, whose proceeds were
    being donated to an AIDS charity in memory of Howard Ashman, went for a
    whopping $44K (this very special cel also serves as the art for the
    auction catalog).
    
    Imagine what the take would have been if these were production cels...
    
    - Skip
    

Darn, I have to wait until I get back from my vacation to pick up
my copy! (Pre-ordered [?] by my S.O. for my birthday back in August!)

I'll be in Hawaii on the 27th.  Boo hoo!  :-)

							-- Nina

    Picked up  my  copy  at  the local Disney Store during lunch, seems the
    Salem store had  something  like 1,200 preorders.  Also the shipment of
    B&TB watches they recieved were defective so they were giving those who
    selected the watch the option of either waiting for the watches to come
    in or take the $5 gift  certificate.    Myself  I had taken the $5 gift
    certificate originaly and picked up a copy  of  101  Dalmations while I
    was at it (the $5 cretificated expire at the end of December).
    
    Claude

    I had second thoughts about the watch so I have no complaints about the
    $5 gift certificate.
    
    There was a bustling business at the Pheasant Lane Mall store too. As a
    matter of fact the B&TB soundtrack was playing over the Mall PA system
    while I was there.
    
    If you take the 1200 number that Claude mentioned and multiply that by
    the number of Disney Stores what do you get?
    
    A BIG smile on the face of Michael Eisner.
    
    Mike

    Well, I  viewed my copy last night, my only disapointment was that this
    should of been letterboxed, at least for the ballroom dance in order to
    get the full effect.

    I forgot all about  the  Lumiere/Duster  sequence behind the drape, and
    the lust scenery at the begining (Only remembered the stain glass)
        
    The Aladdin trailer (plus having a draft copy of the script) has got me
    itching like crazy with the old 'itis. I can't wait for Nov. 25th.
    
    Claude

    Check out the transformation scene. Is that real smoke?
    
    Mike

wow....I happened to walk into Richs in MRO and pick one up for
15.99$...they had hundreds - no line no wait ;-).

    Costco in Nashua has them for $14.88 (no BatB watch, though!)
    
    -sandy
    

    OSCO drug has them for 13.88.  You have to buy $10.00 worth or
    merchandise to get it for this price and use the coupon in their
    booklet.
    

BJ's in Westboro has them for $14.98.  Add 5% if you are not a member.

    
    	I just bought a copy for my niece yesterday at Shaw's in
    	Hudson for $14.98.  I believe that this is their regular 
    	price.  There were a bunch of them in a display case, to 
    	the left of the courtesy booth...
    
    	_Kathy.

RE    
>>    	I just bought a copy for my niece yesterday at Shaw's in
>>    	Hudson for $14.98.  
Thanks...I saw them there on Saturday and got one.  

    I was out sick yesterday so I took the time to re-watch my BatB video
    and I noticed what I think is a difference between the video and the
    original theatrical release.
    
    I could swear that when it was first released to theatres, near the end
    of "Gaston's Song", there was a bit where LeFou tries to spell out
    Gaston's name and doesn't quite get it right.  Well, in watching the
    video, the short bit is gone.  Anyone else notice this??  Anyone know
    why??  And is this bit on the "work-in-progress" tape from the deluxe
    edition??
    
    I should also mention that you can hear LeFou's "spelling bee" on the
    CD soundtrack as well.  But I'm more curious than anything else as to
    why they would cut out this harmless little scene...
    
    - Skip

    This is from the USA Today (12/3/92) without permission.
    
    	WHATTA BEAUTY: After one month in stores, Disney's Beauty and the
    Beast has become the best-selling video of all time, surpassing
    Fantasia.  Beauty's record is for actual sales, while Fantasia's old
    mark of 14.2 million copies was based on shipments to retailers(some
    copies remian in stores).  Fantasia's record was set last year under
    different cicumstances.  Disney told retailers they had 50 days to
    place orders, and after that, Fantasia never would be available again. 
    (Disney plans to release and updated version of the film, Fantasia
    Continued, in the mid- to late- 1990's.)  Disney hasn't released
    Beauty's total sales figures.
    

    "Beauty and the Beast" took home 5 Grammy awards a couple of weeks ago
    and they were in the following categories:
    
    Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal:
    	"Beauty and the Beast"
    	Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson
    
    Best Pop Instrumental Performance:
    	"Beauty and the Beast" from "Symphonic Hollywood"
    	Conducted by Richard Kaufman
    
    Best Album for Children
    	"Beauty and the Beast" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
    	Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, Walt Disney Records
    
    Best Intrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or
    Television:
    	"Beauty and the Beast" (instrumental score)
    	Alan Menken, composer
    
    Best Song Written specifically for  Motion Picture or Television:
    	"Beauty and the Beast" (single)
    	Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, Songwriters
    
    I don't know though, Alan Menken's mantle must be getting pretty full. 
    What does he have??  At least 4 Oscars and 4 or 5 Grammies.  I hope
    he's left some room for "Aladdin"... :-)
    
    - Skip

    Also from rec.art.disney is news that "Beauty and the Beast" on its way
    to a stage in Houston.  Apparently, it will begin a short run in
    December at the Theatre Under the Stars.  It will include four new
    songs from Alan Menken and Tim Rice as well as "Human Again" which was
    cut from the original film in pre-production.  And some of it will be
    slightly re-written to explain such things as a six-foot-tall
    candelabra... :-)
    
    - Skip

    Does anyone know the second verse to "Be Our Guest":
    	"Be our guest, be our guest,
    	 ?????????? ....... "
    
    or for that matter, the lyrics to the entire song, and would be
    willing to post it here?
    
    Thanks,
    Rae

See .45 for complete lyrics.


JanB

    I have a homework assignment for everyone over the Labor Day weekend.
    
    I want everyone to watch their B&TB video and see if you can find the
    point in the video where the animators decided to have a little fun
    and placed an indirect reference to DisneyLand. You'll know what I mean 
    when you see something that will make you snicker and say, "Hmmm not in
    France but definitely in California."
    
    Answer on Tuesday.
    
    Mike

>>                      <<< Note 286.99 by WREATH::SCOPA >>>
>>                                 -< Homework >-
>>
>>    Answer on Tuesday.
>>    
>>    Mike

Today is Wednesday.  Where's the answer?

    
    A road sign. One direction is Valencia, the other Anaheim.
    
    George

    Sorry.....busy.
    
    George has it. 
    
    Remember when Belle's father goes off to the Science Fair with his 
    invention? Along the way he comes to a fork in the road and several
    road signs.
    
    If you pause the screen at the precise time you'll see, in very broken
    letters, one sign that has "ANAHEIM" on it and another that has
    "VALENCIA" on it. The road to Anaheim looked much more friendlier than
    the alternative Valencia.
    
    The animators were asked if they did this on purpose and they 'fessed
    up. Suffice to say it's a little titillating to know that the animators
    are frisky enough to hide these little things in the films from time to
    time.
    
    When I pick up "Aladdin" in about 3 weeks I'll watch the tape very
    carefully and see if I can pick up something.
    
    Mike

   >Suffice to say it's a little titillating to know that the animators
   >are frisky enough to hide these little things in the films from time to
   >time.
    
    Or on the video jacket cover...The Little Mermaid for instance. ;^)
    
    
    Jodi-

    > Or on the video jacket cover...The Little Mermaid for instance. ;^)
      
    I do believe that incident ended up in a lawsuit!
    
    John  
        

    Did I miss something.  What about the cover of the Little Mermaid?
    

    see the title of note .103...
    
    one of the castle spires of King Neptunes palace is not what it
    should be...

Does anyone have any idea when Beauty and the Beast might appear
on the Disney channel?

Or Aladdin either?

Thanks,
 - Al

    	Beauty and the Beast is coming to the Disney channel soon. The
    free weekend this weekend were advertising it. If you signed up for the
    channel now you'd get a free wall clock of Beauty and the Beast. Robby
    Benson was there trying to get a "magic" mirror to show him things.
    I wasn't really paying attention to the date as I have the movie and
    don't need to watch it on the channel.
    
    	Barbara

    I haven't seen anything for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. I will be
    going to see the play this Saturday. There is a good write up in the
    Disney Magazine this month. After I see the play I will give my review.
    
    Paula

    As I mentioned in the first note I saw Beauty and the Beast on Broadway
    this past Saturday with my 6 year old daughter. I have been to Broadway
    shows my entire life but have never seen anything like this before. It
    is pure Disney MAGIC. The scenery, costumes, casting and the added
    effects are unbelievable. They have added 5 songs which are great. One
    of the songs was cut from the original movie called "Human Again" and
    then the additional songs were written with Tim Rice.
    
