Beauty and the Beast - Broadway Creative Team

Howard Ashman followed a distinguished career as a musical comedy librettist, lyricist, playwright, and director with his animated feature film debut, Disney's critically and popularly celebrated The Little Mermaid. Ashman received the 1989 Academy Award® for Best Song for "Under the Sea," written with his longtime collaborator, Alan Menken. Ashman and Menken garnered a total of six awards for The Little Mermaid, including two Academy Awards®, two Golden Globe Awards®, and two Grammy Awards®. Born in Baltimore, Ashman received his education at Goddard College and Boston University, and earned an MFA from Indiana University. He moved to New York in 1974 ... read more Alan Menken is a Disney legend who has won more Academy Awards than any other living individual, including eight Oscars with 4 for Best Score and 4 for Best Song; 11 Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year for "A Whole New World"); and 7 Golden Globes. He is best known for his work on Disney films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Pocahontas, Enchanted, and Tangled, as well as the onstage musicals Newsies, Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol and Sister Act. He is currently working with Lin-Manuel Miranda ... read more Sir Tim Rice is an author and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; for additional songs for the 2011 West End revival of The Wizard of Oz; and for his work with Alan Menken on Disney's Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the musical King David. He also worked with Elton John on Disney's ... read more Jay Binder has cast over 70 Broadway productions, including the Tony Award winning productions of The Lion King, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Dames At Sea, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Gypsy, The King and I, Lost in Yonkers and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. In addition, he was fortunate enough to cast every Neil Simon play from 1990 through 2009. Mr. Binder was one of the founders and continues to be a driving force behind the highly-acclaimed Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert series at City Center in New York City. His work casting this series led ... read more Collaborations with Lonny Price include Sunset Boulevard and the upcoming Carousel for the English National Opera in London, Sweeney Todd, Candide, and Company at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill (film for HBO with Audra McDonald). Other projects include Souvenir (Broadway), West Side Story (Carnegie Hall 125th Anniversary), The Pirates of Penzance (starring Deborah Voigt), Abundance (Hartford Stage), The Other Place (Alley), Guys and Dolls (Goodspeed, CT Critics Circle nomination), The Heidi Chronicles (Trinity Rep), Seussical (TheatreworksUSA, Lucille Lortel nomination) and ten seasons with the Chautauqua Theatre Company. Faculty member: ... read more David Friedman is a multi-talented artist who has made a name for himself in the Broadway community as a composer, lyricist, and pianist. Born in New York City in 1950, Friedman began playing the piano at the age of four and was composing music by the time he was six. He attended the Manhattan School of Music and later the Juilliard School, where he studied piano and composition. Friedman made his Broadway debut in 1983 as the conductor and pianist for the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." He went on to work on several other Broadway productions, including "Song ... read more Broadway: All The Way, Driving Miss Daisy, Grey Gardens, They’re Playing Our Song, The Elephant Man, My One and Only, The Heidi Chronicles, The Will Rogers Follies, Having Our Say, Company, Racing Demon, Ragtime, John Leguizamo’s Freak, The Capeman, Putting It Together and The Who’s Tommy. Off Broadway: Sunday in the Park with George, Angels in America, Hapgood, Merrily We Roll Along (four times!) and Whistle Down the Wind. Opera: Werther at the MET, Julie Taymor’s The Magic Flute in Florence, Italy, A View from the Bridge at Chicago Lyric, Die Gezeichhneten at LA Opera, The Photographer at BAM, Transatlatic, ... read more Jeremiah J. Harris: Founder and Chairman/CEO of Production Resource Group. Partner in Grove Entertainment. ... read more Brent-Alan Huffman conducted the world premiere of Sister Act and on Broadway was assistant conductor for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. He was music supervisor for Beauty (Mexico), and conducted Leap of Faith (L.A.) and the tours of Beauty and Little Shop of Horrors. He was production music coordinator for ABC’s "The Music Man," associate music producer for NBC’s "A Christmas Carol" and sang on the Disney films Enchanted and Tangled. ... read more Natasha Katz is a New York-based lighting designer. She is a six-time Tony Award winner who has designed extensively for theatre, opera, dance, concerts, and permanent lighting installations around the world. Her recent Broadway credits include: Diana, The Music Man, All My Sons, Burn This, The Prom, Frozen, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Cats, School of Rock, An American in Paris, Aladdin, Skylight, The Glass Menagerie, Once, Follies, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage, and Aida. ... read more Music supervisor and arranger for Broadway's The Producers. Other Broadway credits include The Book of Mormon, Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, Beauty and the Beast, The Frogs, High Society, Steel Pier, Dance a Little Closer and A Christmas Carol. For New York City Ballet, he arranged the music and co-wrote the libretto (with Susan Stroman) for Double Feature. Other ballet credits include Thou Swell (for NYCB) and But