Beauty and the Beast:Donny Osmond extends his role as Gaston

Donny Osmond will be extending his role as Gaston in Disney�s Beauty And The Beast. Osmond, originally scheduled to perform in the show through to 21 Nov 2006, will now play the role through to 24 Dec 2006.

�I�m having such a great time on Broadway that I couldn�t resist hanging around a little longer,� Osmond said. �New York audiences have welcomed me with open arms, and I couldn�t think of a more special way to spend the holidays than on Broadway in New York City.�

Due to previously scheduled commitments, Osmond will not be performing in the show on 5 Dec. 6 Dec and 13 - 17 Dec 2006.

Osmond�s role as the show's muscle-bound villain, Gaston in Beauty And The Beast is his first return to Broadway since making his debut in 1982 in Little Johnny Jones.

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 Musical then moved to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1999, where it is also the longest-running tenant at this theatre.

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.

Disney�s Beauty And The Beast, also features Steve Blanchard (The Beast), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Belle), Christopher Duva (Cogsworth), Stuart Marland (Lumiere), Jeanne Lehmann (Mrs. Potts), Jamie Ross (Maurice), Aldrin Gonzales (Lefou), Meredith Inglesby (Babette) and Mary Stout (Madame de la Grande Bouche). Trevor Braun and Alexander Scheitinger alternate the role of Chip.

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.

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Donny Osmond