Disney's Beauty And The Beast: The Broadway Musical - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Blisterpack) |  | Artists: Alan Menken, Howard Ashman
Label: Uni/Disney/Blisterpack
List Price: $17.97
Buy Used: $8.95
as of 3/21/2010 14:01 CDT details
You Save: $9.02 (50%)
Used (6) Collectible (1) from $8.95
Seller: free-cell-books
Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 197279
Format: Soundtrack
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.3
UPC: 050086086122
EAN: 0050086086122
ASIN: B000001M7U
Release Date: April 26, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 95
 great story, great music January 24, 2010
Carie Jean Schneider (Crofton, NE)
I hate to admit it, but I used to abuse my CD's. I'm trying to change that though.
Anyway, my first copy of this CD was SO scratched that I could only listen to a few of the songs without skipping, or some other such interferance.
So, I decided to get another copy of this great show, and I realize I should have done so a few years ago.
Now every time I listen to this, I just get swept up into the story and the music, and I don't have to worry about which songs I can listen to and how long I can a listen to a certain song before the skipping gets too bad.
Absolutely wonderful.
Pretty good soundtrack April 24, 2009
Jonathan R. Buchanan (West Seneca, NY USA)
Very good Broadway soundtrack. It is different from the movie soundtrack. It took two listenings to fully appreciate it, but I love this CD. Highly recommended for fans of the musical, with great cast and music. My only gripe, not significant to dock a point from the rating, is that the booklet doesn't tell when the CD was recorded. Other than that, a must buy for Broadway and Disney fans.
 Music Tames the Beast March 7, 2009
Tim Leininger
Beauty and the Beast was a marvelous Disney animated film; their best in at least two decades. So, it was commendable that they chose this film to be the first Disney movie to be translated for the stage. It was fresh and contemporary.
The cast is satisfactory in their roles on the cast recording. Susan Egan is elegant, full of life and coyness as Belle. Burke Moses and Kenny Raskins are hysterical as the scheming Gaston and Lefou. Heath Lamberts, Gary Beach and Beth Fowler adequately fill the roles of Cogsworth, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts.
My only real contention with the recording, is not the casting of Terrance Mann, but nothing that really shows the ferocious nature of the Beast before Belle starts to affect him. This isn't Mr. Mann's fault but more to Alan Menken and Tim Rice who fail to write anything that shows the animalistic nature he has turned to. To be fair, there is a token ballad that was written for Beast in this stage version, that Terrance Mann shines on.
The new music is distinctly different, which is amazing since Alan Menken wrote all the music and the old and new are only three years apart. It feels like the new music was written for a smarter theater audience as opposed to the child audience that the film was geared towards. It's a improvement to the show in it's musical quality, but a distraction if you're very familiar with the movie before hearing this new album.
Beauty and the Beast is now a classic in animation and music, the show has plenty of stage magic and wonder. But if you have never seen the show, I recommend just picking up the movie soundtrack. If you saw the Broadway show or one of it's tours and enjoyed it, the cast recording is a welcome addition to your music library.
Awsome, just like being there January 6, 2009
John Huseby III
Just like sitting at the show or being at Disney's Hollywood Studio watching the Beauty & The Beast live show.
Surprising! December 25, 2008
Paul Shriber (Rockford, IL USA)
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, but there is FAR more passion than I would expect from Disney. It's a love story. (Aren't they ALL?) BUT there are enough other enjoyable moments in it to make it worthwhile. (Including what I perceive to be a suicide threat, "If I can't love her/Let the world be done with me."). Not what you'd expect!)
While the whole musical can be summarized in three of the tracks, (Prologue, to tell the premise, Something There, to show development, and End Duet to resolve the situation) that doesn't say that the other tracks are fluff. They ALL contribute to the telling of the story.
All in all, far better than I expected!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 95
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