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Beauty and the Beast (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

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Beauty and the Beast – A New Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Cast recording by
the original Broadway cast of Beauty and the Beast
ReleasedJune 20, 1994 (1994-06-20)
StudioSony Music Studios, New York City
Genre
Length72:09
LabelWalt Disney
Producer

Beauty and the Beast is the cast album performed by the original Broadway cast members from the 1994 Disney stage musical Beauty and the Beast, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. It is adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' 1991 animated musical film of the same name, which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.[1] The cast album was released on CD and cassette formats, and further re-issued on digital formats in 1999.[2]

Background

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Eight of the film's original songs that were retained for the Broadway adaptation.[1][3] Menken, who had both scored and written the film's songs alongside lyricist Ashman, returned to the project to write six new songs for the musical;[4] those were co-written by Tim Rice, replacing Ashman who had died in 1991, before the film was released.[5] The album featured much of the musical numbers, and alternate versions of the songs. The new musical tracks, include "Human Again", which had originally been written for the film, but ultimately abandoned due to time and story constraints; this number was featured in the 2002 special edition of the film.[1] The track "A Change in Me" was written for specifically for R&B singer Toni Braxton, when she joined the Broadway production to play Belle in 1998.[6][7] This track was however, not included in the Broadway or of the subsequent cast recordings. However, Susan Egan who played Belle had included it in her 2002 album So Far....[8]

Reception

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Peter Fawthrop of AllMusic summarized, "There may not have been reason to own the Broadway Cast Recording, aside from being a fan of Susan Egan's (voice of Belle), if not for these extra songs. Each one could have fit in perfectly with the film — they aren't simply shoveled in as bonuses, but make the whole picture bigger and fuller. Every major character has their own new song, the standout being "Home," which is sung by Belle upon arriving at the Beast's castle. "Me," sung by the handsome and evil Gaston, is a boisterous love song to himself, stuffed with witty lines like "women can have their uses too/mainly to extend the family tree." Even the Beast has his solo moment with the dark, mournful ballad "If I Can't Love Her." The household objects who gave Disney World a new theme of "Be Our Guest," reveal their longings to return to human form in "Human Again," the only new song which was written by Howard Ashman. There is something for all fans here, even those who prefer the clear-cut original versions and voices from the animated film."[9]

Track listing

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All music is composed by Alan Menken

No.TitleLyricsPerformer(s)Length
1."Prologue" (The Enchantress) Wendy Oliver2:37
2."Belle"Howard Ashman
  • Broadway Cast of Beauty and the Beast
  • Burke Moses
  • Kenny Raskin
  • Linda Talcott
  • Paige Price
  • Sarah Solie Shannon
  • Susan Egan
5:17
3."No Matter What"Tim Rice
3:06
4."No Matter What / Wolf Chase" (Reprise)Tim RiceTom Bosley1:55
5."Me"Tim Rice
  • Burke Moses
  • Susan Egan
2:48
6."Belle" (Reprise)Howard AshmanSusan Egan1:08
7."Home"Tim RiceSusan Egan3:50
8."Home" (Reprise)Tim RiceBeth Fowler0:54
9."Gaston"Howard Ashman
  • Burke Moses
  • Kenny Raskin
  • Linda Talcott
  • Paige Price
  • Sarah Solie Shannon
5:02
10."Gaston" (Reprise)Howard Ashman
  • Burke Moses
  • Kenny Raskin
1:37
11."How Long Must This Go On"Tim RiceTerrence Mann0:56
12."Be Our Guest"Howard Ashman
6:55
13."If I Can't Love Her"Tim RiceTerrence Mann4:06
14."Entr'Acte/ Wolf Chase" Alan Menken4:29
15."Something There"Howard Ashman
  • Beth Fowler
  • Gary Beach
  • Heath Lamberts
  • Susan Egan
  • Terrence Mann
5:27
16."Human Again"Howard Ashman
  • Barbara Marineau
  • Beth Fowler
  • Brian Press
  • Gary Beach
  • Heath Lamberts
  • Stacey Logan
  • Cast
4:45
17."Maison Des Lunes"Tim Rice
2:24
18."Beauty And The Beast"Howard AshmanBeth Fowler3:34
19."If I Can't Love Her" (Reprise)Tim RiceTerrence Mann1:34
20."The Mob Song"Howard Ashman
  • Cast
  • Burke Moses
  • Gordon Stanley
  • Kenny Raskin
3:02
21."The Battle"Howard AshmanCast2:34
22."End Duet / Transformation"Tim Rice
  • Susan Egan
  • Terrence Mann
3:27
23."Beauty And The Beast" (Reprise)Howard AshmanCast0:42
Total length:72:09

