John Tartaglia, Jonathan Freeman to Join Beauty and the Beast

Avenue Q alum John Tartaglia and Broadway veteran Jonathan Freeman will join the cast of Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 21 as Lumiere and Cogsworth, respectively.

Tartaglia originated the roles of Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q in Las Vegas and on Broadway for which he received a 2004 Best Actor Tony Award nomination. He is the star, executive producer and creator of Playhouse Disney's new live action musical puppet series Johnny and the Sprites, which will premiere in January 2007 on Disney Channel. Tartaglia stars as Johnny, a singer/songwriter who discovers a tunnel in his backyard leading to the enchanted world of the Sprites. Together, Johnny and the Sprites share valuable lessons about getting along with others and respecting the world around them. Each half-hour episode consists of two 11-minute stories featuring music from some of the theater world's most celebrated songwriters, including Stephen Schwartz Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, Gary Adler Avenue Q, Altar Boyz, Mark Hollmann Urinetown, and Michael Patrick Walker Altar Boyz.

Freeman was nominated for a Tony for his performance in the 1994 Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Other Broadway credits include The Producers, 42nd Street, On the Town and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He is best known to Disney fans as the voice of Jafar in the Disney animated feature Aladdin.

Tartaglia and Freeman will star opposite Sarah Uriarte Berry as Belle, Steve Blanchard as the Beast, Donny Osmond as Gaston through December 24, Jeanne Lehmann as Mrs. Potts, Mary Stout as Madame de la Grand Bouche, Meredith Inglesby as Babette and Aldrin Gonzalez as Lefou.