Beauty and the Beast | Emma Thompson | Table-Read Performance

Here is a section of the impromptu performance of the title song to Beauty and the Beast, sung by Emma Thompson during the cast table-read for Disney's 2017 live-action remake. The song was written for the original 1991 animated film by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman.

This clip comes from the Enchanted Table-Read featurette present on the film's upcoming Blu-Ray release.

A way for the cast, director, and creatives, as well as financiers and executives, to get a feel for how the script reads and how the film is coming together, a table-read (also known as a read-through) is usually treated as a simple cold reading of the script, with no staging and with the cast reading their lines with no rehearsal or preparation. However, because of the musical nature of the project, as well as the inexperience of stars Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in the genre, the decision was made to hire an ensemble of dancers and singers to perform the large set pieces of the score, including "Be Our Guest," "Gaston," and the title song, to better illustrate what the creatives had in mind. (Rehearsal had already begun on the choreography of the numbers, with cast member Luke Evans taking part in "Gaston.") Though unusual, the technique has been used for film musical table-reads in the past, namely by Adam Shankman for the table-read for his 2007 film musical adaptation of Hairspray. (Coincidentally, the two films share the same music supervisor, Matthew Rush Sullivan.)

Though a pair of dancers had been assigned to perform the Beast and Belle's waltz during the title song, Emma Watson surprised the rest of the cast and crew by standing up to perform Belle's part in the waltz herself. Similarly, though a professional singer had been hired to make sure the song's presentation went off without a hitch, Emma Thompson unexpectedly rose and walked over to the microphone to sing herself.

The moment has been described as a career highlight by various members of the cast and crew, with producer Todd Lieberman stating in an interview with Variety that the resulting performance caused composer Alan Menken to break into tears.

Видео Beauty and the Beast | Emma Thompson | Table-Read Performance канала Disney Ashman Demos