    They made minor changes to the story. The person who wrote the movie
    also did the play. One of the changes made were to make the castle 
    objects less human and more like the objects they are. Cogsworth at the
    beginning looks like the clock but has his real hair. Later he get a
    wind up key in his back, and then a head piece. Mrs. Potts has feet at
    the beginning by later in the play she has no feet and the Tea pot
    cover on her head. 
    
    One of the best parts of the play are the illusions. They have Chip,
    play by a young boy. All you see is his head surrounded by the cup. His
    is on a tea cart or a table but you can see through both. You know is
    body is in there but you cannot tell where. In the movie when the Beast
    dies goes up in the sky and then the prince falls down. Well they do
    that too. It is unbelievable.
    
    The "Be Our Guest" number is right out of a Ziegfeld film. The costumes
    and the dancing are great. They even use fireworks on stage.
    
    I could go on for all day but must get back to work. If you come to New 
    York it is a must see. It officially opens in April at the Palace
    Theater. If or when it tours it can not have the same effects. It cost 
    13 million to put on the most ever spent on a Broadway show.
    
    Paula
    
    
    

    Reprinted without permission from the 1994 N.Y. Times News Service
    
              IS DISNEY COMPANY BROADWAY'S NEWEST BABY?
    
       Attention, please.
       This season, the role of the Beast, usually played on Broadway by
    the Shubert Organization with its 16 theaters, will be played instead by
    the Walt Disney Co., which is almost single-handedly rejuvenating 42d
    Street by renovating the New Amsterdam Theater. It is also producing the 
    most expensive Broadway musical in theater history, opening Monday night at
    the Palace Theater.
       What's that? Booing? Applause?
       Both.
       It is the oldest tradition in the theater to giveth with one hand
    and clubbeth with the other, and this year is no different. Broadway is
    finding that it loves to love Disney. But it still can't help hating
    itself in the morning.
       ``This is a world that needs targets,'' says Michael David of Dodger
    Productions, the general manager of ``Beauty and the Beast.'' ``It just
    comes with the territory. I told the Disneys they'd better enjoy the
    process of getting the show up 'cause afterward everyone will be
    shooting bullets.''
       The rivalry is intensified because this time, real estate is
    involved, not to mention government subsidy in the form of a $21 million
    low-interest loan to help Disney renovate the 91-year-old New
    Amsterdam, a perk that other Broadway theater owners have historically 
    been denied.
       One of them calls the Disney situation similar to Wal-Mart opening
    in a small town, sending the local merchants into an escalating panic.
       The quality of merchandise that Disney brings is top-drawer. ``Beauty
    and the Beast'' arrives on Broadway at an official cost of nearly $12
    million with a cast of 38, headed by Terrence Mann as the Beast, Susan
    Egan as the Beauty and Tom Bosley as her father, plus the arsenal of
    Disney special effects transferred to the stage.
       The movie version won two Academy Awards for best score and best
    song (``Beauty and the Beast'') by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman,
    and since its release in 1991 has earned about $350 million worldwide.
      It doesn't take a genius to see that this property has legs and, as
    far as Disney is concerned, the more pairs the better. If ``Cats'' can
    flourish on the road for 14 years, why not ``Beauty and the Beast''?
       Menken and the lyricist Tim Rice have written seven new songs to
    augment the fairy tale about a prince freed of an evil spell by the power of
    true love, which should continue to please Disney's family audience in yet
    another medium. Whether it pleases the people who work in that medium
    is another issue.
       Money, of course, is a key reason for industry sniping about this
    show.  As is power. And control. And expertise.
       Disney maintains that ``Beauty and the Beast'' cost $11.9 million to
    produce, which surpasses ``Miss Saigon,'' the last most expensive
    Broadway musical at $10.9 million. But some ``Beast'' employees have
    put costs between $16 and $19 million. No one will ever know the truth,
    they say,  because, as a large corporation, Disney can itemize expenses for
    the show in a variety of different accounts.
       ``That's ridiculous,'' says Michael Eisner, chief executive officer
    and chairman of the Walt Disney Co. ``The show costs less than $12 million.
    Every expense is charged to the show's budget only, otherwise we
    couldn'taccurately report to our participants. Anyway, we never talk
    about budgets in our businesses because then the budget gets reviewed, not 
    the product.''
       Even if the cost is $11.9 million, that's still a lot of money by
    Broadway standards, if not Disney's. Can jealous fellow producers at
    least hope it will take years to recoup the investment, especially given the
    Palace's hard-to-sell second balcony?
       Bob McTyre, a Disney executive in charge of theme parks who is the
    designate producer of ``Beauty and the Beast,'' estimates recoupment at
    one year, which for a show this size is remarkably fast. He says that
    after opening, the musical will settle down to costing about $380,000
    per week, a figure some Broadway skeptics call low.
       But the skeptics may be wrong. One reason is that instead of hiring
    high-priced veteran Broadway talent, Disney has elected to use many of
    its own salaried staff, keeping expenses down, and in the bargain,
    exercising  tight control over all artistic decisions.
       And Disney being Disney, the ways those costs will be recouped won't
    be traditional, either. As the merchandising wizard of the Western world,
    Disney sold almost $10,000 worth of ``Beauty and the Beast''
    memorabilia at the first New York preview alone. A ``Beauty and the
    Beast'' boutique opened at Bloomingdale's on April 4. And, an employee 
    says, there are plans to step up sales of ``Beauty and the Beast'' 
    videocassettes.
       Eisner does not dispute this. ``We have a hockey team in California
    called the Mighty Ducks that has some fabulous merchandising,'' he
    says.
      ``Does it help the economics of the Mighty Ducks to see the logo, the
    sweatshirts, the hats around the world? Absolutely. Are we counting on
    the same for `Beauty and the Beast'? No, it's not in our business plan. But
    we hope it will help.''
       And, he adds: ``As far as a year being a short time to recoup an
    investment, all I can say is, as a businessman, a year is a
    ridiculously long time (italics)not(end italics) to recoup an
    investment. The way it will work, frankly, is the road, the companies of 
    the show in Tokyo and Toronto. And high school and college productions that
    will be forever.''
       That money comes later. Right now, the Broadway advance sale of $6
    million (with a top ticket price of $65), is surprisingly low. ``The
    Goodbye Girl,'' for example, a flop musical from last season, opened
    with a $10 million advance.
       Conversely, ``The Phantom of the Opera'' opened in 1988 with an
    $18million advance and a lower ($50) top ticket price. For ``Beauty and
    the Beast'' at the Palace, where the potential weekly gross is $686,425,
    this advance sale adds up to just nine weeks of capacity business.
       David, of Dodger, says only 15 weeks of the show are on sale, in
    order to sell every seat. ``The advance is actually bigger than I thought,''
    he says. ``This show and `Phantom' have nothing in common. `Phantom' ran
    as a hit musical in London for over a year. `Beauty and the Beast' hasn't
    proven anything past being a wonderful animated feature.''
       Eisner says: ``The advance is irrelevant to me. What interests me is
    how well the show is done, and is it financially feasible and profitable
    enough to encourage us in this field. If we do it in a quality way, the
    financial rewards will be there. If somebody else is more clever about
    selling seats in August then so be it. I'm working on making the show
    the best it can be on April 18.''
       David emphasizes that Disney's low-key strategy in New York is
    similar to the way it approached the show's monthlong tryout in Houston, 
    where it sold out. ``The plan is to let the show make itself an event,'' 
    David says.
       But Houston is not New York. ``There isn't a review that can be
    writtento make up for a low advance,'' says James Freydberg, a veteran
    Broadway producer. ``There's no question that this show is a big event to be
    shouted about, but they haven't done that. And events take place before
    reviews.''
       A recurring industry gripe about ``Beauty and the Beast'' is that
    despite Disney's financial resources, it has not employed the best,
    most experienced directors and designers the theater has to offer.
       ``Our team is not just Disney people,'' McTyre, the producer,
    protests.
        He ticks off the names of David of Dodger, Ann Hould-Ward and Natasha
    Katz, the costume and lighting designers, respectively.
       Yes, but the word from the Palace, says one employee, speaking on
    condition of anonymity, is that no one could change a single moment of
    the show without the express permission of Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of
    Walt Disney Studios. The overwhelming feeling is that the experts who
    are there were not allowed to do their jobs.
       ``I'm sure somebody might perceive it that way,'' McTyre allows.
    ``The Walt Disney Co. does have its own way of operating, and the theatrical
    experience from our point of view is a collaborative one, not a
    strictly hierarchical one. Though certain decisions Jeffrey or Michael make.
    They talk and give ideas, and if someone doesn't agree, they say so. They
    are pretty darn smart guys, and it just so happens a lot of their
    suggestions are good ones.''
       Eisner also defends the approach: ``We're in the movie business and
    we deal with both major star directors and unknown USC film school
    graduates,and some of each group has fabulous results and some are
    horrible. When I was at Paramount and we produced `My One and Only' on 
    Broadway with Tommy  Tune and Mike Nichols, that was exhilarating
    (italics)and(end italics) horrible. We chose our own people because of
    morale. In our parks we put on live entertainment and spend more on it 
    than all of Broadway put together. And these are theater people, from 
    Juilliard or Cal Arts. They come to Walt Disney World because there's work.
    I couldn't imagine doing `Beauty and the Beast' and saying to them, `We're 
    going to eliminate you.''' 
       McTyre reiterates, ``If I had it to do over, I'd use the same
    people.'' Even though the word on the street most consistently used to 
    describe the show's creators is ``amateur''?
       ``I think it will be right for our audience this way,'' he says.
    ``We wanted the production to be a Disney production, not just funded by
    Disney. And to do that we felt we needed people with a Disney
    sensibility. In everything we do we are dedicated to having characters be
    the same as they are on film or television. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck,
    Snow White. We try to bring those characters to life the way people would
    remember them. We had some creative angst about what the designs should 
    look like, how far we could go. And in Houston we ended up burying the 
    actors in costumes and makeup.''
       The other angst, a Disney insider says, came from typical tryout
    jitters: ``None of them had any idea what Broadway entails. And after
    all the bad publicity with Euro Disney, they felt vulnerable to failure.'' 
       A Disney success posed another potential problem. A ticket to the
    touring ice show version of ``Beauty and the Beast'' costs only $25.
    That's some difference. And it raises the question of how hungry people
    really are for this story in all its myriad forms.
       McTyre says the ice show is scheduled for New York next winter. But
    even when traveling elsewhere, doesn't it deplete the tourist market, which
    has to be considered a significant segment of this audience?
       ``It's certainly possible,'' he says. ``We call that cannibalization.
    The only way to really know is to do it. Usually in the Broadway
    theaters children under 5 are not allowed. But we don't follow that policy.
    We know it is not inexpensive to go to the theater. We have $20 seats in the
    balcony.''
       David Geffen, the entertainment mogul who has co-produced ``Cats,''
    among other Broadway musicals, says: ``All you have to do to be a
    successful producer is believe enough to do it, have the money to
    afford it and be lucky enough to have a hit. They have the things
    they believe in and, God knows, they have money. They're very smart and 
    very rich, so there's no reason not to be successful.''
       As they surely will be on 42d Street with the New Amsterdam,
    a1,700-seat former Ziegfeld palace between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
    In addition to the loan for the renovation, Disney is putting up $8
    million of its own, and Eisner says chances are good that a Disney store
    will open there by 1996, when the project is to be completed.
       The company has stated its intention to produce musicals at the New
    Amsterdam, and word is their next will be ``Mary Poppins.'' (Eisner
    confirms that the project has been discussed, though he says nothing
    has been decided).
       When the New Amsterdam plans were first announced, the three
    Broadway theater owners, Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn, were enraged at
    Disney's privileged position. They called on the theatrical unions to
    boycott the company's presence, but the unions didn't bite.
       Ron Silver, president of Actors' Equity says: ``I'm thrilled Michael
    Eisner is coming in. We have very few opportunities to increase
    employment for our membership.''
       So the theater owners found they ultimately had no choice but to
    retreat from the Disney protest. They have joined a fact-finding committee
    of unions to formulate their own proposal for a low-interest fund for
    repair and upkeep of all 35 Broadway theaters. But the fact remains that
    Disney got cash up front, while the old guard still has only promises. 
    And lingering resentment.
       The theater owners aside, there are high hopes among the rest of the
    business that this new Beast in their midst will be transformed quickly
    by true love - of Broadway - and thrive, expanding its ranks and providing
    jobs for decades to come.
       ``First-time producers pay a high tuition on Broadway,'' David says.
    ``They learn the first time, but they don't have the stomach to stick
    around for the next. Experience, wisdom and continuity are what make a
    good producer. Anyone who says they're going to stay and fight it out
    is good for all of us. These guys are going to hang in and presumably what
    they learn will apply again. We'll see how it goes.''
    
