Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will have its first Perth performance tonight

Disney’s hit new musical Beauty and the Beast will have its first ever performance in Perth at Crown Theatre this evening, Thursday 24th July. After an incredible national tour enchanting well over 1.2 million Australians in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, Perth is the final stop and the last opportunity to see the show in Australia!

The stellar Australian principal cast includes Perth-born and raised Shubshri Kandiah as Belle, Brendan Xavier as Beast, Rohan Browne as Lumiere, Gareth Jacobs as Cogsworth, Jayde Westaby as Mrs. Potts, Jackson Head as Gaston, Adam Di Martino as Le Fou, Wanneroo-raised Rodney Dobson as Belle’s father Maurice, Hayley Martin as Babette, and Alana Tranter as Madame.

The Perth season will also include a relaxed performance on Sunday 21 September at 1:30pm, in partnership with Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) and Autism WA.

Facts & Figures

• The production has sold over 1.2 million tickets in Australia so far, with the final Perth season still to come.
• Produced by Disney Theatrical Group (Aladdin, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Frozen) this new production of Beauty and the Beast brings back members of the original creative team from the Broadway musical to reimagine this much-loved classic tale. Olivier Award nominee Matt West directs and choreographs, leading a team that includes original composer Alan Menken, lyricist Tim Rice, book writer Linda Woolverton, scenic designer Stan Meyer and lighting designer Natasha Katz.
• The original Australian production opened at the Princess Theatre in 1995 starring Rachael Beck as Belle, Michael Cormick as the Beast, a young Hugh Jackman as Gaston, and the late Bert Newton as Cogsworth. The production played for over two years across Melbourne and Sydney and won the 1996 ARIA Award for Best Australian Soundtrack/Cast/Show Release.
• 23 x 8 tonne trucks are required to transport the set from Adelaide to Perth’s Crown Theatre, where it takes a team of 70 over 15,000 people hours to load in.
• 30 tonnes of flying scenery and 50 tonnes of automation and staging recreate the French provincial town.
• There are a total of 300 costumes and 119 wigs in the show. Each wig takes 14 people 40 hours per wig to hand-knot individual hairs: the equivalent of 191 days straight!
• There are 12 sets of Beast horns, totalling 24 horns.
• Belle’s yellow ball gown design was based on Elizabeth II’s coronation dress.
• Lumiere’s flames are real, while Mrs. Potts has two spouts – one that smokes and one that doesn’t.
• During the ‘Gaston’ production number, the cast clink their mugs over 800 times.
• The show stopping production number ‘Be Our Guest’ includes a spectacular tap finale featuring Lumiere, Belle, and all of the enchanted objects of the castle, illuminated by over 2,400 different lights.