Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Musical

Overview

From Thursday, June 27 at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, expect three words to echo with enthusiasm: "be our guest". The venue is the latest home to the Australian season of Disney's Beauty and the Beast musical, which has arrived Down Under as a newly reimagined and redesigned production.

Playing until October, this huge show brings a tale as old as time to the Victorian capital after its Aussie-premiere run in Sydney and subsequent stint in Brisbane — and marks the latest in a growing line of Disney hits to come our way. Frozen the Musical did the rounds in recent years, as did the musical version of Mary Poppins.

This version of Beauty and the Beast first made its way to the stage in the UK in 2021, and reworks the original show that premiered in the US in the 90s — adapting Disney's hit 1991 animated movie musical, of course.

Fans can expect the same Oscar-winning and Tony-nominated score courtesy of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice, including all the beloved tunes such as 'Be Our Guest' and 'Beauty and the Beast'. It also comes with new dance arrangements by David Chase, and with original choreographer Matt West revisiting his work.

Cast-wise, the production features all-Australian talent, including Brisbanites Shubshri Kandiah as Belle and Jackson Head as Gaston, the Gold Coast's Jayde Westaby as Mrs Potts, Melbourne's Gareth Jacobs as Cogsworth, plus Brendan Xavier as Beast and Rohan Browne as Lumiere.

Images: Daniel Boud.