One grey, dismal day in London a bit of sunshine was brought to Love London Love Culture’s life by spending the afternoon in the company of Alan Menken as he performed some of his best known songs at the Corinthia Hotel to mark the upcoming release of the new live action Beauty & the Beast.
In front of a special audience, which included the recent WhatsOnStage award winning Trevor Dion Nicholas and Carrie Hope Fletcher, Alan Menken performed a medley of classic songs including ‘Under The Sea’ , ‘A Whole New World’ and of course the classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’ .
Having grown up with many of the Disney films for which he wrote music for, it was an utter privilege to sit and listen to the EIGHT time Oscar winner, which led him to quip “until they made the rule ‘No F***ing awards for Alan Menken”.
In a brief Q&A session after the performance, the legendary composer also revealed that he had written three new songs for the new live action version of the film to add a different layer to the film.
What made this afternoon a real pleasure was a chance to listen to these songs live and yet it felt as though you were hearing them for the very first time. The extraordinary variety, depth and range of songs that he has created over the years (which are still proving popular with new generations of Disney fans today).
As the press tour for the new Beauty & The Beast film begins, there is no doubting that this event made everyone in attendance really feel excited about the upcoming release.
By keeping the original songs in the film (as well as three new ones to look forward to), the film will hopefully still keep fans of the original enthralled but gives it a different and refreshing perspective to enchant new audiences. This is going to be one of the must-see films of the year.
Beauty and the Beast is released in cinemas on the 17th March.
