BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AT FISHER THEATRE

The traveling musical stage show of Disney's BEAUTY & THE BEAST will be starting off a new season for Broadway in Detroit with a Fall appearance at the City's Fisher Theater. Following the show's two week October 1 - 12 run, the Broadway in Detroit 2025-2026 theatrical season will also include performances of Back to the Future, Hell's Kitchen, Shucked, The Outsiders, & Juliet and Suffs. Tickets for Disney's BEAUTY & THE BEAST will be available to purchase starting Friday, June 13 at 10 am via BroadwayInDetroit.com. Tickets start at $40.00 (includes parking & facility fee). Additionally, season subscriptions to attend Broadway In Detroit's full series of 7 shows at package rates starting at $317 are still available.

Based on the 1991 Academy Award®-winning animated feature film, BEAUTY & THE BEAST directed & choreographed by Matt West, features Alan Menken’s Academy Award®-winning score, songs by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman (including the Academy Award®-winning title song and the show-stopping “Be Our Guest”), plus songs written especially for the stage by Alan Menken and Tim Rice (including “If I Can’t Love Her” and “A Change In Me”). The production features a book by Linda Woolverton, author of the original screenplay. Sets are by Stanley A. Meyer, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Tony Award® winner for Beauty and the Beast) and lighting by Natasha Katz.

Performance schedule for BEAUTY & THE BEAST appearing October 1 – 12, 2025 at the Fisher Theatre located at 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI are: 

 • Tuesday through Saturday evening performances at 7:30 p.m. 

 • Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. 

 • Sunday matinees at 1:00 p.m. 

 • Sunday evening performances at 6:30 p.m. 

 • Additional matinee on Thursday, October 2 at 1:00 p.m. 

 • Special Open Caption performance on Sunday, October 5 at 6:30 p.m.

CRANBROOK HOLIDAY SPLENDOR

Thanks Cranbrook House for inviting my family to be your guests at this event

The historic Cranbrook House will be offering self-guided tours of this elegant English Tudor mansion constructed for wealthy newspaper moguls in 1908 by the renowned Detroit architect Albert Kahn. This former estate of the Scripps Booth family is now preserved as part of the Cranbrook Educational Community which includes a campus of college preparatory schools, an art museum and science center. The marvelous gardens surrounding the Cranbrook House are a favorite place for my family to visit for leisurely summer strolls and we are excited to see what the interior looks like when the building is open to the public from December 6 - 8, 2019  for self-guided tours of the manor while it is decorated for Christmas.

Witness the historic Cranbrook House in all its holiday splendor as you walk through the estate's rooms decorated with a plethora of Christmas Trees and other festive decorations. Toy lovers of all ages will want to check out the unique gold Lionel Train that will be rolling around a track.  A walk through this stately mansion in its holiday splendor is like stepping into the pages of a beautifully illustrated children's Christmas picture book.

General admission tickets to the Holiday Splendor Stroll at the historic Cranbrook House are $15 in advance / $20 at the door for adults and teenagers. Children 5 to 10 years old are $10 each. Children 4 and under are FREE. General Admission is Friday, December 6 (10am - 4pm), Saturday, December 7 (Noon - 4pm) and Sunday, December 8 (Noon - 4pm).

Also the Cranbrook House will also be hosting a special Santa Sighting event during its Holiday Splendor weekend where families can get photographs with Kris Kringle. This is a separate ticketed event with limited availability taking place on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9 am to 11:30am. Tickets for the Santa meet and greet must be purchased in advance of Thursday, December 5 and are non-refundable. Tickets for the Santa Sighting are $10 for children and $15 for adults. Children will have a chance to share their wish list and take a photo with Santa in the Cranbrook House Library plus each child will receive a gift from Santa and his helpers.

Cranbrook House will be serving as a Mittens for Detroit collection site during the Holiday Splendor Tour and Santa Sighting events. Mittens for Detroit, Inc. is a nonprofit with the purpose of collecting, purchasing, and distributing new mittens and gloves to children and adults in need in Detroit, and other underserved cities. Please consider bringing with you during your visit to the historic Cranbrook House a pair of new gloves or mittens to donate.