       

Headline: `BEAUTY AND THE BEAST': DISNEY DOES BROADWAY, DANCING SPOONS AND ALL


By DAVID RICHARDS
c.1994 N.Y. Times News Service
   NEW YORK - As Broadway musicals go, ``Beauty and the Beast'' belongs
right up there with the Empire State Building, FAO Schwarz and the Circle
Line boat tours. It is hardly a triumph of art, but it'll probably be a
whale of a tourist attraction.
   It is Las Vegas without the sex, Mardi Gras without the booze and Madame
Tussaud's without the waxy stares. You don't watch it, you gape at it,
knowing that nothing in Dubuque comes close.
   At an official cost of nearly $12 million - unofficial estimates run
considerably higher - the Walt Disney Co. has recreated on the stage of
the Palace Theater its 1991 blockbuster animated feature, right down to
the ravenous wolves, the dancing spoons and the enchanted rose that sheds
its petals as true love's hopes run low.
   Family audiences tired of prancing felines are apt to find this cause
for celebration. Others may look upon the eye-boggling spectacle as
further proof of the age-old theory that if you throw enough money at the
American public, the American public will throw it right back.
   The scenery by Stan Meyer - mostly in that ornate, slightly scary German
Gothic style that passes for picturesque at Disney - is almost always on
the move. No apparition, disappearance, thunderbolt, rainstorm or swirling
fog bank is beyond the capabilities of the show's special-effects
engineers.
   Any one of Ann Hould-Ward's costumes would be the envy of a Beaux-Arts
ball. And if you thought the chandelier crashing to the stage in ``The
Phantom of the Opera'' was something, wait until the Beast (Terrence
Mann), presumably dead, rises up from the castle floor, floats 10 feet or
so into space, then starts to spin like a human propeller.
   Before the spinning is done and you've caught your breath, he has
somehow shed all things beastly and become a dashing prince again. (Take
that, Siegfried and Roy.)
   The astonishments rarely cease. Yet strange as it may sound, that's the
very drawback of ``Beauty and the Beast.'' Nothing has been left to the
imagination. Everything has been painstakingly and copiously illustrated.
   There is no room for dreaming, no quiet tucked-away moment that might
encourage a poetic thought. For an evening that puts forth so much,
``Beauty and the Beast'' has amazingly little resonance. What you see is
precisely what you get. In the end, the musical says far less about the
redemptive power of love than it does about the boundless ingenuity of
what is called Team Disney.
   The movie's strength - at least from Broadway's perspective - is the
Academy Award-winning score by Alan Menken and his partner, Howard Ashman,
who died early in 1991, before work began on the stage version.
   Such songs as ``Belle,'' ``Be Our Guest'' and ``Gaston'' are happily
reminiscent of Lerner and Loewe, and the title number speaks stirringly of
love, as few Broadway ballads do these days.
   To them, Menken, working with the lyricist Tim Rice, has added seven new
numbers, partly to bring out the sensitive side of the Beast, partly to
underscore Belle's fortitude.
   However, the production, directed by Robert Jess Roth, is reluctant to
let a song be a song in its own way and time. Two kinds of delivery are
recognized: the hard sell and the harder sell.
   ``Be Our Guest,'' the first-act show-stopper, knows no shame in that
regard. Its lavishness is close to delirium, its giddiness beyond camp.
   If you are one of the six people in America who don't know the plot, a
wicked witch has transformed the handsome prince into a cross between
Quasimodo and a buffalo, and the staff of the castle is slowly turning
into sundry household objects: teacup, feather duster and the like.
   When it looks as if Belle, the pensive town beauty, might break the
curse by falling in love with the Beast, the housewares get pretty
excited. Hence, the production number.
   Before long, the spatula is cavorting with the fork, the rug is doing
cartwheels and the dinner plates are parading down a grand staircase like
arrogant showgirls angling for a sugar daddy.
   The choreographer, Matt West, is responsible for this interlude,
although Busby Berkeley on magic mushrooms might have staged it. For its
duration, at least, the extravaganza elevates ``Beauty and the Beast'' to
a realm of hallucinogenic lunacy that surely goes against every sane and
sober principle Disney stands for.
   The actors resemble their cartoon counterparts as much as real actors
could reasonably be expected to. In the case of Susan Egan, who plays
Belle, a quintessential Disney heroine, being pretty, unspoiled and plucky
(but never rude) is mostly what's required.
   Tom Bosley, as her eccentric inventor father, limits himself largely to
a dazed and bumbling manner. The others, however, are variously done up as
steaming teapot (Beth Fowler, giving the evening's warmest performance),
grandfather clock (the amusingly Napoleonic Heath Lamberts), overstuffed
armoire (the imperious Eleanor Glockner) and gold candelabrum (the
rather-too-excitable Gary Beach).
   In place of hands, Beach has melted candles that function, periodically,
as flamethrowers. This will appease all those little boys in the audience
who would just as soon Belle got lost in the woods.
   Much of the movie's charm stems from the way objects are made to look
and behave like people.
   Reversing the anthropomorphic process, the musical prides itself on how
cleverly people can be made into objects. Even Gaston (Burke Moses), the
town Adonis, gives the impression that he is inflated with helium and
destined for a place of honor in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
   He has piano keys for teeth, his pompadour rises off his forehead like a
tidal wave and he preens like Arnold. Whenever he socks his dopey
sidekick, Lefou (Kenny Raskin), the sound technicians provide the sort of
``pows'' and ``thwunks'' that you normally hear when Popeye flattens
Bluto. Lefou, naturally, goes sprawling halfway across the stage.
   While the tale of Beauty and the Beast is not fraught with psychological
complexities, Linda Woolverton's book expands her screenplay without
noticeably deepening it.
   Only the primary emotions and the most elemental reactions stand a
chance of holding their own against the bustle and blazing pyrotechnics,
anyway. The miracle of Mann's performance is not its epic monstrousness or
the fury of his amplified roars.
   It's miraculous because somehow, despite the masses of matted fur, the
padding and the protruding incisors, he actually manages to convey the
delicacy of awakening love. (His eyes have a lot to do with it. Ringed
with concentric circles of black, they can be ineffably sad.) Elsewhere,
simple-mindedness prevails, cheerfully and unapologetically.
   ``Beauty and the Beast'' is Disney's first official Broadway musical,
with more, apparently, to come. Nobody should be surprised that it brings
to mind a theme-park entertainment raised to the power of 10.
   Although not machine-made, it is clearly the product of a company that
prizes its winning formulas. Inspiration has less to do with it than
tireless industry.
   The result is a sightseer's delight, which isn't the same thing as a
theatergoer's dream.
                               *  *  *
   Beauty and the Beast. Music by Alan Menken; lyrics by Howard Ashman and
Tim Rice; book by Linda Woolverton.
   Directed by Robert Jess Roth; choreography by Matt West; sets by Stan
Meyer; costumes by Ann Hould-Ward; lighting by Natasha Katz; sound by T.
Richard Fitzgerald; hair design by David H. Lawrence; illusions by Jim
Steinmeyer and John Gaughan; prosthetics by John Dods; general management,
Dodger Productions.
   Production supervisor, Jeremiah Harris; production stage manager, James
Harker; dance arrangements, Glen Kelly; musical coordinator, John Miller;
fight director, Rick Sordelet; orchestrations, Danny Troob; musical
supervisor and vocal arrangements, David Friedman; musical direction and
incidental music arrangements, Michael Kosarin.
   Presented by Walt Disney Productions. At the Palace Theater, 1564
Broadway, at 47th Street, Manhattan.
                               *  *  *
   Enchantress/Wendy Oliver
   Young Prince/Harrison Beal
   Beast/Terrence Mann
   Belle/Susan Egan
   Lefou/Kenny Raskin
   Gaston/Burke Moses
   Three Silly Girls/Sarah Solie Shannon, Paige Price and Linda Talcott
   Maurice/Tom Bosley
   Cogsworth/Heath Lamberts
   Lumiere/Gary Beach
   Babette/Stacey Logan
   Mrs. Potts/Beth Fowler
   Chip/Brian Press
   Caryatid/Patrick Loy
   Madame de la Grand Bouche/Eleanor Glockner
   Monsieur d'Arque/Gordon Stanley
   00:28 EDT   APRIL 19, 1994
-