Not for Me for the Martha Graham Company. ... read more Stewart F. Lane is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, director, and author. He was born on March 16, 1947, in New York City, and grew up in Great Neck, Long Island. Lane attended the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He later earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater from Columbia University. Lane began his career in the entertainment industry as an actor, appearing in off-Broadway productions and regional theater. ... read more Recent Broadway: Lennon, Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Beauty & the Beast, Hairspray, Movin’ Out, Sweet Charity, Good Vibrations, Dracula, Caroline or Change, Little Shop…, Thoroughly Modern Millie, 42nd St, Urinetown, Nine, La Boheme, Big River, Boys From Syracuse, Look of Love, Urban Cowboy, Never Gonna Dance, Thou Shalt Not, By Jeeves, Follies, Oklahoma!, Jekyll and Hyde, Rocky Horror Show, Seussical, The Music Man, Fosse, Swing!, Parade, Footloose, Kat and the Kings, Civil War, Triumph of Love. Studio Musician (bass): Michael Jackson, Madonna, Portishead, Eric Clapton, BB King, Sinatra, Carly Simon, Celine Dion, Smashing Pumpkins, Pete Seeger, NY Philharmonic. ... read more Robert Jess Roth is a director, whose credits include The Opposite of Sex [Williamstown, MA (Regional), 2006], Lestat [Broadway, 2006], Beauty and the Beast [West End, 1997], and Beauty and the Beast [Broadway, 1994]. ... read more Thomas Schumacher serves as President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, overseeing the development, creation and execution of Disney's legitimate Stage Entertainment worldwide. The division's credits include Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, On the Record, High School Musical, TARZAN, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Shakespeare in Love, Freaky Friday and Frozen. Recently he served as Executive Producer for the live-action film Beauty and the Beast. As President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, he oversaw some 21 animated features, including The ... read more Rick Sordelet - Fight Director - Rick and his son and partner, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, created SORDELET INC, www.sordeletinc.com with 73 Broadway credits that include Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Wolf Hall. Also staged the fights for the opera Cyrano de Bergerac starring Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera House, and the LaScala in Milan, Italy; and for over 65 productions on five continents including Ben Hur Live European Tour and sit down in Rome. Film: Ben is Back starring Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges, The Game Plan starring Dwayne Johnson; Dan in ... read more Broadway: Evita, How To Succeed; Promises, Promises; Steady Rain; 33 Variations; ...Millie; Sexaholix...; Kiss Me Kate; Kat and the Kings; Freak; Beauty and the Beast; Angels in America; I Hate Hamlet; Eastern Standard. Roundabout, NYSF, MTC, Altar Boyz, MTC. ... read more Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, Freaky Friday, Falsettos, First Daughter Suite, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kid Victory, If/Then, Annie, Dogfight, Leap of Faith, Queen of the Mist, People in the Picture, Sondheim on Sondheim, Next to Normal (Tony Award), Glorious Ones, Grinch, Adrift in Macao, Bernarda Alba, Spelling Bee, Assassins (Tony Award), Tom Sawyer, A New Brain, A Christmas Carol, Hello Again, Guys & Dolls (1992), My Favorite Year, In Trousers, Sunday in the Park with George, Once on This Island, Closer Than Ever, Legs Diamond, Romance Romance, Carrie, Birds of Paradise, Rags, Three Guys Naked, Von Richtofen. ... read more Off-Broadway: Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Intrigue with Faye; Batboy the musical; The Divine Sister. Regional Theaters: Goodspeed Musicals; Old Globe; Guthrie; Shakespeare Theatre; Ballet Arizona; Alley Theatre; American Players; Children's Theatre Company; Universal Studios Hollywood; Studio Theatre; Goodspeed Musicals; Edinburgh Festival. National Tours: Fame; Godspell; Jesus Christ Superstar. Opera: Portland Opera, Nationale Reisopera (NL), Gotham Chamber Opera, Tiroler Landestheater, Wexford Opera Festival. Awards: Irene Sharaff Young Master 2008, Lucille Lortel Nomination 2001. ... read more Danny Troob has arranged and orchestrated music for many Broadway shows over nearly 40 years. He has previously been nominated for Tonys for his work on Shrek the Musical (2009) and The Pajama Game (2006). His film work includes the movie of Newsies, among many others. ... read more As members of AEROSMITH-America's Greatest Rock & Roll Band-the songwriting team of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have sold more than 150 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are the recipients of countless awards including four Grammys, eight American Music Awards, six Billboard Awards, 12 MTV Video Music Awards and an Emmy, among many other honors. In 2013 Tyler and Perry were awarded with the Founder's Award at the ASCAP Pop Awards and inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. With scores of multi-platinum albums, AEROSMITH continues to ... read more Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and "The Motions". He was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, two of which were for his major-label debut album, Happy. West won the 2013 American Music Award for Best Contemporary Inspirational Artist. Starting as an independent musician in the late 1990s, he released three independent albums before signing with Universal South Records. With the release of his Dove Award-winning debut album, Happy, released in 2003, his first ... read more