Tour dates and further details have been revealed for next year's Beauty and the Beast tour.
The piece 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 piece's Broadway run lasted from 1994 to 2007 (the tenth-longest running production in Broadway history). The piece then had a UK tour from 2001. In a statement made in September, Disney said the musical will bring together the original creative team from the Broadway production.
This 2021 tour will commence at Curve Leicester on 25 May, where the piece reportedly plays for five weeks. After that it is set to visit Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin (from 8 July), Bristol Hippodrome (from 12 August), Liverpool Empire (from 23 September) and Edinburgh Playhouse (from 21 October).
On the creative side, the show, directed by Rob Roth, will be completely transformed for its new run. Alongside Roth are choreographer Matt West, scenic designer Stan Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward and lighting designer Natasha Katz. There will be new dance arrangements by David Chase, allowing original choreographer Matt West to re-visit his work.
John Shivers is sound designer, Darryl Maloney is the video and projections designer, and David H. Lawrence is hair designer. Jim Steinmeyer is the illusions designer, as he was on the original 1994 production.
Casting for the production, by Pippa Ailion, will be announced at a later date.
Roth said: "I am so excited to premiere this new production of Beauty in the UK. The entire original creative team has reassembled, and we've reimagined the visual aspects of the show completely, making full use of all the newest technologies in stage craft, lighting and costume construction. Many of these elements hadn't been invented when we first developed the show.
"So we are creating something brand new from this beloved "tale as old as time." I speak for the whole team when I say fortunate we all feel to be given the opportunity to reimagine the show for the 21st century."