**************************************
    
    A Bit of Disneyland Comes to Broadway   ----   By Edwin Wilson


  New York -- A teacup that sings, a carpet that turns somersaults, a
candelabrum that dances a soft shoe, a wooden cabinet that sings opera,
knives and forks that perform the can-can. You guessed it: Walt Disney has
come to Broadway.
  The arrival of the stage version of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Palace
Theatre last night was more than the opening of another splashy musical:
It was the moment when theme-park glitz and expertise intersected with
traditional show business.
  In retrospect, the wedding of the two was inevitable. Broadway had been
moving inexorably toward the fantastic and the spectacular. It began with
"Cats," which has an unmistakable affinity with animal characters in
animated cartoons, and moved to musicals with falling chandeliers ("The
Phantom of the Opera") and helicopters descending from the skies ("Miss
Saigon"). "Phantom," in fact, has the same story as "Beauty and the
Beast": An ugly or misshapen man seeking love pursues an innocent maiden
who is at first repulsed by him but then succumbs to his strange appeal.
  Meanwhile, Walt Disney Co. has been engaged in almost every form of
entertainment but the theater, and its theme parks have even ventured into
that, with Robert Jess Roth, the director of "Beauty and the Beast,"
mounting minimusicals such as a Christmas show called "Mickey's
Nutcracker." When the decision came to invade Broadway, "Beauty and the
Beast" seemed the obvious choice. The animated feature film has grossed
$340 million in three years, and has spun off souvenirs, a compact disk
and an ice show. If ever an entertainment was presold, this was it.
  But the Disney people did not leave much to chance. At $12 million,
"Beauty and the Beast" is the most expensive Broadway show of all time.
(The company's chief executive officer, Michael Eisner, and Disney Studios
Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg have been deeply involved in the supervision
of the stage version of "Beauty." So if you count a portion of their
salaries in the cost, the figure would run considerably higher.)
  The end product is an odd amalgam of showy technology, a solid musical
score and simplistic storytelling. When a prince (Terrence Mann) failed to
take an old woman in from a storm, she turned him into a beast and his
servants into clocks and teacups. The spell would remain in force until a
young woman told him she loved him. The girl, Belle (Susan Egan), finds
herself trapped in his castle, disgusted by his appearance and his
manners. But gradually she comes to accept and even to love him.
  Meanwhile, Gaston (Burke Moses), her vainglorious admirer from the
village, almost kills the Beast before she redeems him with a kiss. The
story has all the elements of the classic fable, including accompanying
precepts such as "Don't judge a book by its cover" and "Love conquers
all."
  For the most part, the performers have been directed by Mr. Roth to move,
not like human beings, but like life-size versions of animated-cartoon
characters, though several performers rise above this mechanization,
particularly Mr. Moses as a humorous heavy and Ms. Egan, who remains
remarkably ingenuous in the face of everything.
  The scenery, designed by Stan Meyer, could hardly be called tasteful or
imaginative. Belle's home, for instance -- a thatched cottage with a
wishing well to one side -- looks like something out of a stock-company
production of "Hansel and Gretel."
  Other visual effects are equally unconvincing. When the Beast ventures
into the woods to rescue Belle, he encounters fearsome wolves. The only
problem is that the wolves appear to be sacks filled with straw rather
than frightening animals, and even the youngest members of the audience
didn't buy that one.
  Still, there are plenty of scenic wonders. Toward the end of act one, the
animated objects in the castle welcome Belle as they prepare a feast for
her with the song "Be Our Guest." This homage to Busby Berkeley pulls out
all the stops. It offers far-out costumes (by Ann Hould-Ward), a cascade
of steps down which dancers parade, lights flashing to beat the band, and
huge champagne bottles spouting sparks. It's a calculated show-stopper
using every time-honored trick in the book.
  Toward the end, when the Beast is about to expire, he is kissed by Belle;
suddenly his body levitates, revolves a number of times in midair, and,
finally, among puffs of smoke and exploding lights, he is transformed into
the Prince.
  As with the movie, the strongest element of the production is the score.
Alan Menken  wrote the film music, and Howard Ashman contributed the
lyrics. Unfortunately, Ashman died before the stage version was developed,
and so Mr. Menken and Tim Rice have written seven new songs for the show.
  The music is, nevertheless, always serviceable and in some cases
genuinely original. One song, "Human Again," was written for the film but
not used there. Included here, it gives the servants in the castle an
opportunity to express their longing to be humans once more. It's a
refreshing as well as melodic number.
  In one sense, however, aesthetic considerations are beside the point. It
matters not how successful the music, the performances, the sets, the
special effects are in the eyes of critics. This is theme-park
entertainment on Broadway, and audiences will no doubt flock to it.
  At the preview performance I saw, the audience, which naturally included
a fair number of children, were properly dazzled by the pyrotechnics and
applauded wildly when the good people triumphed and the evil were
vanquished. It was my impression that they felt they had gotten their $65
worth.
  The Disney organization must have this impression, too, and is seemingly
confident about a long-term commitment to Broadway; it recently purchased
the New Amsterdam Theatre, the best-known of several legitimate houses on
42nd Street that have long stood empty.
  With a low-interest loan of $21 million from various government agencies,
and a pledge to spend $8 million itself, Disney has promised to restore
the theater to its original grandeur. When it is completed in 1996 or
1997, it will become the home of future Disney stage productions. Broadway
has a lot of singing teacups and dancing candelabra to look forward to as
the millennium approaches.
-

    While thumbing throught the TV Guide this morning I noticed there is a
    show called "Disney on Broadway: Beauty & the Beast" listed.  It's playing
    on WWOR from 8:00 to 10:00 tonight.  There is no description listed.  Does
    anyone know what this is?
    
