Brooke Tansley Is Beauty's Next Belle, Sept. 14
"I moved to New York eight years ago and I'd walk by the theater and say, 'I want that to be me some day,'" Tansley told Broadway.com about her previous experiences with Beauty and the Beast. "I played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when I was 14 at my catholic school and this is my biggest role since."
Tansley is best known for playing Penny Pingleton in Hairspray for two months earlier this year. Tansley was a swing in the original company of Hairspray and also eventually understudied Penny, Amber Von Tussle, Prudy Pingleton and The Dynamites. Her regional theater credits include Smokey Joe's Cafe, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music and The Nutcracker. After leaving Hairspray, Tansley participated in the International Dance Festival at The Duke on 42nd Street.
"I was with my parents over the weekend [before I knew if I got Belle]," Tansley said. "My mother was wearing blue and yellow the whole time for good luck, because those are the colors Belle wears. When I got the call on Monday, we just all started screaming."
Current Belle, Disney small screen star Christy Carlson Romano, will play her final performance on September 12.