Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

Reviews - Finian's Rainbow and Kate Baldwin CDs

For me, there's no greater pleasure than sitting down to listen to the cast recording of a beloved show. Of course, I'll buy practically anything, irrespective of whether I've seen the show. Years ago, my cousin Joanne asked me why I would buy the cast recording for a production I hadn't seen. I sputtered at first, for lack of comprehension. Why would one need to have seen a show to enjoy a cast recording, I eventually replied. I wasn't alive to see Ethel Merman in Gypsy, but I can still marvel in her clarion call of a voice on what might just be the greatest score of all time.

In deference to my cousin, I will say that cast recordings are that much sweeter when I have seen the production in question. It's one of the reasons why I'm so delighted with the new PS Classics release of Finian's Rainbow. Alas, this production of Finian's Rainbow played its final performance at the St. James Theater in January. I saw the show once at Encores (read my review) and twice on Broadway (read my review and my re-review). My take on the show itself varied, but my reaction to the score was steadfast: it's a gem. Fortunately, the good folks at PS Classics have done their usual bang-up job of preserving classic and quality shows, which now includes this nonpareil score from composer Burton Lane and lyricist Yip Harburg.

Sure, there are more cohesive and integrated scores, particularly those from some of the Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. But I'll be damned if I can think of another score from this or any period that has as many genuinely tuneful, funny, and charming numbers as Finian's Rainbow. There honestly isn't a single bad number in the bunch. Lane and Harburg run the full gamut from sweet lyricism ("Look to the Rainbow") to charm songs ("Something Sort of Grandish") to rousing production numbers ("If This Isn't Love") to wry social comment ("Necessity"). And when you've got the personable and professional likes of Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Terri White to sing such a gem of a score, well, all the better.

This recording of Finian's Rainbow captures so much of what made the show charming, particularly Kate Baldwin's stirring soprano voice and Christopher Fitzgerald's impish playfulness. And what a delight it is to hear Terri White's husky voice emanate from my stereo once more. In younger days, I practically wore out my LP of Barnum, particularly White's bravura take on "Thank God I'm Old."

Rediscovering Finian's Rainbow got me to thinking about other shows that feature the worth of Burton and Harburg. Both gentlemen had distinguished careers as songwriters, but neither really hit it all that big on Broadway. Harburg's other shows include the underrated Bloomer Girl, the joyous but forgettable Jamaica, and the utterly bizarre Flahooley. None of these shows was particularly successful financially, and Flahooley was a outright bomb. Lane's most memorable shows, other than Finian's, were On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Carmelina, both of which have much to recommend them, although as a whole they're rather unfulfilling. 

But as is often the case with talented creators, even their biggest flops contain diamonds in the rough. Which is one of the reasons that Kate Baldwin's new solo CD, Let's See What Happens, is such a delight. As a sort of Finian's tie-in, PS Classics has also recorded and released this compilation of musical delights, mostly from the various shows and movies that Lane and Harburg contributed to over the years. And who better to interpret these songs than the dazzling Ms. Baldwin.

Notable tracks on the CD include "That Something Extra Special," from Darling of The Day, and as definitive as Patricia Routledge is on the show's cast recording, Baldwin more than holds her own. Baldwin also charms on "Here's to Your Illusions" from the aforementioned Flahooley. Again, Baldwin proves a genuine match for another formidable lady, the lovely Barbara Cook, who performed the song on the train-wreck fascinating Flahooley recording. The Baldwin CD also unearths a few little-known (or at least unknown to me) gems, including "I Like the Likes of You" from The Ziegfeld Follies of 1934, and "Have Feet, Will Dance" from the 1957 TV musical "Junior Miss." 

The CD errs on the side of the slow and contemplative ballad, and although I'm usually more of an uptempo guy, Baldwin's clean and rounded delivery make for energizing listening even on the slowest of slow songs. I really hope this woman has a long and successful career ahead of her. She's enchanting both on-stage and in the studio. It's lovely combination.

The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary CD -- Plus a Contest

Well, ladles and jelly spoons, it has officially been a half a century since the Broadway premier of The Sound of Music. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Broadway production, Sony has released a special commemorative CD of the original cast recording.

As is customary for these re-releases, this recording includes a number of bonus cuts, which here include a track from the long-out-of-print Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall. Three years before Julie Andrews would appear in what is now her most iconic role, she sang a parody version of The Sound of Music with Carol Burnett called "From Switzerland: The Pratt Family." The results are moderately amusing, but hardly memorable, but perhaps it will tide us over until Columbia decides to re-release the full CD. 

The two remaining bonus cuts are of marginally greater interest. There's a German version of "Edelweiss" culled from the first-ever Viennese production of The Sound of Music. And perhaps most interesting is the cut with Tommy Körberg, of Chess fame, doing a stirring rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" ("Sök dig till bergen").

And then there's the cast recording itself. Every year, in my musical-theater history course, we briefly (very briefly) discuss The Sound of Music, and I posit the notion that, while the show is a sentimental favorite among theatergoers, it in fact represents a regression in quality on the part of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A number of my students invariably react as though I've kicked a puppy. But these students are likely reflecting their affection for the movie version of "The Sound of Music," which in many respects is a considerable improvement over the stage show. Despite the immense popularity that the film has engendered, neither the film nor the stage play can even come close to the artistry of Oklahoma!, Carousel, or The King and I, nor even South Pacific, for that matter, and regular readers will recall that I consider South Pacific to be the most overrated musical ever.

