‘Beauty’ bows, ‘Mermaid’ due

After 13 years, “Beauty and the Beast” will close on Broadway this summer, making way for another Disney favorite, “The Little Mermaid,” a stage version of the 1989 animated film. It will open in December. By the time it ends its run July 29 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, “Beauty and the Beast” will have played 5,464 performances and 46 previews, surpassing the runs of such musicals as “42nd Street,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Hello, Dolly!”

“The Little Mermaid,” which will open Dec. 6 at the Lunt-Fontanne, tells the story of a young mermaid who yearns to live on land.