Beauty and the Beast is based on an ancient story, passed down orally in Medieval Europe and first published in 1740. One television series, thirteen different movies and countless novel adaptations have been made of this story. It has been adapted for the stage many times, including the play Amour pour Amour and the opera Zemire et Azor. Beauty and the Beast ran on Broadway for thirteen years. It's a story of the redeeming nature of love, selflessness, bravery, compassion and seeing past physical appearance to the heart of a person.