Cranbrook House is located at 380 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48304. Parking is available onsite and across the street at Christ Church Cranbrook. A shuttle sponsored by The Suburban Collection and driven by Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary volunteers will be provided during general admission.

My family has had some magical experiences exploring the grounds of the Cranbrook House taking strolls through its gardens and woods during the summer months. It is like stepping into the surrounds of Beauty and the Beast or Harry Potter yet conveniently located within the suburbs of Detroit. We haven't visited before during the holiday season though to see the manor in all its splendor decked out in festive decorations. So this dad blogger is looking forward to taking the family this year on the historic Cranbrook House Holiday Splendor Tour. Maybe we'll see you there!

Enchanting BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Doll

 **This post includes affiliate links for Sideshow Collectibles**

Provide the Beauty in your life with an incredibly detailed Hot Toys Disney Belle Disney Sixth Scale Figure from Sideshow Collectibles.  This enchanting doll is expertly crafted based upon Emma Watson's appearance in Disney's live action adaption of Beauty and the Beast as Belle.  It features a meticulously tailored and intricate multi-layered costume based upon her elegant ball gown along with a variety of accessories and a specially designed marble-patterned figure stand.  This doll is sure to delight any Disney Princess fan!

Disney Belle Disney Sixth Scale Figure is approximately 26 cm tall and has 26 points of articulation for imaginative play and poising.  It includes 6 interchangeable hands including relaxed hands, gesturing hands, and ones that can hold the included enchanted rose.  The doll's head sculpt is specially hand-painted with a highly-accurate facial expression.

The figurine's dress is a slim-fitting lacy yellow bodice delicately woven from multiple layers of fabric.  It also includes a bell-shaped yellow satin full skirt.  Plus the doll wears high heeled dancing shoes and the necklace Belle wore in the movie.

Belle comes complete with an enchanted rose, a transparent bell jar to hold it and display stand for the doll covered in patterns modeled after the ballroom's marble dance floor.  Her enchanted friends, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Plumette, Mrs. Potts and Chip also come along with this incredible Disney Belle Disney Sixth Scale Figure.

Don't miss out on getting one of these dolls before they sell out.  Pre-order now to ensure you can get your hands on one when they arrive from the manufacturer.  If your daughter, wife, or another lady in your life loves Beauty and the Beast as much as my little princess does, invest in a high quality toy that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.  I know someone who will be wishing for one of these Disney Belle Disney Sixth Scale Figure!

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Thanks Disney for giving me a Belle Costume set for my daughter along with the BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Blu-ray.  All opinions are my own.

My daughter and I enjoyed a spot of tea out in the garden before heading inside to watch Disney's live action adaption of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.  The movie, a great addition to any home's video library, is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.  My daughter was delighted by the film when we saw it together at the movie theater and is thrilled she can watch it anytime she wants now.

In this fairy tale fantasy, Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent woman with a love of reading books, discovers that her father has been imprisoned in the dungeon of a cursed castle for trespassing upon the property.  She is able to get him set free by promising the Beast that is lord of the manor to take her father's place as a prisoner in the castle.  My daughter adores Emma Watson from her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films and loved the actresses performance in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as Belle.  For some of our past Harry Potter movie nights she has had fun dressing up as Watson's Hermione character and was so excited to put on a Belle gown to wear for our first viewing of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on home video.

The Disney Store provided us with a Belle Costume for Kids which included replicas of the dress, shoes, and jewelry worn by Watson in the movie.  My daughter especially loves the finally crafted costume jewelry that came along with the outfit that included fancy clip-on earrings, an elegant hair comb, and a beautiful necklace which features a snap together oval bead clasp for the fine link chain.  The jewelry set came in a very nice storage box which contains an ivory satin bed for the items to rest on and a carrying strap so little girls can take it along with them on their own fantastic journeys.

