Review: The Disney Trivia Challenge & Disney On Broadway
Page 2 of 2
Purchase
From Amazon.com
(c) Disney
Disney On Broadway
Disney has released a new CD, which features four songs from each of its Broadway shows.
The first three Broadway shows produced by The Walt Disney Company are Beauty and the
Beast, The Lion King, and Aida. I have seen all three of these
shows but had never purchased the soundtracks. After purchasing this CD, I want to buy all
three of the full cast recordings. The producers did make good choices in picking the four
tracks from each of the shows but I kept missing the other songs from the shows.
From Beauty and the Beast we have, Belle, Be Our Guest, If I Can’t Love Her, and Beauty and the Beast” The version of Belle is very similar to the movie version. Be Our Guest is much longer on the stage. If I Can’t Love Her is an emotional song written for the show. My one personal problem is with Beauty and the Beast. While I know you must include the title song, Angela Lansbury will always be the true Mrs. Potts and the stage version is not different enough to warrant a space on the CD. I would much rather have gotten another Broadway original song since I had just purchased the Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition soundtrack.
The Lion King segment includes Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata, They Live in You, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight. Although most of these songs were in the film, the Broadway orchestrations and vocalizations make every song in this segment a treat. Because of this I have actually purchased tickets to see the show at the Pantages, these selections really give he feel of the Broadway show. The show has an additional flair that the film does not, and it comes across on the CD. (Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie).
The Aida vignette includes, Written in the Stars, The Gods Love Nubia, My Strongest Suit, and Easy as Life. Written in the Stars is much better when performed by the original Broadway cast than when performed the pop version featuring Elton John that was released prior to Aida's Broadway debut. The Gods Love Nubia is a very powerful song that is even more powerful after the recent tragic events that have brought forth a new patriotism in many Americans. My Strongest Suit is a rockin’ song that is fun and I am very pleased they decided to include it in this collection. Easy as Life is an emotional song sung by Heather Headley who won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. But I just do not feel it is memorable enough to end this CD. I expect the final track on a CD to be a showstopper and this is not. I would have preferred Elaborate Lives to end the compilation.
One odd thing about this CD is that the songs do not go in the order they appear in the musical. But that is a minor quirk in a great CD. If you haven’t checked out any of Disney’s Broadway shows, I would suggest you do. And if you want to relive the best musical memories from each of these shows, grab this CD. But be warned - this might incline you to purchase the 3 full CDs.
Discuss It
Related Links
-- Review by Benji Breitbart
-- Posted March 14, 2002