If I Can't Love Her
"If I Can't Love Her" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical Beauty and the Beast (1994), a stage adaptation of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name.
Upon premiering in Beauty and the Beast, "If I Can't Love Her" received mostly positive reviews from theatre critics, who praised Menken and Rice's songwriting, and Mann's vocal performance.
[3] Since Ashman had died in 1991 prior to the film's release, lyricist Tim Rice was recruited to collaborate with Menken on writing new songs for the stage musical, out of which "If I Can't Love Her" was developed.
[9] Since the musical was written in two-act structure,[10] "If I Can't Love Her" was conceived to allow the Beast an important opportunity to either "howl for redemption" or declare he has given up.
[13] Deciding that the production did not require any more show-stopping musical numbers like "Be Our Guest" and "Gaston", Rice opted to write new material that "expand[s] the characters and their relationships" instead, describing "If I Can't Love Her" as a song that uncovers the Beast's "human longings".
[20] "If I Can't Love Her" is, at times, referred to by critics as the Beast's only solo song in the stage musical,[21][22] although the character also performs the brief "How Long Must this Go On?".
[23] Prior to "If I Can't Love Her", the show primarily consists of upbeat musical numbers performed by supporting characters such as Gaston, Lefou, and Lumiere.
[24] Immediately following the lively "Be Our Guest",[18] the ballad precedes the show's intermission,[3] ending Act I "on a smoky and introspective note", according to Brad Hevenor of The Independent.
[30] According to Tamara Ikenberg of the Anchorage Daily News, the number "reveals the depths of the Beast's depression as he accepts that he may never be human again and wishes for a way ... out of his pain.
"[3] The Ottawa Citizen critic Zaina Khan wrote that the ballad indicates "a shift from ferocity to humility displaying the Beast’s dichotomy between ill-tempered rage and instant regret.
[51] Beginning "And in my twisted face there's not the slightest trace of anything that even hints of kindness", the song's lyrics convey "hope and hopelessness, the pain and beauty of love, and the anguish of loss.
[17] Also writing for Variety, Jerome Weeks said Menken and Rice's efforts particularly "shine" during "If I Can't Love Her",[48] while Tom Jacobs said the song "makes the strongest impact" among their new material.
[8] Reviewing Justin Glaser's rendition at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, John Berger of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said the actor's performance "brings Act I to a stirring and passionate close".
[54] The Greenville News critic Paul Hyde called Chase Wolfe's version at the South Carolina Children's Theatre "impassioned",[55] while Bob Curtright of The Wichita Eagle wrote that Thaddeus Pearson's rendition "is particularly powerful and heartbreaking".
"[7] Simon Duke of the Evening Chronicle described the song as "a more than welcome addition to the stage version's repertoire", writing that it allows its actor "the chance to deliver a masterful, extremely powerful and goosebump inducing performance, leaving the audience to give rapturous applause as the curtain came down for the interval".
"[63] Singer and actor James Graeme covered "If I Can't Love Her" with the National Symphony Orchestra for the compilation album The Very Best Of Broadway Musicals (2002).
[66][67] Singer and actor Josh Groban covered the song and included it on deluxe versions of his studio album Stages (2015), sold exclusively at Target.
[77] Since becoming a professor of musical theatre at Western Carolina University, Mann has observed that "If I Can't Love Her" is one of three songs from his stage career regarded as standards for male students due to how much his role in Beauty and the Beast resonated among fans.
