Show Synopsis:
Belle is the beautiful daughter of Maurice, an eccentric inventor who lives in a small French town, and although the townspeople see her as a bit odd, the pompous Gaston wishes to be her husband. When Maurice is captured by a Beast who lives in a large castle with enchanted objects, Belle trades her freedom for her father's and becomes the Beast's prisoner. Gradually, Belle and the Beast become friends and begin to fall in love. When Belle learns her father is ill, the Beast lets her leave to care for him, even though he knows that he will only be a human again if a woman can admit to loving him before his twenty-first birthday, and she is might be his last chance. Gaston tries to blackmail Belle into marrying him by locking up Maurice in an insane asylum if she does not agree to be his fiance, but then learns Belle cares for the Beast. Gaston and the townspeople storm the castle to kill him, but the Beast and his enchanted objects fight back, killing Gaston. As the Beast lays dying, Belle admits her love, turning him back into a prince.

Character:
Belle, a beautiful young woman with a penchant for books and dreaming of lives outside of what she knows, very loyal to her father.

Song Context:
While Belle nurses Maurice back to health, he marvels at the change in her attitude towards the Beast and how she has changed since she began her imprisonment in the castle. After she explains how things have shifted in her life, Gaston and a mob of townspeople arrive to take Maurice away to an asylum.

Fun Fact:
1) This song was not in the original Disney film of Beauty and the Beast. It was added to the Broadway production in 1998 when Tim Rice promised Toni Braxton the chance to debut a new song if she signed the contract to play the role of Belle. 
2) Braxton was the first African-American actress to play the role. 
3) Alan Menken has won more Academy Awards than any other living person, including two for the Disney film Beauty and the Beast