Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is coming to the Tulsa PAC Jan. 27-Feb. 1, and I had the pleasure of interviewing two cast members: Danny Gardner, who plays Lumiere, and his wife, Emily Larger, who is in the ensemble as well as an understudy for Mrs. Potts/Madame and associate dance captain. Embarking on a Broadway tour is no doubt both an exciting opportunity and a commitment to flexibility for any theater professional. However, Gardner and Larger’s tour experience is unique in that they are joined by their 7-month-old son, Jack, as well as their dog, Maple! Together, the four four of them travel the nation in their Subaru Forrester, documenting the adventures on Instagram, @4.in.a.forester.
How it began
Gardner and Larger found out they were pregnant just as Gardner was going back for his callback audition for Lumiere.
“It all sort of happened at the same time that he got his audition,” says Larger. “We found out our 3rd round of IVF had finally worked. I had not been auditioning because I was going through IVF. I looked at the dates, and the audition was actually far enough in advance that the baby would be born if he got it. So I reached out to the creative team and got an audition for myself as well, which I did when I was about five days pregnant with Jack. I had the audition right before I got sick for the entire trimester.”
In May 2025, about five and a half weeks after Jack’s birth – by C-section – “Beauty and the Beast” rehearsals started. “We went on the road in June,” says Larger, “And we’ve been all of us together on the road since then.”
When asked how their family and friends responded to their plans to go on tour with their new baby, Gardner says, “I know my [parents], I’ll say it this way, they had a restrained excitement. They were so excited that we were pregnant, and then when we told them that we’re going on tour also, with the child…they kept their smile, but you could tell they were nervous underneath.” However, both Gardner’s and Larger’s parents have been supportive and have helped with childcare as well.
When they first began planning, Larger says, they got helpful advice from other industry parents who have toured with children — although most of the time, it was just one parent in the production, or the child was a little older. Combining those insights with what they’d seen from their own siblings raising kids, they “pieced it together and started to figure out, ‘Here’s our plan A,’ knowing that it will turn into a B, a C, and a D,” she says.
Danny Gardner, Kyra Belle Johnson, and Company. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Photo by Matthew Murphy. © Disney
Flexibility, consistency and communication
“Pivot” is an important word/concept when raising a child generally, and particularly so on the road. Larger recounts how they tried to tweak Jack’s sleep schedule so he’d still be awake when they got home later after a show. “That did not work,” she says. “So now, the person watching him puts him to bed. It is sad that we don’t get to put him to bed – but he sleeps better. That was a hard pivot, but it’s been much better.”
Of course, they balance this need for flexibility with the need to provide consistency for Jack, too. To this end, Larger says, Jack has used the same 4Moms Pack ‘n’ Play since birth, removing the bassinet attachment when he outgrew it. They use the same sheets and a sound machine as well.
And through it all, organization and communication is key! “We’re working with a lot of logistics right now, a lot of Google sheets,” says Larger. These help them keep track of lodging, visits to the pediatrician, and more.
“As far as staying organized and as far as pivoting and changing roles a little bit, Danny has really become the logistics captain within our partnership,” she continues. “And I don’t feel like that’s how we operated before Jack was born. I think when he first was born, I was so focused on my physical recovery and was very focused on the present moment: ‘Is Jack OK? Am I OK?’ And Danny took on the, ‘OK, let me make a list of when he needs all these things, and then I can check it.’ It’s been interesting for our partnership. I don’t know if we would’ve shifted into these roles if we weren’t on tour with Jack.”
Must-haves and packing tips
If you’ve ever traveled with a young child, or will do so in the future, you may be looking for some road trip tips from these seasoned travelers! Gardner says that another Broadway actor, who toured with their 3-year-old, suggested saving screen time for long travel days. “[Jack] loves Daniel Tiger,” Gardner says. “Travel days are Daniel Tiger days.” They also realized early on that one parent would need to sit in the back seat with Jack while the other drove. Maple has her seat back there, too.
A product that’s come in handy recently is travel blackout curtains. One Airbnb had windows letting in too much sunlight, disturbing Jack’s nap time. Blackout curtains have solved that issue both there and elsewhere.
“We kind of live by, anything that we have has to fit either in our car or the trunks that the theater company provides for us that travel on the truck,” says Larger. “What fits in our car has to be necessary and small and flat.” This means Jack has a travel bathtub that folds down, a fold-up bottle cleaner, and the Pack ‘n’ Play they chose was the best balance of quality and space. When people want to buy Jack books or toys, they ask for paperback books and only toys that they really want.
“For me, at least, it has felt like a fun way to live. Like, we don’t want a lot of excess,” says Larger. “We’re only having the things that we really need. It makes you appreciate those things.”
Danny Gardner, Kathy Voytko, Kevin Ligon, Cameron Monroe Thomas, Javier Ignacio, and Holly Ann Butler in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Photo by Matthew Murphy. © Disney
Unique experiences and looking ahead
7-month-old Jack has no doubt seen more of the U.S. than many older people! And among all the logistics, etc., Gardner and Larger love watching Jack learn and grow, often through some one-of-a-kind experiences. Over Christmas, the family spent shared a Dallas-area Airbnb for three weeks with family and fellow cast members Javier Ignacio (Cogsworth) and Kathy Voytko (Mrs. Potts).
“Before Dallas, he was trying to crawl,” says Gardner. “He was doing that thing where he would get up and rock back and forth, and he’d inchworm. But because Dallas had more carpet, he had more traction. And so he actually started crawling, and he got so fast. And the Airbnb had low windows, so he started pulling himself up on the windowsill, all within those three weeks. But Kathy and Javier and Emily’s parents got to witness this blooming of movement with Jack over Christmas, and it was the holidays and all these unintended, wonderful things. It’s a beautiful happenstance.”
Larger enjoys searching out baby-friendly things to do in the cities they visit (as well as nice walking trails for Maple!). “I get excited to find a library nearby that does baby music classes or something. I think we’ve done that two or three times. The first time we did it was the first time he saw other babies who could crawl! And his eyes just went out of his head like, “Oh, my god!” recalls Larger.
Gardner and Larger’s current contract is up in July, but the “Beauty and the Beast” tour will continue. When considering whether they’d agree to another year on tour, there’s a lot to consider. One question they constantly ask themselves is, “What are we optimizing for?” ”
“We are optimizing for Jack to have the best life he can, [so] all of our decisions feed back into that,” says Larger “It’s like, OK, if we do another year, what can we make easier for us that would give us more time with him? Or what can we make more consistent for him? What can we keep making more exciting for him in all of the cities? I think that’s the simplest way that we tend to talk about it.”
See Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” in Tulsa
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” will be at the Tulsa PAC Jan. 27-Feb. 1. Purchase tickets at am.ticketmaster.com/tulsapac/buy?id=NjUz
“The great thing about this tour is that it’s the 30th anniversary of the Broadway production,” says Gardner. “It’s all the great things about the original movie/Broadway production, but now a lot of it has been updated” – often by people involved with the original production.
“The other great thing about the show is that now we have three generations coming to see the show,” Gardner continues. “And we’ve had whole families that dress up: The father is the Beast, the mother is Belle; there’s nothing else like it. Because the other thing is, this is some of the kids’ first experience with theater. So to see their eyes light up like, ‘This is what theater is?!’ Yes, come, please see more! It really is for all ages. It’s a tale as old as time.”
