Martin Short, Shania Twain join ABC's Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration
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The forthcoming production of ABC's Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration has found its Lumiere and Mrs. Potts in Martin Short and Shania Twain. The pair are among the exciting new cast members added to the production of the musical, along with David Alan Grier, who is set to portray Cogsworth.
Others joining the showcase are Rizwan Manji as LeFou, Jon Jon Briones as Bell's father, Maurice, and Leo Abelo Perry, as Chip. They join the previously announced H.E.R. as Belle and Josh Groban as the Beast.
Presented by The Wonderful World of Disney, the two-hour program will be taped in front of a live audience at Disney Studios and is set to air on Dec. 15 on ABC and on Disney+ the following day. Rita Moreno will serve as the narrator for the evening while Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu will executive produce. Hamish Hamilton (The Little Mermaid Live) is slated to direct.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images Martin Short, Shania Twain join ABC's 'Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration'
This year marks the anniversary of Disney Animation's Beauty and the Beast, which won the Academy Award in 1992 for Best Original Song.
News of the show, which will feature new costumes and sets, was first announced in July.
"Beauty and the Beast was always a game-changing cinematic experience for me," said Chu in a statement at the time. "When the animated movie came out, I watched it multiple times in the first weekend. It showed me the outer limits of what animated artists and storytellers could achieve, so the fact that I get to executive produce a tribute to all the creatives that made this masterpiece through our Electric Somewhere company is a dream I didn't even think was possible. With world-class creatives and talent to reinterpret the classic musical numbers (with a few surprises), I can't wait for the audiences, in person and at home, to experience what we have in store for them. It's a true celebration of creativity."
The film previously inspired a Broadway musical as well as the live-action version starring Emma Watson as Belle in 2017.
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