Beauty and the Beast: Deborah Lew to play Belle Stephen R. Buntrock to play Gaston

Deborah Lew will be Broadway's new Belle of the Ball when she takes to the stage in Disney's Beauty And The Beast, on 26 Dec 2006. Joining her, in the role of Gaston, is Stephen R. Buntrock.

Deborah Lew made her Broadway debut when she played Vixen in the Roundabout's production of Brecht and Weil's The Threepenny Opera. Lew assumes the role of Belle from Sarah Uriarte Berry.

Stephen R. Buntrock's Broadway credits include: Oklahoma!, Jane Eyre, Titanic, Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis�rables. Buntrock assumes the role of Gaston from Donny Osmond.

Beauty And The Beast opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in 1994, where it played more than 2,250 performances, becoming the longest-running show ever at the theatre.

The production moved to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1999, where it is also the longest-running tenant at this theatre, having played 2,678 performances. The musical is currently booking to the 1 Jul 2007.

Beauty And The Beast is the classic love story of Belle, a young woman in a small, provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a prince trapped in a spell placed on him by an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and to be loved, the spell will be broken and he will be transformed back to his former self. But time is running out, and if the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he will be doomed for all eternity.

Disney's Beauty And The Beast features Alan Menken's Academy Award-winning score, songs by the late Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (including the Academy Award-winning title song 'Be Our Guest'), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including 'If I Can't Love Her' and 'A Change In Me'). Book is by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay.

The musical is choreographed by Matt West and directed by Robert Jess Roth. Sets are by Stan Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, and lighting by Natasha Katz.

Beauty And The Beast is Broadway's longest running American musical and the 6th longest running musical of all time. Seen in 13 countries, the total worldwide attendance stands at more than 25 million people, making it one of the world�s most-seen musicals.