    Ruth

This was a nice show which showed a "behind the scenes" view of the show.  It
was nice seeing the personalities behind the costumes.   The person who 
plays Gaston was very humerous, talking about how Gaston is truly misunderstood
and should have married Belle in the end.

Reprinted without Permission from DOWvision Newsservice


   Critics See the Beast   In Disney's `Beauty'

          -- But Will It Matter?

                     ---   Broadway Show Already Hits One Box-Office Record!

                               --- Easy Target: Tourists, Kids

  By Thomas R. King 


  When Walt Disney Co. announced plans to mount a Broadway musical version
of "Beauty and the Beast," skeptics snipped that the company wouldn't be
able to control the New York theater critics, a powerful contingent
frequently held responsible for killing shows.
  Theater critics largely dumped on Disney's first venture on the Great
White Way, but it probably won't matter much at all. Disney said late
yesterday that it broke the record for box-office sales the day after a
show's opening, topping the $494,897 take posted by "Tommy" last April.
It's possible, Disney said, that the musical would rival the all-time
single day record charted last June, when "Tommy" sold more than $578,000
worth of tickets the day after the Tony Awards. The final total will be
announced today.
  While the reviews of Monday's opening were mostly negative, they weren't
vicious and aren't likely to derail Disney's hopes for a hit that caters
mostly to children and tourists -- the kind of folks who don't read
reviews but love shows like "Cats." "Beauty and the Beast," at a stated
cost of $12 million, is the most expensive musical in Broadway history.
  Disney has played the Broadway game by its own rulebook, making waves in
New York by electing to hire graduates of its theme-park productions to
direct and choreograph, among other functions. Michael Eisner, Disney's
chairman and chief executive, yesterday said the company is considering
changing another longstanding Broadway tradition: Beginning in September,
it will quite likely begin evening shows of "Beauty and the Beast" at 7:30
p.m., 30 minutes before the standard curtain time.
  Disney did win some upbeat notices, including ones from the syndicated
columnist Liz Smith and "Good Morning America" critic Joel Siegel. Most,
however, echoed the words of the Associated Press's Michael Kuchwara, who
said the film "has made a disappointing transition to the stage." USA
Today's David Patrick Stearns compared it to "cheesy summer stock."
  In the New York Times today, a full-page ad for the musical features a
giant quote credited to David Richards, who as the Times's theater critic
is regarded as the most important reviewer. It reads: "The Astonishments
Rarely Cease!"
  Omitted from the ad, however, is the next sentence from Mr. Richards's
review: "Yet strange as it may sound, that's the very drawback of `Beauty
and the Beast'." He went on to lament that "nothing has been left to the
imagination."
  "We're dealing in a very sophisticated market, and some people are
looking for things that this `Beauty and the Beast' was not ever meant to
be," Mr. Eisner said.
  Some critics said in their reviews that they didn't want to pan Disney's
musical because of the company's stated financial commitment to help clean
up the rundown 42nd Street area. "Knowing that the whole economic
development of New York City depends on how the critics respond to Disney,
I am a little nervous about reviewing" the play, wrote Howard Kissel of
the New York Daily News.
  Nonetheless, Mr. Kissel found some descriptive words, calling the show
"mundane" and "mechanical."

    Thanks for posting the reviews and article, Mike!  I really enjoyed
    reading them, especially the somewhat opposing views of the two critics
    (Belle's mechanical/Belle's ingenuous, Gaston's a Macy's balloon/Gaston
    is a wonderful villain!).  I also enjoyed the article's explanation on
    why critics weren't vicious:  Disney is cleaning up 42nd Street!
    
    When they first bought the New Amsterdam, Letterman made a joke that
    this would result in a better class of prostitutes on 42nd Street!
    
    
    Susan

    By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
    AP Drama Critic
               
         NEW YORK (AP) _ What hath Mickey wrought on Broadway? An overstuffed
    mouse, I'm afraid.
         ``Beauty and the Beast,'' the fabled Walt Disney animated film,
    has made a disappointing transition to the stage.
         Punctuated by a series of spectacular special effects that make
    ``Cats,'' ``Les Miserables,'' ``The Phantom of the Opera'' and ``Miss
    Saigon'' look like chamber musicals, the show that opened Monday at the 
    Palace Theater is still a cartoon.
         A lavish cartoon, but a cartoon nonetheless, that now seems musically
    undernourished, only fitfully entertaining and, most damaging of all,
    emotionally barren.
         As a theater musical, ``Beauty and the Beast'' leaves nothing to
    the imagination. What you see is what you get: a big bazooka of a
    show. At a cost of reportedly $12 million to $14 million, the musical
    looks as if Disney has put every penny of that amount on stage.
         Much of it can be found in Stan Meyer's ingenious settings _ a
    grandiose and gloomy castle that glides effortlessly on stage, for
    example _ and Ann Hould-Ward's inventive costumes, particularly for
    the inanimate objects that come to life.
         And oh, those technological wonders _ accompanied by, among other 
    things, smoke, fire, confetti, sparklers and what looks like a heavy
    rainstorm. Several are truly astonishing, and one _ it won't be revealed
    here _ near the end of the show drew gasps from an appreciative audience.
         Amid all these diversions, the story seems like an afterthought,
    although adapter Linda Woolverton has stuck closely to her original
    screenplay.
         Briefly, our story: a curse has turned a handsome but  spoiled
    prince into a beast, a transformation that can be reversed only
    when he learns to love and is loved in return. Also transformed are
    his servants, inhabiting such everyday objects as a teapot, ateacup, a
    candlestick, a clock, a feather duster, a carpet and clothes closet. 
    The possibilities are intriguing.
          What is charming on film evaporates when director Robert Jess Roth
    transfers it to the stage. The film's opening musical number, in which
    townspeople and several main characters are introduced, sets the buoyant,
    fanciful tone of the movie. Yet the same song turns leaden in the theater.
          Characters that are funny as cartoons turn grotesque when played by
    actors. The humor is heavy-handed and the physical comedy on the order of 
    the Three Stooges, particularly between the villainous Gaston and his
    runty sidekick Lefou.
          At least the strong-voiced Burke Moses manages to put some life into
    his hilarious preening portrayal of Gaston. And a good-natured performance
    as Belle's father by Tom Bosley, absent from Broadway since he starred in
    ``Fiorello!'' in 1959, makes one wish he had come back to the stage sooner.
          Problems extend even to the title characters. Susan Egan, as Belle,
    has a crisp, clear voice in the manner of an American Julie Andrews. Yet
    she has been straitjacketed into the spunky heroine's role so it will 
    conform to the image presented in the movie.
          There are glimpses of what Egan might be like if allowed to bust
    loose. In ``Be Our Guest,'' Egan briefly does a spirited cancan, the best
    moment in that carefully calculated showstopper. On film, the song becomes
    an enchanting homage to choreographer Busby Berkeley, known for his dizzying
    dance sequences. On stage, it practically begs for applause.
          Terrence Mann's Beast comes off as a delinquent with bad manners, but
    then he has been saddled with the worst of the new songs written for the
    the stage version. Mann's monster resembles a shaggy rock star, one with
    horns, fangs and a tail, as well as an electronically amplified roar that
    shakes the theater.
          The movie score _ music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman
    _ was superb. Menken's new songs, with Tim Rice's more pop-flavored lyrics,
    sound as if they belong in another, more modern musical.
           In the cartoon, the love songs united the two leads, particularly the
    touching title number. Here, the music seems to exist as a setup  for the
    pyrotechnics. As a result, Belle and her hairy beau connect in the most 
    mechanical of ways. The show strands their love story even before it gets 
    going. You don't care whether they get together or not.
           ``Beauty and the Beast'' is a live-action souvenir for those who
    can't get enough of the cartoon classic. Undoubtedly, it has the makings of
    a big Broadway hit, considering the number of fans the movie has. Others 
    may be mystified as to why it was even attempted at all.
     
