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production that was rewritten
by Terrence McNally. A musi-
cal about a hard-working Ital-
ian family that ran a roller rink
during the heyday of Coney Is-
land, The Rink featured Chris
Monteleone, Sklar's friend and
roommate on the Beauty and
the Beast tour.
When a cast member turned
down a role in the The Rink,
Monteleone called Sklar to au-
dition. "Dan brought so much
more to the role," says Mon-
/— teleone, who in Beauty plays the
cake server in the "Be Our
Guest" number and Jewish —
he's quick to add — baker in the
opening sequence. He also un-
derstudies both the Beast and
Gaston roles.
"I was worried about my par-
ents coming to see the show,"
says Sklar, who had to roller-
skate and play some of the roles
in drag along with Monteleone.
"We weren't supposed to be in
drag, but they had no budget,"
Sklar says of the workshop pro-
duction that paid him $185 a
week.
"Dan makes a delightful-look-
ing Jewish woman," adds Mon-
teleone.
As a result of his performance
in The Rink and an off-the-wall
dance audition for Damn Yan-
kees, Sklar was contacted by
producer and casting director
Jay Binder to audition for the
part of Lefou in Beauty and the
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Beast.

"They asked me, 'Can you
take Nis?' I said I could," Sklar
answered, although he was a bit
perplexed. "I saw (Beauty) four
times in New York — Kenny
Raskin, who originated the role
on Broadway, didn't do the mug
dance or the flipping in the
\_Th show.
"After I was cast, I found out
about the fish flop and the mug
dance," says Sklar about the in-
tricate dance number with Gas-
ton and fellow bar patrons at
the tavern. He credits minimal
bruising during the fish flops to
knee pads, a butt pad, elbow
pads and back and front pads.
And he credits dealing with
the major disappointments
about jobs he didn't get to a pos-
itive outlook.
"Everything turned out for
the best. I got a great part," says
Sklar, who's signed on with the
tour for a one-year contract. "I
7-, remember too well what unem-
ployment is like. I consider my-
self lucky every day."

For a behind-the-scenes
look at Dan Sklar and Lefou
in Beauty and the Beast, turn
to the next page for today's In
Focus story in JN Entertain-

ment.

Hours: M-Sat. 9 a.m. - Midnight
SundayNoon -10 p.m.

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89