<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 between 1994 and 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> <P> Inspired by Mermaid's success, production on an animated musical adaptation of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale began shortly afterward, during which Ashman finally confessed to Menken that he was dying of AIDS, a secret he had been keeping from the studio in fear of being discriminated against or fired . Before the film had even been completed, executive vice president Ron Logan suggested to Eisner that he consider adapting Beauty and the Beast for Broadway, an idea Eisner quickly deflected . While the film, written by screenwriter Linda Woolverton, was premiering at the New York Film Festival, an ailing Ashman was being cared for at St. Vincent's Hospital; the lyricist succumbed to his disease four days later on March 14, 1991, dying eight months before the film's November release . Beauty and the Beast became the last project on which Menken worked with Ashman . The film was released to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success, outperforming The Little Mermaid by becoming the highest - grossing animated film in history, as well as the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture . Once again, Academy Awards were won for Ashman and Menken's music . Several critics noticed the film's live musical potential, among them prolific New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich . Lamenting the Broadway selection at the time, Rich famously praised the songwriting duo for having written "(t) he best Broadway musical score of 1991", while hailing the film as a "better (musical)... than anything he had seen on Broadway" in 1991 . Rich's review would ultimately provide Eisner and Katzenberg with the confidence needed to seriously consider the film as a potential Broadway project . Disney was also inspired by the successes of Broadway musicals such as Cats, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, strongly believing their production could be just as profitable . </P> <P> Virtually unknown at the time, Robert Jess Roth was appointed the production's director based on his various successes directing live shows at the Disney theme parks . Eisner and Katzenberg had opted against hiring a more established director in order to retain creative control over the project, believing that an A-list director would likely feel more inclined to challenge their vision . Roth himself had previously pursued Eisner about investing in a Broadway show--originally suggesting a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins (1964)--only to have his idea declined, citing cost of investment and time concerns . However, Eisner invited Roth to ask him about pursuing Broadway again in the future once he had finished directing three additional Disney theme park shows . Ultimately impressed with Roth's adaptation of The Nutcracker, Eisner finally suggested an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, inspired by the success of a condensed stage version of the film at Disneyland, although briefly discouraged by the idea of having humans instantly transformed into inanimate objects live . Since the film had not yet been released on home video, Roth spent an entire day re-watching Beauty and the Beast in theaters while brainstorming how to present its fantastical elements onstage, and eventually worked with choreographer Matt West and set designer Stan Meyer on their own proposal, with contributions from Menken and Woolverton . In a hotel in Aspen, Roth convinced Eisner and Katzenberg to green - light a Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast using a combination of 140 storyboards, costume sketches, fabric swatches and demonstrating one illusion . Eisner retained final approval over all creative elements of the production, "from the lowest chorus swing performer to the director, stars and design team ." Menken was initially skeptical of Roth's qualifications, as he had never directed a Broadway show before . Meanwhile, the producers were concerned that audiences might not be interested in seeing the same story that they had enjoyed on film on Broadway . Among the skeptics was theatrical producer Steven Suskin, author of Opening Night and Broadway, who argued that the production was more likely to be successful in reverse: "(The movie is) basically written as a theater piece . I'm sure it would've worked in the theater first, and it then would've worked in the movies," believing audiences would have difficulties accepting a new version of such an immensely popular work . </P>

Who played belle in the animated beauty and the beast