Ashley Brown Set to Play Belle in Beauty and the Beast

By: BWW News Desk Jul. 21, 2005

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Ingenue Ashley Brown will become the 15th actress to play the first of the title characters in Disney's Beauty and the Beast; she will take over for Brooke Tansley on September 20th.

Brown, whose appearance in On the Record previously connected her with Disney, was cast in the jukebox musical when casting agent Tara Rubin discovered her. A recent graduate of the Cincinatti Conservatory of Music, she continues to tour with On the Record.

Susan Egan originated the role of Belle (and was Tony-nominated for her performance). Since then, such Broadway notables as Kerry Butler, Toni Braxton, Deborah Gibson and Andrea McArdle have inhabited the bookish Belle's blue dress. Beauty and the Beast is currently in its 11th year, having opened on April 18th, 1994 and having played over 4,600 performances. Beauty and the Beast, based on the animated film classic, features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton. The show is directed by Robert Jess Roth and choreographed by Matt West.

For more information, visit Beauty and the Beast's website.

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Ashley Brown Set to Play Belle in Beauty and the Beast

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