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NETworks will present Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the smash Broadway musical hit, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall March 17 and 18, the Van Wezel has announced. A traditional fairy tale first published in France in the mid-18th century, Beauty and the Beast "is an enduring story of love and friendship that has been translated into hundreds of versions worldwide," the news release says. When Walt Disney Pictures released the ani- mated feature film Beauty and the Beast in 1991, "it was hailed as an instant classic, with critics praising its 'songs worthy of a Broadway musical,'" the release notes. The film went on to win Academy Awards for Best Song (Beauty and the Beast) and Best Original Score, and it was the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture, the release points out. Rob Roth, who directed the Broadway pre- miere and is back at the helm for the new tour, says in the release that the "story of the show is about seeing past the exterior of a person and into his or her heart." Tickets are $55 to $80. For more informa- tion, call the box office at 953-3368 or visit VanWezel.org. BELLE AND THE BEAST BRINGING THEIR STORY TO THE VAN WEZEL Hilary Maiberger as Belle with the cast of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Contributed photo by Joan Marcus Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 111