James May on the Joys of Playing the Curmudgeonly Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast on Tour

James May is living his childhood dream playing Cogsworth in the national tour of Beauty and the Beast, which plays Houston's Hobby Center from September 25 through September 30. May talked to Broadway.com about being transported “inside the world” of Beauty and the Beast.

“I always love playing characters who have a false sense of superiority,” May said of his character, the bossy house-servant-turned-clock Cogsworth. “He totally thinks he’s in charge, but rarely do any of the other characters obey him. It creates a really interesting dynamic.”

May even copped to sharing some of Cogsworth’s defining qualities. “We are both kind of 'curmudgeon-ey' old men in spirit. I’m very finicky and specific about certain things but am in no way as extreme about it as Cogsworth.”

Based on Disney's popular animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast features the songs from the 1991 movie, composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman with additional lyrics by Tim Rice. The family-friendly love story includes the songs “Belle,” “Be Our Guest” and the titular ballad.

“I grew up watching the movie and I have never stopped watching it; I do frequently, actually,” May said. “One day I was on stage during the scene where Belle is tending to the Beast's wounds after the fight with the wolves, and the lighting hit him when he was in just the right position. In silhouette, he looked just like the Beast from the movie. It was such a transcendent moment of feeling like I was suddenly in this story that I have been watching ever since I was small. It felt like I had literally stepped inside the world that I'd previously only viewed from the outside.”