Personnel

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Credits adapted from CD liner notes.[10][11]

Cast
Ensemble cast
  • Alisa Klein
  • Anna McNeeley
  • Barbara Marineau
  • Bill Nabel
  • Dan Mojica
  • David Elder
  • Elmore James
  • Gordon Stanley
  • Gregorey Garrison
  • Harrison Beal
  • Jack Hayes
  • Joan Barber
  • Joanne McHugh
  • Kate Dowe
  • Kim Huber
  • Linda Talcott
  • Merwin Foard
  • Michael Demby-Cain
  • Paige Price
  • Patrick Loy
  • Rob Lorey
  • Sarah Solie Shannon
  • Vince Pesce
  • Wysandria Woolsey
Production
  • Music production – Alan Menken, Bruce Botnick
  • Recording, editing and mixing – Bruce Botnick
  • Programming – Daniel Tramon
  • Score arrangement – Michael Kosarin
  • Incidental music arrangement and supervision – David Friedman
  • Album co-ordinator – Janet Weber
Instruments
  • Accordion – Dominic Cortese
  • Bass – Jeff Carney
  • Bass clarinet – Alva Hunt
  • Bassoon and contrabassoon – Marc Goldberg
  • Cello – Barry Fincklair, Caryl Paisner, Frederick Zlotkin, Gerald Tarack, Joe Kimura, Maria Kitsopoulos
  • Clarinet – Alva Hunt, Kari Ann DiBari
  • Drums – John Redsecker
  • Flute – Alva Hunt, Kari Ann DiBari, Julius Baker
  • French horn – Glen Estrin, Jeff Lang, Tony Cecere
  • Harp – Stacey Shames
  • Harpsichord – Gerry Ranck, Ken Cooper
  • Oboe and English horn – Vicki Bodner
  • Percussion – Joe Passaro
  • Piccolo flute – Alva Hunt, Julius Baker
  • Piccolo trumpet – Tony Kadleck
  • Synthesizer – Glen Kelly, Kathy Sommer
  • Trumpet and cornet – Neal Balm, Tony Kadleck
  • Tuba and bass trombone – Paul Falise
  • Violin – Ann Labin, Belinda Whitney, Cenovia Cummins, Evan Johnson, George Wozniak, Rudy Perrault
Orchestra
  • Orchestration – Danny Troob
  • Additional orchestration – Michael Starobin
  • Conductor – Michael Kosarin
  • Associate conductor – Kathy Sommer
  • Orchestra contractor – John Miller
  • Copyist – Peter R. Miller

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Dietz, Dan (2016). The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals. United States: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 154–156. ISBN 9781442272149 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice, April 26, 1994, retrieved December 18, 2022
  3. ^ Rauzi, Robin (May 8, 1993). "'Beast' on Stage: Will It Work? : Theater: Some are wondering if Disney's saturation with the hit movie will prevent its resale as a live musical". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1–2. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Tom (April 17, 1995). "Review: 'Beauty and the Beast'". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  5. ^ Tan, Corrie (March 24, 2015). "Alan Menken: Q&A with the music maestro behind Disney's Beauty And The Beast". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  6. ^ Ehren, Christine (October 7, 1998). "Toni Braxton Premieres Beauty 's New Song, Oct. 7 On 'Rosie'". Playbill. Playbill, Inc. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  7. ^ Hill, Jim (April 8, 2010). "Tune Thursday: How "A Change in Me" wound up being added to Broadway's "Beauty & the Beast"". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  8. ^ "Page to Screen: Beauty and the Beast (1991)". The Literary Omnivore. July 8, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  9. ^ Original Broadway Cast - Beauty and the Beast [Original Broadway Cast Recording] Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved December 17, 2022
  10. ^ Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice - Beauty And The Beast - The Broadway Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording), June 19, 2022, retrieved December 18, 2022
  11. ^ Terrence Mann; Susan Egan; Alan Menken; Howard Ashman; Beauty And The Beast; Tim Rice, Beauty and the Beast, retrieved December 18, 2022
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Beauty and the Beast (Original Cast)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 18, 2022.