DVR Alert: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST's Josh Gad to Co-Host LIVE WITH KELLY Next Thursday

Be sure to tune in next Thursday, March 31st to see Tony Award-nominated actor, Josh Gad, join forces with Kelly Ripa as co-host of Live with Kelly! The actor will be joining the morning chat show in support of his anticipated turn as Le Fou in Disney's brand-new remake of "Beauty and the Beast."

"LIVE with Kelly" is distributed in national Syndication by Disney|ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution. The show is produced by WABC-TV in New York and executive produced by Michael Gelman and Kelly Ripa. Visit "LIVE" on the web at LiveKelly.com, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@LiveKelly), and Snapchat (LiveKelly).

Disney's highly anticipated live-action film hits theaters on March 17th and is a live-action re-telling of the studio's animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar® winnerKevin Kline as Maurice, BELLE'S eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston's long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

Directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, "Beauty and the Beast" is produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.