Beauty and the Beast

December 6 – 21, 2024

To end the 2024 season, the Garfield Center is thrilled to bring the Broadway musical adaptation of Disney’s “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” to its stage!  With songs that have seared their way into our hearts and minds, and a classic story for the ages, the GCA invites you to revisit a certain French provincial town, a dark and enchanted castle, and such memorable characters as Belle, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Lumierre, Cogsworth, Gaston, Maurice, LeFou, and the Beast.  Featuring music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton, it is adapted from Disney’s 1991 animated film – which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.  Jennifer Kafka Smith will direct the production which will run for 11 performances starting December 6 through December 21, 2024.

The story is timeless: Belle, an avid fan of books and the daughter of flighty inventor Maurice, lives an uneventful life in a small town.  When her father does not return from a trip to sell his latest invention, she sets out to find him.  She discovers that a disfigured and terrifying Beast has imprisoned Maurice in a dark and terrifying castle.  Trading her freedom for his, she becomes the Beast’s prisoner-in-residence.  But not everything is as it seems, as she discovers that normally inanimate objects are enchanted and alive.  Their situation, created years before by a scorned enchantress, helps Belle to slowly realize that the true nature and worth of a soul is not in its appearance.  Back in town, though, Maurice reveals Belle’s imprisonment, causing her self-absorbed suitor, Gaston, to stir up the kind of trouble that will bring the story to its exciting conclusion.  Featuring the well-loved title song, along with other memorable songs like “Be Our Guest,” “Belle,” and “Gaston,” this modern classic will absolutely light up next year’s holiday season and help make family memories that will be remembered for years to come!