Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Way back in 1991, many of us saw the single-handed salvation and revival of the old-fashioned American-style Broadway musical comedy. True, it was in the form of a feature-length Disney cartoon, but Beauty and the Beast had it all: a wonderful, tuneful score (including a huge hit title-song), off-the-wall choreography, a great opposites-attract love story with an ultimately happy ending, comic subplots, colorful period costumes, a romantic location in small-town France, and an irresistible cast, including Angela Lansbury as the voice of a teapot. Alan Menken's songs, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, literally introduced the characters ("Belle" and "Gaston") and carried them gracefully through the old fairy tale with its new animated twists. Disney understandably decided to transpose this cinematic miracle to the Broadway stage in 1992. Beauty and the Beast at the fabled Palace Theatre has done as much as anything to revive New York's theatre district; it led to a similar animated film-to-stage transfer of The Lion King, which allowed for the magnificent restoration of the 1902 New Amsterdam Theatre, which was the cornerstone of the cleanup of 42nd Street, which in turn transformed Times Square and "Broadway" into the world's number-one tourist destination. And we're all terribly grateful. But, on stage, Beauty and the Beast was flat, and most of that lack of fizz is, alas, captured on compact disc. The good songs are all here, such as "Be Our Guest," but the performances of them are mostly perfunctory--the exception being the vocal renderings of Susan Egan as Belle, the Beauty. Further, the Disneyfication of the Broadway musical seems to extend to faceless and interchangeable (read: cheap to hire) players, a practice that extends to The Lion King. The only "names" in the original Beauty and the Beast cast were Beth Howland as the teapot and Tom Bosley, a mere shadow of his former Fiorello, as Belle's father. Even worse, unlike The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast was not reinvented for the stage. It's my theory that the kids who made up the live audience (and many of their parents) were filling in the blanks from repeated viewings of the cartoon on video. If you're willing to do the same when only listening, this CD might do. But why, when the movie soundtrack album is available? --Robert Windeler more

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Audio CD, Tim Rice, Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, Amazon, Buy.com, Best Buy, Tower.com

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Smarter Choice Beauty & The Beast Beauty & The Beast	Buy.com 23,982 reviews *smarter certified	$13.99 Coupon 1 coupon available Code: Detail: Use this online coupon to get $5 off orders over $5 when you pay with eBillMe at Buy.com Expires:Dec-31-2009 Restriction:Unknow	See it
Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The... Way back in 1991, many of us saw the single-handed salvation and revival of the old-fashioned American-style Broadway...	Amazon 11,406 reviews	$14.99 Coupon 1 coupon available Code:No Code Required Detail: FREE Shipping on orders over $25 at Amazon. Expires:Dec-31-2010 Restriction:Some restrictions apply. See site for details.	See it
Beauty and the Beast: A New Musical Track Listing: 1. Prologue (The Enchantress), 2. Belle, 3. No Matter What, 4. No Matter What (Reprise) / Wolf Chase ,...	Best Buy 14,835 reviews *smarter certified	$15.99	See it
Beauty and the Beast: A New Musical	Tower.com 94 reviews	$12.59 Coupon 1 coupon available Code: Detail: FREE standard delivery when you purchase over $25.00 at Tower.com. Expires:Dec-31-2010 Restriction:Unknow	See it

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ProductReviews96/100 (93 Reviews)

Recent Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-06-2009; Awsome, just like being there; Just like sitting at the show or being at Disney's Hollywood Studio watching the Beauty & The Beast live show.; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Dec-25-2008; Surprising!; I avoid Disney because they usually throw enough "sweetness" at a person to give them diabetes! Having heard two of the songs on AOL Radio, I was curious enough to order the CD. It was a TOTAL surprise! There is enough sugar in it,...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-27-2008; Beauty and The Beast On Broadway; We saw this show on Broadway in 1994 and even my then nine year old son loved the music. There are nine songs here that were not in the animated Disney movie. David Ogden Stiers (Winchester from MASH, Cogsworth in the animated movie)...; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: May-17-2008; Enjoyable; It's a nice album with some beautiful songs, ideal for kids and young girls. If you've seen the movie or the show, you'll make it one of your favourite. The sound is flawless, so be sure your're getting a technically perfect recording; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-06-2009; Awsome, just like being there; Just like sitting at the show or being at Disney's Hollywood Studio watching the Beauty & The Beast live show.; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jun-09-2007; i am pretty upset!; ok, so i love beauty and the beast and broadway, but this cd makes me mad. it doesn't have the song "A Change in Me" that is from the broadway musical. and for the song "Home," it doesn't have the lyrics from the show, it has the...; read full review | report as inappropriate