Each time a musical number comes up, the film will pause while live performers take up the songs.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You were inRentback in the 90s at the same timeBeauty and the Beastwas also on Broadway.
So everything else we didnt have the opportunity to see.
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Disney
Because it was a movie musical.
I am a huge fan of Garth Fagan, and he choreographedThe Lion Kingon Broadway.
That specific musical, and Disney productions, made an impression on me and my child.
Its my sons favorite as well.
Literally, this whole experience feels like being shot out of a cannon.
So I have no idea.
Im just doing what people tell me and going where people tell me to go.
Trying to sing the right notes and hit the right marks.
Broadway is your first home, but this is your first musical performance sinceHedwig and the Angry Inchin 2015.
Whats it like getting back into it?
It was a different kind of construct than a traditional musical.
I hadnt been in a traditional musical in years.
Its so much fun, but it does take a little getting used to.
And I just need to be reminded that its very dissimilar to screen acting.
Im still in that phase right now.
Youre singing live to film; whats that experience like?
Its very different from what a lot of people are used to.
Yes, were singing kind of to the film.
But then we have an orchestra which is live, so its different but then the same.
The movie cuts out, the film cuts out, and then we fit right in.
Rebel Wilson is your LeFou, which is a fun gender swap.
Any memorable moments from working together so far?Shes just great.
Ive been a fan of hers and continue to be a fan.
Shes done this kind of performance before.
She was inThe Little Mermaid[as] Ursula.
And shes kind of been showing me the ropes.
Your stage work has largely been in New York.
How does it feel like to be doing a musical in L.A.?
And at the Hollywood Bowl in particular?Its different for me to be in an outdoor theater.
This is something brand-spanking-new for me.
I feel like its all in the text.
Right now Im just trying to get the music down and the notes.
Its so brilliantly written that its hard to sing it without feeling full of yourself.
Thats one of the benefits of working with really great songwriters, so Im also grateful for that.
Have you seen any of those, and if so, have you felt vindicated at all?
[Laughs] I havent.
But that entire experience was so specific and unique and special.
Nothing can really mess with that.
It was just such a wonderful, special time for all of us.
And Im just so thankful to have been able to have been a part of it.
Beauty and the Beastlive in concertplays the Hollywood Bowlon May 25 and 26.
