Jim on Film
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Susan Egan-Susan Egan first earned her place in the hearts of Disney fans as the original Belle on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast. Our love affair with her was firmly cemented when she gave voice to witty, sarcastic, and sassy Megara in the animated film Hercules, singing the best song in the movie, I Won’t Say (I’m in Love).

Since then, Egan has starred in the musical Triumph of Love and has for, two engagements, starred as Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret (for which she will be the final Sally Bowles as the show closes this January).

Susan Egan has also released her first solo album So Far on the Jay recording label. Unlike many other Broadway solo albums, Egan approaches each song on the disk as if she were recording it for a cast album for each show. This means that she sticks with the original intentions of the song, allowing the original music and lyrics to shine through her amazing vocal and acting ability. The concept of the album is that she is singing songs that she has performed at one time or another in her life, which provides for a great mix of classic and newer theatre songs. Among the highlights is Tom from Hello Again, It Might as Well Be Spring from State Fair, and her two selections from Cabaret, Maybe This Time and a stunning Cabaret.

For Disney fans, however, there are two tracks that are of more interest. She performs the Stephen Sondheim song Sooner or Later (from Touchstone’s Dick Tracy and the musical revue Putting it Together) and A Change in Me. A Change in Me is of particular interest because the song was added to the stage version of Beauty and the Beast while Toni Braxton was playing Belle. Since it was added midway through the run, it was not recorded for the original Broadway cast recording. It is more than fitting that Susan Egan, the original Belle on Broadway, should make the first recording of the song for this album. Like pretty much everything Alan Menken writes, it’s a great song, a beautiful ballad in which Belle observes that she has changed as a result of her contact with the Beast.

Jonathan Freeman-Best known to Disney fans for voicing Jafar in Aladdin, Freeman is a talented and versatile Broadway performer. He can be heard as Bert Barry, one of the creators of the show within the show on the revival cast recording of 42 nd Street , singing in two songs, the fun Keep Young and Beautiful (also featuring the immensely appealing Mary Testa) and the classic Shuffle Off to Buffalo. The show doesn’t have a strong plot, so the music is fun and memorable even for those who don’t have knowledge of the story, which concerns a chorus girl who becomes the star of a Broadway show.

In the revival cast recording of She Loves Me, with music by Jerry Brock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (who would later write music and lyrics for Fiddler on the Roof), Freeman plays the Headwaiter, singing the song A Romantic Atmosphere, in which he explains that his restaurant must maintain a romantic atmosphere . . . before chaos breaks out around him. Based upon the same play that inspired You’ve Got Mail, the story concerns co-workers at a perfumery who despise each other, not realizing that they are writing to each other as secret penpals.

Also heard on the recording is Brad Kane as Arpad, the delivery boy. Brad Kane is best known to Disney fans for singing as the title character in Aladdin. Here, Kane gets to perform in the great opening number Good Morning, Good Day and gets to open the second act with Try Me, in which he pleads with his boss to let him try his hand at being a clerk. Like Freeman, Kane maintains the voice we all love, but he’s playing a character decidedly different from his on-screen counterpart. And best of all, She Loves Me has a charming and lovely score, with or without our favorite Disney stars.

Heather Headley-Heather Headley would enter the pantheon of Disney legends for originating the role of Adult Nala in the Broadway Lion King and for her Tony-Award winning performance in the title role of Aida. She would also perform on the soundtrack for The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride and would perform One Dream for Disney’s California Adventure.

Last year, Headley finally released her long-awaited solo album This is Who I Am. While not the smash hit her amazing talent is capable of performing, it is a fine R&B album. He Is, which was the first single, is the best song on the album, containing her response to the oft-recorded musical theme of hating men. In it, she celebrates what men mean to her. In I Wish I Wasn’t, she laments the pain caused by a man she’s madly in love with in a beautiful R&B melody (hopefully not the same man she’s celebrating in He Is). Another highlight of the album is Sista Girl, a song co-written by Headley and a call for young women to not rush into relationships. While the album doesn’t quite capture the thrill of hearing Headley’s spine-tingling belting abilities as heard on the Original Broadway Cast recordings of The Lion King and Aida, it’s an enjoyable listen with a number of impressive R&B songs.