"We pre-recorded every [song], but some of us sang live on set as well, during the takes," Evans, who is playing Gaston, told Collider.
"I’m a singer, so I’ve always been used to singing live on stage, doing eight shows a week for a year or more. So I’m very used to not miming. I’ve never mimed in my life, so I didn’t mime, I sang full out every take to my own voice in the background. So did Josh [Gad]. Josh and I really loved every minute of it, we’re proper theater lovers, me and Josh."
Evans called his co-star "so funny" and "an absolute dream to work with." "We didn't have to try, because I love Josh," he said. He also revealed his excitement for the new songs from composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice.
"These two songs. They’re beautiful, they complement everything so well, but they are incredibly unique and different," he said. "And the thought and love that has gone into those two songs honor the work of the original so well. It will be a nice thing, especially for the fans, to hear these two new songs on top of what we already have."
"To be able to do 'Beauty and the Beast' with Bill Condon, I couldn't have dreamed that magic cocktail up in my head," gushed the star. "I got to sing, I got to play one of Disney's most famous bad guys.""I’m hoping when we see the final cut in 2017," Evans concluded, "that that energy and that dynamic and that chemistry that we felt, and everybody seemed to see it, will be there." According to Disney, "the beloved tale will be retold for the big screen with a modern live-action lens and the help of transformative CG magic."
It is helmed by Condon, who directed the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls and penned the screenplay for the film adaptation of "Chicago," and features a script by Stephen Chbosky. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are the producers.
The 1991 animated film of "Beauty and the Beast" won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Song and Best Music, Original Score. The 1994 Broadway stage adaptation was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for Costume Design (Ann Hould-Ward).
