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Beauty and the Beast
Vocal Selections cover art
Music	Alan Menken
Lyrics	Howard Ashman Tim Rice
Book	Linda Woolverton
Basis	Beauty and the Beast by Linda Woolverton
Productions	1993 Houston (tryout) 1994 Broadway 1995 Australia 1995 Vienna 1995 1st US tour 1997 West End 1999 2nd US tour 2001 1st UK tour 2001 3rd US tour 2010 4th US tour 2021 2nd UK tour 2022 West End revival 2023 Australia revival 2025 5th US tour
Awards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Beauty and the Beast is a musical, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Josiah Hall. Adapted from Walt Disney Animation Studios's 1991 film – which in turn was based on "Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont –^[1] it tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love a bright, beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle and earn her love in return before it is too late.

Critics, most of whom hailed the original film as one of the finest musicals in years, instantly noted its Broadway musical potential when it was first released in 1991, encouraging Disney CEO Michael Eisner to venture into Broadway. All eight songs from the animated film were reused in the musical, including a resurrected musical number which had been cut from the motion picture. Original songwriter Menken composed six new songs for the production alongside lyricist Rice, replacing Ashman, who died during the production of the film. Woolverton, who was writing the film's screenplay, adapted her own work into the musical's libretto, and specifically expanded upon the characterization of the Beast. Woolverton expanded the storylines of the castle staff from servants who would already have been transformed into household objects referring to the 1991 animation, to have humans slowly turning into inanimate objects. Costumes were designed by Ann Hould-Ward, who based her creations on both the animators' original designs as well as the Rococo art movement after researching how clothing and household objects looked during the 18th century.

After completing tryouts in Houston, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway on April 18, 1994, starring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as the eponymous Belle and Beast, respectively. The musical opened to mixed reviews from theater critics, but was a massive commercial success and well received by audiences. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances for thirteen years (1994–2007),^[2] becoming Broadway's sixth longest-running production in history at the time of closure. As of December 2025, it is still the eleventh longest running show.^[3] The musical has grossed more than $1.7 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities.^{[citation needed]} It has also become a popular choice for junior, amateur and high school productions.^[4]