‘Beauty And The Beast’ Adds Broadway Star Audra McDonald
Disney’s upcoming live-action remake ofBeauty and the Beastis going to be a musical. And when you’re making a musical, it never hurts to get some help from a Broadway superstar. Tony winnerAudra McDonaldhas just signed on in a supporting role, joiningEmma Watson,Luke Evans, andDan Stevens.
Her casting suggests the upcoming film will be taking some cues from the stage adaptation, which includes some numbers that weren’t in the movie. More on theBeauty and the BeastAudra McDonald casting after the jump.
THRreports McDonald will play Garderobe, which means “wardrobe” in French. Along with Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Garderobe is one of several servants transformed into animate objects when the Beast’s castle is placed under a curse. (This seems like a pretty messed-up way to punish a young boy for being rude to a random stranger, but that’s a whole other conversation.)
As previously reported, Stevens is playing the Beast, and Evans is Belle’s arrogant would-be suitor Gaston.Josh Gadplays Gaston’s buffoonish sidekick Le Fou.Kevin Klineis Belle’s father Maurice, whose capture by the Beast inspires Belle to volunteer to take his place.
The wardrobe offers a warm welcome to the frightened Belle (Watson) when she first arrives at the castle, but otherwise she isn’t a major presence in the film. She doesn’t even have a proper name in that version, as she’s simply called “wardrobe.” The character gets a bit more attention in the stage version of the show, where she gets a solo in a song (“Human Again”) that was cut from the movie.
Bill Condon’sBeauty and the Beastwill feature new recordings of several classic tunes from the 1991 movie, along with original songs byAlan MenkenandTim Rice. McDonald’s presence suggests “Being Human” might be one of the “new” songs featured, since there doesn’t seem to be much point in hiring a big name for a bit part with no singing.
McDonald has won more performance Tonys than any other actor in history. Shows she’s starred in includeRagtime,A Raisin in the Sun, andPorgy and Bess. Onscreen, she’s known for her series regular role on ABC’sPrivate Practice. Additionally, she played the Mother Abbess in NBC’sSound of Music Live!in 2013.
Beauty and the Beaststarts shooting this May in London.Stephen ChboskyandEvan Spiliotopouloswrote the script. Disney has the film slated for release onMarch 17, 2017.
Here’s a fun video of McDonald singing Yahoo! Answers onThe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, for some reason:
