<P> Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton . Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award - winning 1991 animated musical film of the same name--which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne - Marie Leprince de Beaumont--Beauty and the Beast tells the story of a cold - blooded 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 first earn the love of a bright, beautiful young woman whom he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late . </P> <P> Critics, who hailed it as one of the year's finest musicals, immediately noted the film's 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 had died during production of the film . Woolverton, who had written the film's screenplay, adapted her own work into the musical's libretto, and specifically expanded upon the characterization of the Beast . Woolverton also expanded the storylines of the castle staff from servants who had already been transformed into household objects into humans who were gradually 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 . </P> <P> 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 theatre 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), becoming Broadway's tenth longest - running production in history . The musical has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities . It has also become a popular choice for high school productions . </P> <P> Still recovering from Walt Disney's demise, Disney's animated films continued to experience a noticeable decline in quality while struggling to attain critical and commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s . The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner was hired to ensure the performance of the studio's next animated projects, despite having virtually no animation experience . Eisner himself had been a theatre major in college . Eisner's first hire as Disney's CEO was theatrical producer Peter Schneider, who subsequently became responsible for hiring more artists who shared similar theatrical backgrounds to contribute to the studio's next animated releases, among them lyricist Howard Ashman and his long - time collaborator, composer Alan Menken . Ashman and Menken had previously amassed great live musical success with their Off - Broadway production Little Shop of Horrors, but the performance of Ashman's first Broadway venture Smile had been disappointing . Eager to redeem himself, Ashman agreed to work on Disney's animated film The Little Mermaid (1989), which he and Menken would famously decide to approach as though they were scoring a Broadway musical . Upon release, The Little Mermaid was a massive critical and commercial success, garnering two Academy Awards, both of them for Ashman and Menken's original music . Disney established a successful renaissance period, during which Ashman and Menken became responsible for teaching the art of transforming traditional animated films into animated musicals . </P>

When did beauty and the beast open on broadway