Beauty and the Beast celebrates its 30th anniversary with a live spectacle starring Josh Groban and YOU The couple will star as Beast and Belle, respectively, in the two-hour special, which will pay tribute to the Disney classic in front of a live audience. Josh spoke up HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interview in collaboration with Josh Cellars and gushed about working with HER: “It was so amazing. I’m such a fan of HER’s music. She’s incredible and so multi-talented,” he told HL. “Often all roads lead to musical theater and Disney films, and no matter what genre of music we all fall into, we all grew up with the same passion for that music. Working with her and singing with her and combining our voices and our love for this material was really so unexpected and so beautiful.”
Josh called the Grammy winner a “sweetheart.” In a recent teaser for the December 15th event, SHE and Josh stand side by side in a modernized take on the iconic Belle and Beast outfits. The “Fight For You” singer updated Belle’s traditional gold dress with a tailored suit, while Josh wore a navy cape.
According to Josh, the ABC live special is sure to be something audiences have never seen before! “It’s something they’ve been working on for years and that’s why they take it really seriously. For those of us who are in the cast, we took a huge block of time to be there. We were there almost every day because there are a lot of moving parts – I don’t want to spoil anything but there are a lot of moving parts,” he teased. “It’s going to be really spectacular visually. So we all have a lot of beats to hit, we all have a lot of things to rehearse, and we take a lot of time to do that.”
As well as Groban and HER as Beast and Belle, the cast will also feature a host of other impeccable talents including Rita Moreno as a narrator, Joshua Henry as Gaston, Martin Kurz as Lumiere, David Alan Grier as Cogsworth, Rizwan Manji as LeFou, Jon Jon Briones as Moritz, Leo Abelo Perry as a chip and Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts.
“The artistry of these live-action musical television performances was incredible because they give people across the country and around the world access to a once-in-a-lifetime concert opportunity,” said Josh. “It’s something we all feel so privileged to be a part of.”
Another honor for the Grammy-nominated star was Josh Cellars’ “Joshgiving” campaign during the holiday season. Josh teamed up with the wine brand to give back to the non-profit organization Sing for Hope (SFH). Together, they donated $100,000 and a beautifully restored custom designed piano to LA’s West LA VA Medical Center, revealed by the singer himself.
“One of the amazing things I’ve discovered through my work in artistic philanthropy is how healing music can be as a form of therapy, as a form of expression. Often there is a lot of physical healing that needs to happen, but sometimes the emotional and mental healing is something that isn’t as noticeable and that has to happen,” Josh told HL. “To unveil this, this piano that the wonderful organization we support, Sing for Hope, has meticulously crafted to bring some beautiful music to this place for a number of veterans who will hopefully find some peace and comfort and music within will find it in their lives…it’s such an honor to be here, to support our incredible veterans, and to do so with this beautiful instrument.”
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