San Francisco theatergoers have only a few days left to catch Disney's touring revival of Beauty and the Beast before it exits the Orpheum Theatre next Sunday. The production marks Disney's first North American tour of the beloved musical in more than 25 years, staged to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary.
A promotional video posted by ATG San Francisco this week reminded fans that only a handful of performances remain before the run wraps up. The 30th anniversary staging reunites much of the original 1994 Broadway creative team, according to D23, including composer Alan Menken, lyricist Tim Rice, and book writer Linda Woolverton.
Original Broadway Team Returns to Reshape the Tour
Director and choreographer Matt West, scenic designer Stanley A. Meyer, costume designer Ann Hould-Ward, and lighting designer Natasha Katz also came back for the touring revival, according to TodayTix. Their return gives the touring version direct ties to the Tony Award-winning Broadway staging that first opened three decades ago.
The San Francisco cast is led by Kyra Belle Johnson as Belle and Fergie L. Philippe as the Beast, with Stephen Mark Lukas playing Gaston, Danny Gardner as Lumiere, and Kathy Voytko as Mrs. Potts, D23 reports. The score still includes Alan Menken and Tim Rice's ballad If I Can't Love Her, one of the numbers carried over from the stage adaptation.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area Benefits From the Run
BroadwaySF also partnered with Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area throughout the engagement, donating $5 from every weekend matinee ticket and $10 from all other performances purchased with the promo code MAKEAWISH. The charity also hosted a dedicated Broadway for Wishes night at the Orpheum on July 18.
A 1926 Landmark With Its Own Broadway Pedigree
The Orpheum Theatre itself carries its own history. Located at 1192 Market Street in the Civic Center district, the venue was designed in 1926 by architect B. Marcus Priteca and was designated San Francisco Landmark #94 in 1977, according to Wikipedia. The 2,197-seat theater's 12th-century French cathedral-style facade and its $20 million 1998 renovation have made it San Francisco's primary stage for large-scale touring productions.
Beauty and the Beast's Broadway history is itself part of the story. The original production opened on April 18, 1994, and ran for 13 years and 5,461 performances before closing in July 2007, making it one of the ten longest-running shows in Broadway history, per The Smith Center. That stage hit followed the success of the 1991 animated film, which became the first animated movie ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, according to The Garfield Center for the Arts.
What Comes Next for the Orpheum Stage
Once Beauty and the Beast takes its final San Francisco bow, the Orpheum's BroadwaySF lineup keeps moving. Oh, Mary! arrives in October and November, followed by The Outsiders in December and Buena Vista Social Club in February 2027, according to SF LIVE. It's the latest turnover for a venue that hosted another blockbuster Disney run when The Lion King returned to the Orpheum in late 2023.
For anyone still weighing a final visit, the show runs about two hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission, and is recommended for audiences ages 6 and older, per TodayTix. House policy requires every attendee, regardless of age, to hold a valid ticket.
