Beauty and the Beast:Jacob Young will play his finalperformance as Lumiere on 20 Aug

Jacob Young, star of ABC's 'All My Children,' will play his final performance as �Lumiere� in Walt Disney's Beauty And The Beast on 20 Aug 2006.

Young made his Broadway debut in the role on the 9 May 2006, he was originally scheduled to play the role for a limited 10-week engagement through to 16 Jul 2006, but this was later extended.

Stuart Marland will asume the role of �Lumiere� from Young on 22 Aug 2006.

Stuart Marland began his professional career in 1980 as one of Disney's Kids of the Kingdom. His Broadway credits include General Lord Glossop and Mr. Utterson in Jekyll & Hyde and Ragueneau in Cyrano The Musical.

As previously announced Donny Osmond will join the cast as Gaston for a limited nine-week engagement beginning 19 Sep 2006.

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 26 Nov 2006.

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, features Steve Blanchard (The Beast), Ashley Brown (Belle), Grant Norman (Gaston), Jeff Brooks (Cogsworth), 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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Jacob Young