Opening Night of Paper Mill Playhouse’s Beauty and The Beast

Tale as old as time opened Sunday night at Paper Mill Playhouse’s. Disney’s, Tony Award-winning musical Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, delighted audiences.

Singing teapots and candlesticks, an evil spell, and an unlikely love story are all part of the magic of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, an international sensation that has played to more than 35 million people in 13 countries. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage production includes all of the original songs from the movie by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, plus additional gems by Menken and Tim Rice. The whole family will be enchanted by this gorgeous production, featuring stunning costumes and sets, spectacular dance numbers, and, of course, a fairy-tale ending.

Directed by Mark S. Hoebee, with choreography by Alex Sanchez and music direction by Michael Borth, the principal cast features Belinda Allyn (Paper Mill’s West Side Story) as Belle, Joel Blum (Show Boat) as Maurice, Jenelle Chu (Bernhardt/Hamlet) as Babette, Kevin Curtis (Paper Mill’s A Chorus Line) as Lefou, Donna English (Paper Mill’s Lend Me a Tenor)as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Stacia Fernandez (Paper Mill’s Bandstand) as Mrs. Potts, Gavin Lee (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Lumiere,Kevin Ligon (Hello Dolly!) as Cogsworth, Stephen Mark Lukas (The Book of Morman) as Gaston, Tally Sessions (Paper Mill’s South Pacific) as The Beast, with Gianni David Faruolo (Fun Home) and Antonio Watson (This Ain’t No Disco) alternating in the role of Chip. They will be joined by Joe Bigelow, Monica Cioffi, Brittany Conigatti, Justin DeParis, Stephen DiBiase, Jennifer Evans, Annie Gagen, David Michael Garry, Leeds Hill, Brett Michael Lockley, Michael Milkanin, Corinne Munsch, Brett Pederson, Alexa Racioppi, Taylor Rosenberger, Molly Rushing, Bronwyn Tarboton, Matthew Vincent Taylor, and Cynthia Thorne