Detroit's Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship is hosting a "Kids Night on Broadway" for "Beauty and the Beast."
The City of Detroit’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (ACE) invites you to “be their guest” on Wednesday, Oct. 1, when it presents “Kids Night on Broadway” for a performance of Disney’s classic “Beauty and the Beast” at the Fisher Theatre.
Based on the 1991 Academy Award-winning animated feature film, “Beauty and the Beast” premiered on Broadway in 1994 and still ranks as the 10th longest-running show in the industry’s history. Nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Best Costume Design, Beauty remains one of the highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time. The title’s visibility and success have expanded globally with productions of the stage show and the smash Oscar-nominated 2017 live-action film, which grossed over $1B worldwide.
Fergie L. Philippe, one of very few Black men playing leads in a Broadway show or touring company, will play the Beast and the Prince in this production. “Beauty” was the first national tour he ever saw as a young person, which inspired him onto his current path.
“The things I mostly observe in doing this show as a Black Man are seeing young Black boys see possibility when they see me,” said Philippe. "They get excited about theater or about the arts. Or even better, they get excited about the lack of limits of what they can be. It’s beyond fulfilling and deeply moving. I love this story and this role. Disney has a very specific place in my heart as an artist, and getting to contribute to this legacy while fully showing up authentically Black is a gift I don’t take for granted.”
See Full Free Press Story by Dante Beddingfield