<P> Broadway producers are usually eager to cast big - named performers in their musicals, but Katzenberg, famous at the time for avoiding working with actors of such caliber, decided against this practice for Beauty and the Beast . Eisner concluded that most of the film's original voice actors would be too busy to reprise their roles onstage . In her Broadway debut, then - 22 - year - old actress Susan Egan was cast as the musical's original Belle . Egan, who had not yet seen the film, had been auditioning for several other Broadway projects at the time--namely My Fair Lady, Carousel and Grease--in which she was much more interested . Despite longing to originate a Broadway role, the actress was initially reluctant to audition for Beauty and the Beast because she thought that "it was a terrible idea for Disney to put a cartoon on Broadway ." Additionally, Egan felt she was not attractive enough to play a character touted "the most beautiful girl in the village", but her agent managed to convince her otherwise . Without any film to reference, Egan determined that Belle is supposed to be a "quirky" character and approached her funnier than how she is depicted in the film, in turn garnering laughs from the producers--who were amused by her unique interpretation--and eventually earning several callbacks . Meanwhile, her competition of 500 actresses, many of whom were simply offering imitations of voice actress Paige O'Hara's original performance, continued to be eliminated . </P> <P> Egan's final week of auditions, during which she sang for Menken for the first time, was particularly challenging . On her last day of auditioning, Egan auditioned opposite several different actors trying out for the roles of the Beast and Gaston . As the day concluded, Roth directed Egan to approach the role as "a straight ingénue", and she was ultimately cast upon proving capable of playing Belle both straight and comically . Only afterward did Egan celebrate by finally renting and watching the entire film for the first time . Although Egan did not feel particularly pressured about the role, she was grateful to be surrounded by a supporting cast of veteran Broadway performers . </P> <P> Actor Terrence Mann was cast as the Beast . Mann had previously performed as Javert in Les Misérables, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award . For his final audition for Disney management, Mann performed for a large audience comprising Disney executives and secretaries in a theatre located on 42nd Street, which he felt was in stark contrast to the usual method of auditioning for six to eight people in a dark theatre . Actor Gary Beach was cast as Lumiere . Beach had seen Beauty and the Beast premiere at the El Capitan Theatre, prior to which he had watched a stage rendition of the film, and thoroughly enjoyed both . Beach was particularly drawn to Jerry Orbach's rendition of "Be Our Guest" in his role as Lumiere, thinking, "Now why can't I get a part like that". Two years later, Beach received a call from casting director Jay Binder inviting him to play Lumiere during their workshop of Beauty and the Beast, but kept turning down the offer due to having prior commitments to an upcoming show starring comedian Carol Burnett . It was only at Burnett's insistence that Beach finally accepted . Amidst a cast of relatively obscure actors, Tom Bosley, famous for his roles on the television series Happy Days and Murder, She Wrote, became the show's most recognizable performer when he was cast as Belle's father Maurice . </P> <P> All eight of the film's original songs were retained for the Broadway adaptation . The song "Human Again" had originally been written for the film, but it was ultimately abandoned due to time and story constraints; the musical number was finally resurrected for and included in the production . Composer Alan Menken, who had both scored and written the film's songs alongside lyricist Howard Ashman, returned to the project to write six new songs for the musical . Lyricist Tim Rice joined Menken to co-write the new numbers, replacing Ashman who had died in 1991, before the film was released . Both Menken and Rice initially approached the project with some resistance; Menken's emotional attachment to the music he had written with Ashman made him fear Disney's vision of a Broadway musical would transform Beauty and the Beast into an attraction too similar to what one would find at Walt Disney World . Meanwhile, Rice, who had previously worked as composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's lyricist on the Broadway musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, was hesitant to replace Ashman in fear of worsening Beauty and the Beast . Notably, Rice had similarly replaced Ashman to write the remaining songs for Disney's Aladdin (1992) after the lyricist died . Ultimately, the collaboration resulted in approximately half of the Broadway score having co-writing credits by Menken and Ashman, while the remaining half are Menken and Rice compositions . The Menken - Rice songs are sometimes billed as "additional songs composed by (Alan) Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice ." On working on the musical without Ashman, Menken explained that "The main challenge...was blending the lyrics of Tim Rice with those of Howard . In the end, the finished score has a quality all its own; a hybrid between" Ashman and Rice's styles . Elaborating on the main difference between writing songs for the stage as opposed to film, Menken stated that the lack of close - ups and montages in a live musical production creates a requirement for more singing material in order "to provide the same kind of illumination that intimate facial expression provides ." </P>

Who play the beast in beauty and the beast