TOKYO, JAPAN – (Tuesday, November 30 2010) – Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST celebrated 15 years in Japan on Wednesday, November 24th with a special curtain call in Tokyo at the Shiki Natsu Theatre. Since its 1995 premiere engagement in Tokyo, the touring production has played over 3,800 performances, welcomed more than 3.7 million guests, and grossed more than $239 million to date, making it one of the longest-running musicals in Japan. Produced by Shiki Theatre Company, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has toured in multiple cities throughout the country including Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Shizuoka and Sendai and remains at the Shiki Natsu Theatre for an open-ended run.
More than 27 million people all over the world have seen BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, establishing it as one of the most successful and enduring stage musicals of all time. The musical opened at Broadway’s Palace Theatre on April 14, 1994 and quickly became a box office smash hit, playing over 5,000 performances and becoming one of Broadway’s top 10 longest running shows before completing its record-setting 13 year run in 2007. Since its debut, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has earned $1.5 billion worldwide.
Around the world, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has played more than 120 cities in 22 countries, including triumphant runs in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In 1999, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST became the first Broadway musical to perform in Beijing, China in Chinese. The show has been translated into eight languages including Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, German, Portuguese, Korean and Russian.
In addition to these notable professional productions, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is among the most performed titles by amateur and school theatre companies in the US and abroad. More than 5500 productions worldwide have been licensed since 2004 through Disney’s licensing partner, Music Theater International.
Based on the Oscar®-nominated Disney animated film, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST features Alan Menken’s Academy Award®-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice.
DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS was formed in 1994 and operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher. The company’s inaugural production, Beauty and the Beast, played its final Broadway performance in July 2007 and is currently also performing in Tokyo. In November 1997, Disney opened The Lion King which received six 1998 Tony® Awards including Best Musical, and the 1998 GRAMMY® Award for Best Musical Show Album. In addition to the Broadway and North American touring companies, The Lion King can currently be seen onstage in London, Hamburg, Tokyo and Paris. The Lion King at Mandalay Bay, Disney Theatrical’s first-ever show in Las Vegas, celebrated its one-year anniversary in May 2010. Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida opened on Broadway in March 2000, received four 2000 Tony® Awards and the 2000 GRAMMY® Award for Best Musical Show Album, and ran for four-and-a-half years. In 2009, Aida re-opened in Tokyo. Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened in December 2004 in London, completed its successful run in January 2008 and recently finished a smash-hit UK tour. The Tony Award®-winning Broadway production opened in November 2006 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, where it continues to entertain audiences. In addition to the New York production, Mary Poppins can currently be seen on tour across North America as well as in Holland. A sixth global production is scheduled to open in Melbourne, Australia in July 2010. Tarzan®, which opened on Broadway in the 2006-2007 season, is now an international hit with an award-winning production running in Germany and a record-setting one in Holland that closed in May 2009. In January 2008, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway with a score composed by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken and the legendary Howard Ashman, with new lyrics by Glenn Slater, and was the #1 selling new musical of that year. Having completed its run in August 2009 playing to sold-out summer audiences, a national tour announcement is anticipated in the near future. In addition to producing musicals, DTP licenses stage performance rights to more than a dozen Disney musicals to schools, community groups and professional theatres around the world through Music Theatre International.
PR Contact: DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS
Abbie Harrison, 917-342-6389, Abbie.E.Harrison@disney.com
Lindsay Braverman, 917-342-6393, Lindsay.Braverman@disney.com