           What other critics said:
    
    David Richards, The New York Times:
    
     Although not machine-made, it is clearly the product of a company that
     prizes its winning formulas. Inspiration has less to do with it than
     tireless industry. The result is a sightseer's delight, which isn't the
     same thing as a theatergoer's dream.
            
    Howard Kissel, Daily News: 
    
      Although the musical is full of razzmatazz and old-fashioned
      showmanship, it lacks heart. The great miracle of ``Snow White'' was
      that audiences were moved, quite profoundly, by cartoons. Here, using 
      humans, the effect is rather mechanical.
            
    Clive Barnes, New York Post:
    
      ``Beauty and the Beast'' is not a show for people vitally interested
      in the future of Broadway other than real estate. It is not _ in 
      this respect, at least, God bless it! _ a show for critics, be they 
      beauties or beasties.

 >   Also transformed are
 >   his servants, inhabiting such everyday objects as a teapot, ateacup, a
 >   candlestick, a clock, a feather duster, a carpet and clothes closet. 

I've noticed this in a couple of articles now.  Does anyone else find this
surprising?  I never thought of Mrs. Potts, Chip, Lumiere, Cogworth as being 
servants who had been transformed into objects.  I always thought they were 
just teapots and candlesticks who talked, sang, and danced!

                                                 Tracy

    Tracy, Tracy, Tracy,
    
    Don't you remember at the end of the movie when all the transformations
    take place?
    
    In the Broadway Show "Chip" asks his mother, "Mrs. Potts" if he'll
    ever be a real boy again.
    
    Mike

                IS BROADWAY READY FOR A DISNEY WORLD SHOW?


By VINCENT CANBY
c. 1994 N.Y. Times News Service
   Somewhere deep within Walt Disney Productions' overproduced, 21/2-hour
(including intermission) ``Beauty and the Beast,'' now at the Palace
Theater, the soul of Disney's sweet, modest, 84-minute animated film is
crying to get out.
   It never does. It's wearing concrete boots inside the monster body of
the Disney organization's idea of what a Broadway musical should be:
relentlessly bland, busy, upbeat and robotlike. Each individual
performance, each song and each dance is seemingly programmed by the same
computer responsible for moving the scenery and setting off the fun-house
special effects.
   This ``Beauty and the Beast'' is the original film clunkily re-enacted
at what looks to be great expense, mostly by performers of faceless
competence, on sets of sometimes startling ordinariness, in colors that
don't offend. There are a couple of lively specialty dancers, but the
choreography wouldn't be out of place at a dinner theater.
   There's just more of it here, and more people doing it. The original
Alan Menken and Howard Ashman songs, two of which are still charming, have
been supplemented by seven inferior new numbers by Ashman and the lyricist
Tim Rice. Their only apparent purpose: to pad out the show so that it
overlaps with your bedtime, no matter how old you are.
   There's one really good theatrical effect at the end and, from start to
finish, a lot of what look to be Fourth of July sparklers. But even the
sound amplification is not great. It not only makes many of the women's
singing voices shrill but also sometimes muddies the dialogue.
   Further, the volume is often so loud you long for earmuffs, though, if
you're sitting down front, it's not always loud enough to cover the noises
made by the stage machinery. This is surprising since the Disney people
are such sticklers for technical perfection, especially at Disney World,
where they have possibly the best sound and film projection equipment in
the country.
   Linda Woolverton's book follows her screenplay for the 1991 film
virtually scene by scene, shot by shot. This isn't meant to be a ``Beauty
and the Beast'' with any subtext. We're still in a vaguely 17th-century,
once-upon-a-time land where the redeeming love of the bookish Belle ends
the spell that has turned a handsome prince into the unhappy Beast.
   Very little in the film has been condensed, expanded or altered to take
advantage of the possibilities of the theater. The creators of this show
appear to regard the stage as simply a primitive form of film that must be
disguised with vaguely cinematic effects, like moving the scenery instead
of the camera.
   There's a vast difference between fairy tales played straight as
cartoons and played straight as live theater. In the original Disney
movie, the two-dimensional animated storybook images are as much the
message as the fable itself. There's a nostalgic ingenuousness to them
that disarms criticism.
   In the theater, the presence of the flesh-and-blood actors and one's
awareness of the sophisticated technology of the stage constantly sabotage
the innocence of the tale. This show has the manner of something spun off
from something else, of yet another Disney merchandising opportunity.
   There's also the problem of actors walking around as animated inanimate
objects: teapots, candlesticks, clocks, plates, dishes, knives, forks,
spoons and things I never did identify. You accept the actors but without
ever accepting the illusion.
   If the show's best production number is still the rousing ``Be Our
Guest,'' it's because the original Menken-Ashman song remains the high
point of their score, not because the sight of a dancing human corkscrew
enchants.
   Some of the effects are almost funny just for being so tacky, as in the
scene in which the Beast (Terrence Mann) rushes out from his castle into
the night to save Belle (Susan Egan) from the wolf pack.
   The audience, nearly blinded by strobe lights aimed directly into its
eyes, applauds what it can only vaguely make out: machine-made fog on the
dark stage, the Beast thrashing around with what appears to be a wolf-fur
pillow, tiny yellow lights that are meant to be wolf eyes, climaxed by the
sight of a stuffed wolf flying into the air.
   Somewhat more effective is the final apocalyptic encounter between the
Beast and Gaston (Burke Moses), Belle's egocentric, bullying village
suitor. It's staged in the middle of a ferocious thunderstorm, high on the
ramparts of the Beast's castle - the only moment to rival the show's
single coup de theatre, when the Beast at last materializes into the
prince.
   What can one say about actors doing their best to act like cartoon
characters? Ms. Egan is pretty and, as heard through the sound system,
sings loudly.
   Mann spends most of the show in what look to be furry Dr. Denton's,
fitted with a lion's tail, claw feet and a head that appears part bull,
part lion. He has a good big voice that resists electronic distortion.
   Tom Bosley plays cuddly as Belle's father. The three best performances
are those of Heath Lamberts (Cogsworth, the clock), Gary Beach (Lumiere,
the candlestick) and Beth Fowler (Mrs. Potts, the teapot). Sympathy goes
to the energetic Moses, whose Gaston has to sing as well as talk with a
smirk fixed to his face. Not easy, maybe even painful.
   I've no doubt that Robert Jess Roth has directed exactly the kind of
production that was originally envisioned. It's much like those exhibits
at Disney World where mannequins representing George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln, created through the magic of Audio Animatronics, astonish
tourists with their lifelike gestures and speech.
   There's not a spontaneous moment in ``Beauty and the Beast,'' never an
instant when you know that you're seeing something that's alive,
particular to this performance on this day at this hour. You might well
suspect that if the world ended tomorrow, the show's internal mechanism
would go right on ticking in the void until its batteries ran down.
   The most spooky part of the evening for me came after the performance:
fleeing into the Palace lobby, past the souvenir stands from which
importunate arms, like the branches of the predatory trees in ``Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs,'' reached out waving ``Beauty and the Beast''
posters, CD cast albums and other mementos. Will ``Beauty and the Beast''
be a hit? I wouldn't bet against it. Never underestimate the appeal of
such vulgarity backed by so much merchandising power.
   For anyone who, like me, has never had the opportunity to see a comedy
by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux, I recommend ``The Triumph of
Love,'' now being given a very funny and intelligent production by the
Classic Stage Company. Here's a delightful introduction to the work of the
French playwright (1688-1763) far better known today in the classroom than
in the theater.
   It's easy to see why. Marivaux's plays seem initially to be precious:
all talk (which is their action) and full of the kinds of masquerades and
elaborate deceptions we now accept only in Shakespeare or if scored by the
sublime Mozart.
   Yet, as in Shakespeare and Mozart, there is, beneath the surface wit, a
very modern psychological understanding that hasn't dated.
   ``The Triumph of Love'' is also a wonderfully convoluted farce: in order
to court Agis, the intensely naive young prince she's fallen in love with
from afar, the equally young, headstrong Phocion, a princess, disguises
herself as a man to be accepted in the household where Agis has been
raised since boyhood.
   Phocion has little difficulty with Agis. He immediately falls for her as
a boy, and is even more delighted when he learns she's a girl. Yet to stay
in the house, Phocion also winds up having to be the love object of
Hermocrate, Agis's guardian, a stuffy, pompous philosopher who sees
through her male disguise, and Hermocrate's unmarried sister, Leontine,
who thinks that Phocion is a man from heaven.
   At any given moment, Phocion is playing at least three roles. She's
Agis's ideal of innocent woman and all-round pal, Leontine's love-crazy,
passionate suitor, and the seductive young woman who's going to teach the
aging Hermocrate everything about physical love.
   The complications are dizzying and hilarious when everyone's on stage at
the same time. Because Marivaux is aware of the cruelty of these
deceptions, there's also a darker side to the manner by which the
situations are resolved.
   Within the limited space of the company's theater, Michael Mayer has
directed a first-rate production from James Magruder's unhackneyed
translation. Magruder retains the flavor of Marivaux's flowery locutions,
which establish a world in timeless limbo, but his translation also
accommodates the kind of anachronisms that give the charade a contemporary
edge. Some of these are more inspired than others.
   Margaret Welsh is a determined, pretty, very sweet Phocion, a woman who
will make a great queen when, eventually (you feel sure), Agis wanders
off, self-absorbed, into a midlife crisis.
   In this role, Garret Dillahunt gives one of the funniest, most
recklessly physical slapstick performances I've seen since Kevin Kline
absconded with ``On the 20th Century.'' Also more than proficient are Thom
Christopher as Hermocrate and Randy Danson as the vulnerable Leontine.
Good support is provided by Daniel Jenkins as the ebullient, conniving
Harlequin, Umit Celebi as a dimwitted gardener and Camryn Manheim, who
appears as Phocion's properly skeptical maid.
   Jill Jaffe wrote the music for Christine Gummere, who plays cello
accompaniment (sometimes cello commentary) at the side of David Gallo's
sea-green set. This represents Hermocrate's formal garden with the kind of
simplicity of detail that evokes the singular, rarefied Marivaux mood even
before the performance starts. Well done, all.