The dress has some elegant touches to it as well.  Glittering floral filigree and golden hem stitching grace the front and back of the gown.  It is make from satin with a bodice that has ruffled organza overlays and trims.  Rounding out the ensemble are the shoes which have embroidered feathers and decorative bows outlined in glittering gold.

Belle is terrified of the Beast and turned off by his bad behavior as she lives in the castle.  As time goes by she befriends its enchanted staff and starts to become at home there.  With some help from these bewitched furnishings both Belle and the Beast make an effort to get to know one another. She learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize there is the kind heart within it.  This is where the adventure really begins! What happens next?  You'll have to pick up BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Blu-ray, DVD or Digital HD to find out!

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is rated PG for some action violence, peril and frightening images that overall is a very family friendly movie.  Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the animated version of Beauty and the Beast, also provides the score for the live action film which includes new recordings of some of the musical performances from the animated movie along with three new songs he has written in collaboration with Tim Rice.  Celine Dion who has performed several very memorable musical numbers in motion pictures also contributes to the soundtrack for this movie performing one of the new songs "How Does a Moment Last Forever."  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST also boasts an excellent cast that in addition to Watson as Belle includes Dan Stevens (The Ticket, Night at the Museum) as the Beast, Luke Evans (Fast & Furious, The Hobbit) as Gaston, Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, Dave) as Belle's father Maurice, Josh Gad (A Dog's Purpose, FROZEN) as LaFou, Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Episodes I - III) as Lumie, Audra McDonald (Annie, A Raisin in the Sun) as Madame De Garderobe, Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men) as Cogsworth and Emma Thompson (Love Actually, Brave) as the teapot Mrs. Potts.

In addition to deleted scenes there are also a variety of extra features included with the movie on home video.  These include watching an elaborately staged table read that took place before the movie began filming, a documentary on transforming the popular animated film into a live action movie that will be a classic in its own right, a featurette on the making of the musical sequences and a "Beauty and the Beast" music video.  Also you'll want to watch the extended song segment about "Days in the Sun" which provides viewers some details about the Beast's childhood within an alternate version of the song from the movie.

Add BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to your Disney Movies Anywhere digital library or on Blu-ray or DVD as part of your home video collection.  While it may be a tale as old as time this movie is a delightful fresh approach when it comes to telling this wonderful story.  BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a great movie night selection that your family will want to watch over and over again!

Madame Alexander Story Land Travel Friends

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free to review **

My daughter is so excited to see the new live-action Beauty and the Beast movie that is coming out this weekend.  To pass the time while waiting for mom and dad to take her to the show, she has been playing with Beauty from her Madame Alexander Story Land Travel Friends collection.  These 7" vinyl dolls are just the right size for playing with around the house, in the car while traveling about or to take along to a friend's sleepover.  My daughter really likes these toys because with moveable joints at the neck, shoulder, elbow, hip and knee they are more like fashionable action figures than the more traditional dolls that Madame Alexander is known for. With detailed facial features, stylish hair, and princess gowns these pocket-sized Story Land Travel Friends can provide hours of imaginative play.

The Story Land Travel Friends collection is based upon a variety of characters from classic fairy tales.  In addition to "Beauty" from Beauty and the Beast, Madame Alexander has included Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White among other princesses as Story Land Travel Friends.  Each toy is boxed individually and designed to look like how the character would have been portrayed in the original storybook telling of her tale. Beauty for example is dressed in a shimmer yellow dress with pink trim and a pink rose headband in her hair.  She has hip length brunette hair that children can brush and style in addition to a wide range of flexibility with posing the toy and moving its limbs around while playing due to the multiple joint points on its body.  My daughter really has a lot of fun playing with these dolls.

You can purchase these dolls individually at specialty toy and hobby shops across the United States and Canada such as the WHISTLE STOP HOBBY & TOY store in Metro Detroit for about $15 each or get the entire collection of these storybook princesses all at once from the Madame Alexander website.