Donny's back on Broadway with 'Beauty and Beast'

Donny Osmond proved to be a potent box-office lure when he starred in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," the durable Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical, on tour in the 1990s.

Now Osmond will go to Broadway in another indestructible property, Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." But not in the role you might think.

It's no Beast for Osmond, but rather Gaston, the muscle-bound rival for Belle in this long-running adaptation of Disney's classic animated film. The actor will begin performances Sept. 19 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre for a nine-week limited engagement.

"Beauty and the Beast" keeps rolling along. The musical, currently the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history, celebrated its 12th anniversary last month. And on June 20, it plays performance number 5,000.