Toni Braxton's Belle

[EVIE]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 7:40pm

I was listing to the radio and "Breathe Again" started playing...I can not imagine Toni Braxton singing the part of Belle. I tried looking online for sound clips of her during a scene or song in Beauty and The Beast, but couldn't find any. For those of you 'lucky' enough to see her, what was her performance like? The old articles I found online just praise her for being the first African American in the role, but don't really focus on her voice or performance.
Thanks!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 7:56pm

her voice was too deep and they trashed up the role. They changed all of the costumes and Belle looke a paresian hooker.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 7:57pm

Toni's got a fantastic voice but when she speaks, she whispers. It was annoying to the point of me debating if I should return to Act 2.

[dancinfan]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 8:00pm

They lowered many of the keys to suit her range better, but she still whispered the entire role as if she were in a recording studio.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 8:47pm

She was not made for the role. Thank god she didn't try anything else like "Adia"!

[Roxie]

Posted: 10/24/04 at 9:28pm

I saw it the day before she came into the role. I was a little upset at the time cause she was "a name" but now I realize that I was probably lucky.