Disney's Beauty and the Beast tour announces full cast

Set to open at Bristol Hippodrome on 25 August, Beauty and the Beast has music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, and is based on the award-winning animated film of the same name. The piece follows a young woman who stumbles upon a petulant prince cursed to resemble a beast unless he can find true love.

The Olivier Award-winning musical had its UK premiere at the Dominion Theatre in 1997, while the show's Broadway run lasted from 1994 to 2007 (the tenth-longest running production in Broadway history).

Tour stops after Bristol include Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cardiff, with the show heading to Dublin in the autumn of 2022.

Courtney Stapleton (Dear Evan Hansen) will play Belle, with Emmanuel Kojo (Girl From the North Country) as Beast, Tom Senior (Eugenius!) as Gaston, Gavin Lee (returning to the role after playing it in New Jersey) as Lumiere and Sam Bailey (The X Factor) as Mrs Potts.

The role of Wardrobe will be played by Samantha Bingley, Babette by Emma Caffrey, Le Fou by Louis Stockil, Maurice by Martin Ball, Cogsworth by Nigel Richards and Chip by Joshua Smith/Theo Querico/Manasseh Mapira/Rojae Simpson/Iesa Miller.

Completing the cast are Jake Bishop, Pamela Blair, Liam Buckland, Jasmine Davis, Autumn Draper, Daisy Edwards, Alyn Hawke, George Hinson, Jennifer Louise Jones, Brontë Lavine, Thomas-Lee Kidd, David McIntosh, Aimee Moore, Sam Murphy, Ashley-Jordon Packer, Emily Squibb, Grace Swaby, India Thornton and Rhys West.

Matt West directs and choreographs, with the creative team featuring scenic designer Stan
Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward and lighting designer Natasha Katz. New dance arrangements will also be created by David Chase, while Michael Kosarin and Danny Troob are musical supervisor/vocal arranger and orchestrator.

West said: "I am so excited today to announce Courtney, Emmanuel and the whole company who
will bring our new production of Beauty to life later this year. We have a vibrant and exciting cast, and I look forward to working with them and our original creative team to reimagine the show for today."

Completing the design team are John Shivers as sound designer, Darryl Maloney as the video
and projections designer, and David H Lawrence as hair designer. Jim Steinmeyer is the illusions
designer.

Watch Stapleton and Kojo discuss the project here: