'Beauty and the Beast' musical to debut on Disney ship

It may be a tale as old as time. But until now, it never has played a theater at sea.

Disney Cruise Line on Thursday announced the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast would debut in November as a musical on the 2,500-passenger Disney Dream.

The shipboard production will be inspired by the live-action film adaptation of the Disney animated classic that premieres in theaters in March, the line said. It'll play in Disney Dream's 1,340-seat Walt Disney Theatre.

Disney says the shipboard version of the show will offer an innovative take on the story that will transform its familiar songs such as Be Our Guest into "spectacular, show-stopping numbers." It'll feature lavish costumes and puppetry, the line said.

Disney said it tapped Connor Gallagher, who worked on Disney Cruise Line's Tangled: The Musical, as director and choreographer for the production. The line said Gallagher would be collaborating with writer Sara Wordsworth, whose credits include Disney Cruise Line's Frozen, A Musical Spectacular and Broadway’s In Transit.

The musical will debut on the Nov. 6 sailing of the Disney Dream. The ship sails three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, Fla.

Disney's live-action film version of Beauty and the Beast premieres in theaters March 17.