    The Broadway soundtrack for "B&TB" is scheduled out this month. You
    may even find it this week.
    
    Mike

I walked by the Palace Theater when I was in NYC last week and gazed at the
huge marquee.  Didn't see the show, though. :-)  

						-- Nina

    >The Broadway soundtrack for "B&TB" is scheduled out this month. You
    >may even find it this week.
    >
    >Mike
    
    I saw one copy of this, on cassette, at The Disney Store at the Pheasant
    Lane Mall today.

     THERE'S NO STOPPING THE `BEAST' ON THE DAY AFTER THE TONY AWARDS,
   `BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' BREAKS ALL-TIME BOX OFFICE RECORDS: $1,296,722 
   

  NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" has
broken Broadway's all-time box office record with a one-day sales total of
$1,296,722.  The previous all-time record was held by "Phantom of the
Opera" with $920,271 (for its box office opening on Nov. 23, 1987). 
"Beauty and the Beast" broke the record at 2:30 p.m. EST on Monday, June
13.
  Figures are based on ticket sales on Monday, June 13 from 8:30 a.m. EST
until 10 p.m. EST.  (The box office at the Palace Theatre opened at 10
a.m. EST and closed at 8:30 p.m. EST.  Ticketmaster opened their lines at
8:30 a.m. EST and closed at 10 p.m. EST.
  Due to the incredible response to the "Beauty and the Beast" appearance
during Sunday evening's Tony Awards broadcast and the unprecedented demand
for tickets, "Beauty and the Beast" has extended its sales through Jan. 1,
1995.
  "We are very happy that Ann Hould-Ward won for Best Costume Design for
her brilliant designs for `Beauty and the Beast,'" said Walt Disney
Theatrical Productions Vice President and Producer Robert W. McTyre. "We
are also happy for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, as Disney has been
long-time admirers of their work.  Disney is thrilled with today's box
office record."
  Tickets are available at the Palace Theatre box office (1564 Broadway at
47th Street) or through Ticketmaster, 212-307-4100.
 

    I've been meaning to start a discussion on this but wanted to get by
    the last mystery in the contest.
    
    Usually people feel strongly about the original when it comes to music
    and soundtracks but I must admit that I prefer listening to the
    Broadway version on B&TB over the animated version.
    
    There are several reasons why prefer this version over the film
    sountrack:
    
    
           - Susan Egan, Terrence Mann, and Burke Moses emote their
             characters so well. 
    
           - I like the additional songs.
    
           - The supporting cast seems a bit stronger than those in the 
             movie.
    
           - Did I mention Susan Egan? My favorite part on the soundtrack
             occurs when she is reading to the Beast and she tells him how
             she too was looked at being odd...there is silence and then
             she finishes the story...while music plays in the background.
     
    Does anyone else prefer this soundtrack to the original film
    soundtrack?
    
    Mike       

MICHAEL EISNER ANNOUNCES MAJOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION PLANS FOR
        THE BROADWAY MUSICAL, DISNEY'S `BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'   

