HITS Presents BEAUTY AND THE BEAST At Miller Outdoor Theater 4/9-11, 16-18

Get ready to be swept away by one of the most popular romantic stories ever told by seeing HITS Theatre's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast - The Broadway Musical at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park on April 9-11 and 16-18 at 8 p.m. Free admission.

HITS Theatre is a Houston-area leader in performing arts education for youth, and the annual production at Miller is an opportunity for HITS students to be in a professional-level production. The young performers also have the opportunity to work side-by-side and be mentored by professional actors. More than 50 of the 64 cast members are students ranging in age from 10-18 and are part of HIT Theatre's performing arts education program.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast-The Broadway Musical is the staged version of the 1991 Disney film by the same name. Disney developed and piloted its beloved animated film to the live theatre in Houston 15 years ago. It includes all of the same memorable songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman along with new songs by Menken and Tony Award- winning lyricist Tim Rice.

Free admission tickets for Beauty and the Beast are available the day of the show from the Miller Theatre box office. For details call the box office at 281.FREE.FUN. HITS Theatre supporters will be able to guarantee tickets and may contact HITS at 713.861.7408 of visit the website, www.hitstheatre.org, for more information.

HITS Theatre is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to teaching children acting, dancing and singing with a performance-based curriculum in a nurturing and enriching environment. HITS Theatre offers year-round theatre education programs and performances that feature Houston's youngest actors.

HITS Theatre is supported in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Advisory Board; City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, the City of Houston Endowment, Inc., The Brown Foundation, The Sterling-Turner Foundation, The Wortham Foundation; The Lionstone Group; Stavis & Cohen Financial; King & Spalding LLP; Ray C. Fish Foundation; The Powell Foundation; Pricewaterhousecoopers; Albert and Ethel Herzstein Foundation; Texas Commission on the Arts; the Morey Family; Vanity Salon; W. S. Bellows Construction Corporation; Huron Consulting Group; Big E Drilling and generous contributions from foundations, individuals and families.