Jacob Young Extends Beauty and the Beast Run to 8/20

It was announced today that Jacob Young ("JR Chandler" on ABC's "All My Children") will extend his role as 'Lumiere' in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Young, originally scheduled to perform in the show for ten weeks through July 16th, will now play the role through August 20th at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

"I'm having the time of my life playing Lumiere," Young said. "Making my Broadway debut in Beauty and the Beast is a dream come true. The audience response has been so incredible that I wanted to continue performing on Broadway for a while longer."

Young is making his Broadway debut as Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He began performances on Tuesday, May 9th.

Young joined the cast of "All My Children" in the leading role of "JR Chandler" in September 2003, a role that earned him a Daytime Emmy® Nomination as Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series. Prior to that, he earned a Daytime Emmy® Award for his role as "Lucky Spencer" on "General Hospital." Young was featured in the ABC movie for television, "Beach Boys: An All American Family," and has also been seen on screen in The Girl Next Door. He has also been a guest star on ABC's "Hope & Faith." In 2002, he was named "Sexiest Male Soap Star" by People Magazine. Young released his debut album "Jacob Young "in 2001 on Artemis Records for music icon Danny Goldberg.

Young will not appear in the Wednesday matinee performances due to his shooting schedule for "All My Children."

In 2006, Beauty and the Beast marked several major milestones.  On April 18th, the musical celebrated its 12th anniversary on Broadway.  The production played its 5,000th performance on Tuesday, June 20th.

The show is Broadway's longest running American musical and currently the 6th longest-running musical of all time. Seen in 13 countries, the total worldwide attendance for Beauty and the Beast stands at more than 25 million people.

The show, which features a score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, also currently stars Steve Blanchard as the Beast, Sarah Litzsinger as Belle, Grant Norman as Gaston, Jeanne Lehman as Mrs. Potts, Christopher Duva as Cogsworth, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Meredith Inglesby as Babette, Gina Ferrall as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Aldrin Gonzalez as Lefou. Trevor Braun and Alexander Scheitinger alternate the role of Chip. On September 19th, Donny Osmond will begin performances as Gaston.

The performance schedule for Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street) is as follows: Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM. For tickets and information, please call Ticketmaster at 212-307-4747 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.