  Cities Include:  Los Angeles, Melbourne, Vienna, Cologne, Tokyo and
Osaka; At Least Seven Additional Companies to Follow by the End of 1997 
The Shubert Theatre is Announced for the Musical's Los Angeles Premiere;
       Performances Begin on Tuesday, March 21, 1995, with a
         Gala Performance Set for Thursday, April 13, 1995
  LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST," the
spectacular Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, will open in cities
throughout the world including Los Angeles beginning in 1995, it was
announced today by Michael D. Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer
of The Walt Disney Co.  Commenting on this announcement, Eisner said,
"Disney's `BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' has been a major success on Broadway.  We
look forward to sharing the imagination, music and theatrical wizardry of
this sensational Broadway show with audiences around the world."
  In addition to the Los Angeles opening at the Shubert Theatre, Disney's
"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" is also set to premiere in five overseas cities: 
Melbourne, Australia (July, 1995); Vienna, Austria (September, 1995);
Cologne, Germany (September, 1996); Tokyo (October, 1995) and Osaka, Japan
(December, 1995).  Eisner also announced plans to launch at least seven
additional companies of the musical by the end of 1997 including a U.S.
National Touring Production as well as productions in Toronto, London,
Hong Kong, Mexico City and Buenos Aires.  Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST"
will continue to play at the legendary Palace Theatre on Broadway.
  Audiences everywhere will enjoy the same full-length Broadway musical
complete with spectacular production numbers, elaborate Tony Award-winning
costumes and featuring the original Academy Award-winning music from the
film plus five new unforgettable songs.  Director Robert Jess Roth and
choreographer Matt West, along with the creative team that brought the
show to Broadway will recreate Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" worldwide.
  Los Angeles performances of the Broadway stage musical begin at the
Shubert Theatre (2020 Avenue of the Stars, Century City) on Tuesday, March
21, 1995, with a gala performance for Thursday, April 13, 1995. The Los
Angeles cast will include 1994 Tony Award nominees, Susan Egan (Belle),
Terrence Mann (Beast) and Gary Beach (Lumiere) who will reprise their
original Broadway roles.  Egan, Mann and Beach received 1994 Tony Award
nominations for Best Lead Actress, Lead Actor and Featured Actor,
respectively.  Beth Fowler will also reprise her role as "Mrs. Potts" in
Los Angeles.  Tickets for Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" go on sale at
the Shubert Theatre box office on Sunday, Dec. 4, 1994, at noon.
  The five overseas productions of Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST"
announced today will be presented by Walt Disney Theatrical Productions in
conjunction with Kevin Jacobsen and Michael Edgley (Australia), Theater of
Vienna (Austria), Stella Musical Group (Germany), and Shiki Theatrical
Company (Japan).
  Produced by Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE
BEAST" features the Academy Award-winning score by Alan Menken (music) and
the late Howard Ashman (lyrics), and additional songs by Ashman and Menken
not heard in the film, plus brand new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. 
The book is written by Linda Woolverton, who also wrote the screenplay for
the animated film.
  Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" which was nominated for nine 1994 Tony
Awards, had its world premiere at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston on
Dec. 2, 1993, where it broke box office records.  In New York, previews
began on March 9, 1994, and the official opening night was on April 18,
1994.  Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" opened on Broadway at the Palace
Theatre where it continues to perform to sell-out audiences.  The musical
broke Broadway's all-time box office record with a one-day sales total of
$1,296,722.
  With theatrical wizardry and imaginative design, Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE
BEAST" is transferred from screen to stage, enhancing the elements that
made the animated film a world favorite.  The Tony Award- winning costumes
are by Ann Hould-Ward ("Sunday in the Park with George" and "Into the
Woods") and lighting design by Natasha Katz (the revivals of "Gypsy" and
"Peter Pan").  Director Robert Jess Roth, choreographer Matt West and
scenic designer Stan Meyer have worked together as a team for the past
three years developing projects for Disney.  Jim Steinmeyer, creator of
the illusions, has invented effects that have been performed by David
Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Harry Blackstone and many others.
  "Disney's `BEAUTY AND THE BEAST,' the Broadway musical, uses a
combination of the top theater, film and creative minds working in the
entertainment industry today," said producer Robert W. McTyre.  "The
classic tale takes on an exciting new dimension that is only possible
through the magic of theater."
  Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" is the story of Belle, a young woman in a
provincial French town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince
trapped in a spell placed by an evil enchantress.  If the Beast can learn
to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed to his
former self.  Time is running out.  If the Beast does not learn his lesson
soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.
  Creative Biographies:
  Robert Jess Roth (director) is a New York-based stage director, who has
spent the last three years developing projects for Disney.  He has
directed at Playwrights Horizons, The Hudson Guild Theatre and Manhattan
Theatreworks/USA touring production of "The Secret Garden."
  Matt West (choreographer), created the role of Bobby in the film "A
Chorus Line" directed by Sir Richard Attenborough.  His Broadway and
regional credits include "Hello, Dolly!," "A Chorus Line," "Peter Pan," as
well as "Cinderella" for Disney Home Video, and "Mickey's Nutcracker" for
the Disney Channel.
  Alan Menken (composer) has won two Academy Awards for "Beauty and the
Beast" and two for "Aladdin."  Other works include the musical adaptation
of Roger Corman's classic film "Little Shop of Horrors" and Disney's "The
Little Mermaid."  Most recently, Menken was honored with five Grammy
nominations including one for his collaboration with Tim Rice, "A Whole
New World" from the Disney film, "Aladdin."
  Howard Ashman (lyricist) enjoyed a long association with Menken including
"Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Little Shop
of Horrors."  He was the recipient of several Academy Awards for his work.
 Born on May 17, 1950, in Baltimore, Ashman died of complications due to
AIDS on March 14, 1991, in New York City.
  Tim Rice (lyricist) wrote several new songs, with Menken, for the stage
version of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."  He won a Golden Globe and a
1993 Grammy nomination for "A Whole New World," the love song from the
Disney blockbuster "Aladdin."  His theater work includes "Evita," "Jesus
Christ Superstar," "Chess" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat," currently on tour.
  Linda Woolverton's (book) credits for Disney include the books for the
films "Beauty and the Beast," "The Incredible Journey" and "Aladdin."  She
wrote episodes for televisions shows, such as "Teen Wolf," "The Berenstein
Bears," and "Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers."
  Stan Meyer (scenic designer), a Disney veteran making his Broadway debut,
has worked with director Robert Jess Roth for 10 years on projects
including "In Trousers," "March of the Falsettos" and "Cloud Nine," as
well as the highly acclaimed touring production of Theatreworks/USA's "The
Secret Garden."
  Ann Hould-Ward (costume designer) won the 1994 Tony Award as well as the
American Theatre Wing's Design Award for her costume designs in Disney's
"Beauty and the Beast."  She has, among her Broadway credits, "Sunday in
the Park with George" (Tony nomination), "Into the Woods" (Tony
nomination), "Falsettos," "St. Joan," "Three Men on a Horse," "In the
Summer House" and "Timon of Athens."
  Natasha Katz (lighting designer) has Broadway credits that include the
recent Tyne Daly revival of "Gypsy," Cathy Rigby's "Peter Pan," the
musical "Shogun," "The Cemetery Club," "Breaking the Code," "Honky Tonk
Nights," "Aren't We All" and "Pack of Lies."
  Robert W. McTyre (producer) was recently promoted to the position of
senior vice president of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions.  In this
capacity he oversees production of theatrical properties in the United
States and around the world for Walt Disney Theatrical Productions.
  Disney's "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST", the Broadway musical, will play the
following schedule in Los Angeles:  Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.,
Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are
scaled $25-$65.*  Mail orders begin on Nov. 20.  Beginning Sunday, Dec. 4,
from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. tickets may be purchased at the Shubert Theatre box
office (2020 Avenue of the Stars, Century City) or by calling TeleCharge
at 800-447-7400.  For groups of 20 or more call 310-201-1555 or
800-432-7780.
  * Tickets for Los Angeles preview performances of Disney's "BEAUTY AND
THE BEAST" are priced at $5 off the regular ticket prices above.
  /CONTACT:  Ron Hofmann of Rick Miramontez Co., 213-622-8602; Chris
Boneau, Patty Onagan or Miguel Tuason of Boneau/Bryan-Brown, 212-575-3030;
or Ernie Johnston of Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, 818-955-6837/
16:39 EST
-

    gee, I get the want-to-see everytime a note appears here!
    
    I'm considering a train ride down with the wife in January.  
    see the play, stay overnight, come home the next day after site-seeing.
    
    anyone care to join us?
    could take a car/etc and split expenses...
    
    ed
    

    Ed,
    
    I'd be curious as to how far in advance the show is sold out.
    
    I'm sure there are some legal scalpers a.k.a. ticket services 
    that will get you tickets for a small king's ransom.
    
    Mike

    I'll make a call down there.  I think going as part of a group would be
    fun.
    ed
    

    In other news....
    
    I just had my new SO watch the BatB tape over some of my home-made
    apple pie....Can't run with me unless you like 'em both!!
    
    The results....
    
    I found myself in the sewing store buying the patterns for the costumes
    for Halloween...at his sincerest approval.  :)
    
    Wish me luck!
                                                              

    Can some nice person give me a little information of BatB on Broadway? 
    Are the tickets really sold out way out....
    
    I was thinking about talking a lonnnnnnnnngggggggggg weekend and going
    to NYC and taking husband and 3 year old to a matinee.  
    
    thanks in advance,
    
    kathi

    Kathi,
    
    ref 437.0 for phone#
    my understanding from the work I went through is ok at two weeks out
    for good seats.
    
    ed
    

    
    I watched the stage show of Beauty and the Beast at MGM over Christmas,
   ( 10 out of 10) its brilliant!!! I cant get BE OUR GUEST out of my mind,
    and now i keep playing the CD any chance i get..
    
    Andy..B

I saw the French version last summer.
I imagine the Broadway Show is amazing.

    Anybody been to the LA production?  I'm going to try to go in July 95.

    Does anyone have $$ or # for tickets in LA.  We will be there this fall
    and would like to get tickets.
    
    Also,  is the a B&B in San Franciso?  We'll be there over the 4th and
    thought we check it out.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Kathi

     Watched the stage show of this twice at MGM over christmas, is 
     there any talk of closing the show as i going next year and
     would like to see it again....
    
    Andy

    I called the Worcester Centrum Information line yesterday to get
    information on Sesame Street, and I believe they said that Beauty and
    the Beast would be there sometime in March (23rd maybe?).  Has anyone
    heard about this?  Is it THE stage show?  They only mention the one
    date and I can't imagine them setting up a stage show for only one
    night.
    
    Thanks,
    Karen

I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that it's 'Disney on Ice' with a 'Beauty
and the Beast' theme that's going to be there, not the Broadway musical.

						Tracy

>  I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that it's 'Disney on Ice' with a 'Beauty
>  and the Beast' theme that's going to be there, not the Broadway musical.

Yes, it is Disney on Ice.  I went last year (April 1) and it was pretty good.
With the Cold War over, Disney has hired many talented skaters from Russia and
the Ukraine to perform.

/Steve

    Well I went to see Beauty and the Beast on Ice last year too.
    I thought it was strange that they didn't mention the "on Ice"
    part!
    
    Thanks,
    Karen

    Beauty and the Beast (the broadway show) is going to be at the
    Auditorium in Worcester sometime in March (don'thave the exact date). 
    For some some reason I think its March 23.
    
    The Centrum box office also handles the Auditorium.
    
    They are running a series of Broadway shows at the Aud.  Nunsense 2 was
    supposed to be there the 22 of October, but due to the ceiling falling
    in and poor ticket sales, it was cancelled...FYI the ceiling is fixed.
    
    Crazy for You is supposed to be in there in May.

    Can the Beauty and the Beast show still be seen at MGM..?
    
    Andy

    Jan 7 it was still being shown.  However, at night at a different stage
    they were rehearsal on another play.  Couldn't get close enough to see
    what it was about.
    
    Dave
    

    Dave,
    
    They may be rehearsing the new "Hunchback..." show slated to begin in
    June.
    
    Mike