For the stage version, new songs were written by Menken and Tim Rice, including “If I Can’t Love Her” and “A Change In Me.” 

Caleb McArthur, a swing and understudy for Beast and Gaston, who attended the University of Michigan, said the root of the story is a beautiful, whimsical and romantic tale. 

He describes “new comedy” as a part of this theatrical production, “if you've never seen ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ then it’s still very true to the Disney film.” 

Sophomore plant biology Olive Graves said they haven’t seen the Broadway show, but performed as Lumiere in high school, and is curious to see what the North American tour adaptation looks like. 

“Lumiere was probably my dream role,” Graves said. “It was a very fun show.” 

Packaging sophomore Quincie Scheidt also performed in the show and is attending the musical, “being a part of the show made me fall in love with it,” she said.

Interim president of the Wharton Center Student Marketing Organization and marketing junior Jackson Wynne said he thinks it’s a really unique opportunity for students to have these big Broadway productions and official tours come to campus because it’s very rare for that to happen. 

“The fact that we get to see these shows this close is pretty cool,” he said. 

For this production, the performers got to work with Linda Woolverton, the original screenwriter, to rework a lot of scenes, “especially between Gaston and LeFou,” McArthur said. “... It gives you another step inside into the world of 'Beauty and the Beast’ with this production for sure,” he added. 

“I’m really excited,” Wynne said. “I enjoy theatre and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is very well-known and popular. So, it kind of has that mass appeal where I think most people would be genuinely excited.” 

Tickets are available online through Wharton’s website. They can also purchase tickets on the official tour website.