A tale as old as time was told again Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl. Backed by a live orchestra, an all-star cast including Zooey Deschanel, Taye Diggs and Rebel Wilson performed the first of a two-night run of Beauty and the Beast in Concert.
As the 1991 animated Disney classic played on screens above the stage, musical numbers were performed by Deschanel as Belle and Diggs as the villainous Gaston. After taking on the role Ursula in last year’s Little Mermaid concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Wilson returned to the stage with a gender-bending performance as LeFou. Rounding out the cast was Jane Krakowski as Mrs. Potts and Kelsey Grammer as Lumiere.
During the performance, the Oscar-winning movie was paused for gospel singer and The Voice alum Anthony Evans’ booming rendition of the Beast’s ballad “Evermore” from last year’s live-action adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. The audience was also treated to a surprise performance by Marissa Jaret Winokur, who delivered a hammy take on “Human Again” from Beast’s broadway production.
At the end of the Richard Kraft-directed evening, Beast composer Alan Menken received a standing ovation, after charming the audience — which included Ben Platt and Frankie Grande — with a short piano medley of various hits from both the animated and live-action films.
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“Thank you for your support for Beauty and the Beast,” Menken said. “We’re the reason we do this.” Menken became visibly choked up while talking about Howard Ashman, his late writing partner who died of AIDS just eight months before the release of the film. “I wish he could be here on nights like this,” Menken said.
Earlier in the the evening, the audience participated in a costume contest and were also treated to varied performances, including freshly minted American Idol winner Maddie Poppe, who sang The Jungle Book’s “The Bare Necessities” followed by a performance by Disney’s new a cappella group, D Cappella. Sixteen-year-old pianist Emily Bear performed the 1948 short Bumble Boogie live-to-film, while violin soloist Sandy Cameron and cellist Tina Guo also delivered a rock-inspired performance after the night’s 20-minute intermission.
Be our guest.#janekrakowski @kesleygrammer #beautyandthebeast pic.twitter.com/QGiTynTaW7
— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) May 26, 2018
Ha! @RebelWilson @TayeDiggs amazing. #beautyandthebeast pic.twitter.com/QRb4Pa47u9
— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) May 26, 2018
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