After 25 years, Beauty and the Beast returns to Kansas City, starring native Javier Ignacio

Enchanted Objects // Photo by: Matthew Muphy

For the first time in more than 25 years, Disney will bring the classic musical Beauty and the Beast back to the stage in North America this fall. The show will play eight performances at the Music Hall from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2, bringing audiences a reimagined version of the timeless tale filled with grandeur, heart, and Disney magic.

The production reunites the original Tony Award-winning creative team members, including EGOT-winner Alan Menken, lyricist Tim Rice, book writer Linda Woolverton, and director and choreographer Matt West. The musical features the Oscar-winning score that viewers have grown up with, including “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast”, along with gorgeous new sets and eye-catching costumes meant to give the well-known tale a fresh perspective.

Javier Ignacio

For Kansas native Javier Ignacio, who stars as Cogsworth, the tightly wound and loyal clock, the tour’s stop in Kansas City is both a career milestone and a return to his roots.

Ignacio was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and was exposed to the arts at a young age thanks to his mother, a speech therapist and opera student, and his grandfather, a singer-songwriter. After his family moved to Wichita, he became immersed in the city’s vibrant performing arts scene.

“Beauty and the Beast was the first national tour I ever saw, and it came through Century II in Wichita,” he says. “I was in high school, just starting to learn about theater and that it could be something you do for a living. Then I saw this stunning production, the Disney magic, the spectacle on stage in front of me, and it changed my life.”

That moment set Ignacio on a path to take him from Wichita State University and Music Theatre Wichita to Broadway and beyond. Now based in New York City, he has performed professionally for nearly two decades. He originated the roles of Harry Houdini and Dog Boy in Side Show on Broadway in 2014 and starred as Peter in the first national tour of Company in 2023. He also understudied multiple roles in the Broadway revival of Company starring Patti LuPone and Katrina Lenk.

In addition to his Broadway and touring credits, Ignacio has performed regionally in Twelfth Night for Shakespeare in the Park and new musical works such as Children of Salt at the New York Musical Festival.

“I’ve done a lot of shows, and every single one has prepared me for where I am now,” he says. “To bring this show home, to stand on that stage as an immigrant and Latino, and to add to the legacy of these beautiful characters with the blessing of Linda Woolverton feels incredible.”

Javier Ignacio as Cogsworth // Photo by: Matthew Murphy

For Ignacio, Beauty and the Beast connects his artistry with his personal story. The production allows him to enter a world that first sparked his imagination as a child, while carrying forward the cultural pride and discipline that shaped his career. It is a rare moment where everything he has trained for meets the story that inspired him to begin.

“What’s beautiful about this story is that it resonates across generations and cultures,” he says. “You hear kids connect with certain jokes, and then adults laugh at others. You’re always performing with a third scene partner: the audience.”

Ignacio thrives on that audience connection. He studies the rhythm of each crowd, listening for how different cities respond to humor or tenderness. Those subtle changes in reaction keep the work unpredictable, and he sees that exchange as the heartbeat of live performance.

He also credits Woolverton—who wrote both the animated film and the Broadway version—with helping him find freedom in his portrayal of Cogsworth. “Linda would sit with us and ask, ‘What resonates with you about Cogsworth?’ and ‘How do you see his relationship with Lumière?’ That kind of collaboration gave me permission to play, and it’s been rewarding to hear audiences respond to that dynamic,” Ignacio says.

Those sessions with Woolverton changed how Ignacio approached the role. As an actor, he knows honoring the original film is important, but it needs more. Instead of copying cadence, he allowed the character to develop naturally, basing his version of Cogsworth on connections, rhythm, and time. The role’s physical demands have also been a learning experience for the vetted performer.

“There is not a lot of assistance within the costumes,” he says. “We are really doing the work to show the physicality of these characters, even in these elaborate designs. It helps tell the story because you feel the weight of the curse they are under.”

The striking costumes test an actor’s control and endurance. Ignacio spends much of each show finding ways to communicate emotion through restricted movement. Every step and gesture requires careful thought, and that attention to physical storytelling has deepened his respect for the production’s technical artistry.

Considering how often Ignacio is performing, burnout seems inevitable. However, he is quick to say that he still feels the magic each night he is on stage.

“The transformation, hands down, is my favorite moment,” he says. “That moment took my breath away when I first saw it, and it still does. I think about the kid in the audience seeing it for the first time, realizing maybe this is what they want to do. Even if they don’t become performers, maybe they’ll fall in love with theater.”

Ignacio approaches that moment with gratitude, reflecting back on when he was a young theater fan, completely captivated by the spectacle. Each performance allows him to pass that feeling on, reminding audiences that fairy tale stories like his exist.

“My first exposure to Beauty and the Beast was probably in Spanish, seeing it in theaters with my grandmother in Venezuela,” Ignacio says. “She’s 96 now and still lives in Wichita, so I’ll definitely be visiting her while we’re in Kansas City.”

Performing the show now brings him back to that first memory in the theater with his grandmother. He carries her encouragement with him as he returns to Kansas, performing on a stage not far from where their family’s story continued. For Ignacio, the tour is not just a milestone but a reminder of the people who helped him believe a life in theater was possible.

Nearly twenty years into his professional career, Ignacio approaches each project with the same curiosity that started it all.

“I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be right now,” he says. “And I’m thrilled that it’s with Beauty and the Beast.”

Beauty and the Beast will be displayed at Music Hall Kansas City from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.