The Young and the Restless News: Loren Lott Shows She Should Be Belle

While Loren Lott is known to The Young and the Restless fans as Devon’s spirited music producer sister Ana Hamilton, the actress is an accomplished Broadway star and often thinks about being back on stage.

Loren Lott And Her Broadway Dreams

Over her career, Lott has played Ti Moune in Once on this Island and appeared in the Broadway show Motown, as well as performed in regional productions of Ragtime and Shrek.

The actress often sings on her social media pages and recently took to Twitter to talk about a dream role — Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

Lott used her TikTok account to find a boy singing half of “Belle” from the Disney classic, and she recorded herself singing the other half to create an instant duet.

“Had to hop on this!” she wrote, posting the video. “My dream is to be a #DisneyPrincess after all. Would you watch a black Belle in #BeautyAndTheBeast?”

It’s not a crazy question considering the controversy that surrounded young actress Halle Bailey (one half of R&B duo Chloe x Halle), who received backlash after being cast as Ariel in ABC’s live production of The Little Mermaid.

Thankfully, most theatre fans are all for “colorblind” casting and would have no problem with a black actress playing Belle. In fact, Toni Braxton played Belle on Broadway in 1998 and Michelle Gayle performed as Belle on the West End in 1999, both to wonderful reviews.

In fact, it was Braxton’s casting that led to a brand-new song being added to the score—“A Change in Me,” which became one of theatergoers’ favorites.

With Broadway shut down due to COVID-19 concerns, we could use all the musical theater we can get right now, so hearing Lott sing this wonderful tune is a great way to start the day. And it’s easy to imagine her in the role one day, so here’s hoping her Disney wish comes true.