Cast Albums Blog
REVIEW: Pageant - 2014 Off-Broadway Cast
When Side Show hit Broadway in 1998, I became fascinated with the career of lyricist Bill Russell. I had never heard of him before, but I discovered he somehow went from penning tiny, queer off-Broadway musicals like Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens (music by Janet Hood) and Pageant (music by Albert Evans, lyrics written with Frank Kelly) to working with the composer of Dreamgirls. I wanted to know more, but at the time Elegies was only available as an import and Pageant had never been legally recorded. (An unauthorized album had been made in Australia, but I've never seen or heard it.)
Since then, Elegies was made available in the U.S. (and a second, American recording was produced in 2001), and although Pageant popped up at regional theaters all the time, a recording remained elusive. That has finally changed, thanks to an off-Broadway revival and John Yap of Jay Records.
REVIEW: The Golden Apple - First Full-Length Recording
The Golden Apple is one of those scores that has taken on something of a mythic air, which is entirely appropriate for this Broadway rethinking of The Iliad and The Odyssey through the lens of turn-of-the-century Americana. The original production was an early transfer from off-Broadway, and despite critical enthusiasm, it shuttered within four months. It left behind a frustratingly truncated original cast album, which (to add insult to injury) was out of print for many years. Despite fans' adoration of this score (music by Jerome Moross, lyrics by John Latouche), the scope of the show (24 named characters plus chorus and full orchestra) has made it difficult to revive or record. (A persistent rumor of Encores! artistic director Jack Viertel's dislike of the show has further aggravated fans.) All of which is to say, when PS Classics announced a full-length recording of the show's recent production at the Lyric Stage of Irving, Texas, with massive cast, expanded chorus, and 36-piece orchestra, a certain segment of the show tunes collecting community let out massive cheers.
REVIEW: Life of an Actress: The Musical - Soundtrack
It's always a little suspicious when a film's soundtrack gets a wider release or more notice than the film itself. Suffice it to say, I had never heard of the 2014 film Life of an Actress when I received my review copy of the soundtrack. Normally, between that the even more glaring red flag of a film that was written, composed, directed, and produced by the same person -- Paul Chau, a former banker whose only previous artistic credits of note were a previous documentary film of the same name and producer billing on a couple of revivals -- I wouldn't even bother. But with a cast including Orfeh, Taylor Louderman, and Allison Case, I figured it was worth giving the album the benefit of the doubt.
How much you'll enjoy this soundtrack depends entirely on how much you're able to let some great performances carry you past other shortcomings: pleasant but undistinguished music set with leaden lyrics (sample: "I want to be an accountant / that's my dream / the first in my family / with a college degree"), and a four piece, synthesizer-heavy band that would sound cheap in a tiny off-Broadway setting. (The band is particularly egregious given how far forward in the mix it is, with its single violin often overpowering the singers.)
Maybe this is the kind of album that coheres a bit more once you've seen the film, but I can find no trace of it existing beyond single screenings in New York and Los Angeles last year. The project's website speaks of an in-development stage version, and you've got to admire Paul Chau's pluck, if not his talent.
REVIEW: Marin Mazzie: Make Your Own Kind of Music - Live at 54 Below
For years, when you polled Broadway fans for their choices of singers they wished would record a solo album, Marin Mazzie's name would always top that list. Thanks to the good people at Broadway Records, the wait is over, and once you hear Make Your Own Kind of Music, recorded live at 54 Below, I'm sure you'll agree it was worth the wait.
REVIEW: Dames at Sea - Original London Cast Recording
Dames at Sea is the quintessential "little show that could," growing from a sketch to a nightclub show to a proper off-Broadway musical to an international hit that's spawned multiple cast recordings, a television production, rumors of a forthcoming Broadway revival, and, oh, it helped launch the career of an ingenue by the name of Bernadette Peters. Originally performed with two pianos and percussion, the original off-Broadway cast recording featured sumptuous new orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.
Ironically, the presence of those gorgeous charts and the unmistakable Peters are two of the best arguments for adding the London Cast Recording to your collection. The London production, which opened a year after its off-Broadway progenitor, features no such breakout performance, enabling the entire ensemble to shine. (Sheila White, who plays the part originated by Peters, does a fine job, but her biggest credit was Brigitta in The Sound of Music.) The London cast recording doesn't return to the show's two-pianos-plus-drums orchestrations, but the new charts by Bill Shepherd are closer to the "let's put on a show" aesthetic of the show.