But I must confess a certain fondness for The Sound of Music. I grew up listening to a bunch of LPs that my parents had of various stage shows and movie musicals, although in retrospect it's strange that they even had those LPs since they never really listened to music at all. But I did, and I greedily devoured the cast recordings to Godspell, Mame, and Oliver, as well as the soundtracks to "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music." That's probably where my obsession with musical theater began, so I guess I have my parents to thank for that. I was particularly taken with "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria," and would flounce around the house singing it incessantly, singing all of the parts myself. (OK, so where does *that* fall on the Gay-O-Meter? Off the frickin' chart, huh?)

But I've never really been a fan of the cast recording of The Sound of Music. Perhaps my own initial fondness for the soundtrack has prevented me from ever truly enjoying the cast recording, or maybe it's because it was at this point in Mary Martin's career that her voice started to show some wear. In the '40s, Martin had a lovely resonance in her low notes and a slight delicacy to her upper range. But by the end of the '50s, Martin's lower range had become overly pronounced and mannish, while her upper range grew thin and raspy. So, I'll probably file this CD in my collection, and if I ever do get the urge to indulge in some old-fashioned R&H treacle, I'll probably just bust out the movie soundtrack or throw in the DVD.

And now, guys and dolls, for the fun part: The first ever EIKILFM trivia contest! I have an extra copy of the 50th anniversary CD to give away to one lucky reader. Below are five questions regarding The Sound of Music. Respond below with your answers, and in the very likely event that more than one person gets all of the questions correct, I'll select a winner randomly from those entries. (Don't worry about tipping other readers off to the answers. I won't publish the comments until I've selected a winner)

Good luck!

SOUND OF MUSIC TRIVIA CONTEST 

1. Name a song from the stage version of The Sound of Music that wasn't in the film.

2. Name a song from the film of The Sound of Music that wasn't in the stage version.

3. What was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together?

4. What role did Oscar Hammerstein *not* perform on The Sound of Music that he did perform on every other R&H show?

5. With what other show did The Sound of Music share its Best Musical Tony Award?

[CONTEST DEADLINE: 11/13/2009]

Desk Clearing: West Side Spanish, Birdie Dance, Nine Movie, and Ragtime Logo

A number of things have been making me cranky lately. Not sure if it's just my mood, or if these items are genuinely annoying. So, rather than addressing each item separately, I figured I'd just get them all out of the way in one peevish post.

Bye Bye Birdie - The New York Daily News reports that the star of the upcoming Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie, Gina Gershon, won't be performing the show's iconic Shriner's Ballet. The article quotes Gershon as saying the dance was cut because it was too "gang rape-y." As other commentators have pointed out, that's never seemed to be a problem before, despite being Tams-Witmark's number-one show for decades. The more likely explanation: Gershon can't handle the dance. If they're so concerned about modern sensibilities, will Gershon be performing the regressive and sexist "An English Teacher"? Will the chorus girls still be fawning and fainting to the salacious sight of Conrad Birdie's gyrating hips? The show is a period piece. If you don't like the period, don't do the piece.
Peeve Factor: 7 out of 10. If you want to see a real pro in action, click here to watch Chita Rivera perform the Shriner's Ballet.

West Side Story - According to the New York Times, the current smash-hit Broadway revival of West Side Story has changed back much of the show's much-touted Spanish to the original English lyrics and text. As you may know, director Arthur Laurents brought in Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) to translate huge chunks of the show into Spanish. The article quotes Laurents as saying the Spanish was "an experiment." Yeah, a failed experiment. As I've written about in my reviews of the show itself and of the CD, I wasn't a fan of the Spanish text. I found it alienating and thought it robbed two terrific songs ("I Feel Pretty" and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love") of their humor, pathos, and drama. But I also thought that Miranda's lyrics didn't match the quality of Sondheim's original work.
Peeve Factor: 5 out of 10, mitigated by the fact that they've, for the most part, reverted to the infinitely preferable original words.

"Nine" - The more I hear about Rob Marshall's forthcoming film version of Nine, the less excited I become. First, the delectable Javier Bardem dropped out, replaced by the talented but IMHO considerably less sexy Daniel Day Lewis. Now, according to Playbill, Maury Yeston has provided three new songs for the movie: "Guarda la Luna," "Cinema Italiano," and "Take it All." Which is fine, but to make room, they're cutting at least five of the original songs: "Simple," "Be On Your Own," "Grand Canal," "Nine," "The Bells of St. Sebastian's." Boo and grrr. (For a detailed discussion of the cut and added songs, check out a post by my friend Kevin at Theatre Aficionado at Large.)
Peeve Factor: 9 out of 10. Pun intended. I'm not a knee-jerk purist, but the movie is going to need to be pretty spectacular to make up for the butchering of the score. Of course, the "Sweeney Todd" film involved a tremendous amount of cutting as well, and I raved about that movie in my review. So, the jury's still out, despite my current annoyance.

Ragtime - The press folk for the upcoming Broadway revival of Ragtime have recently been touting the new visual identity for the production. (See left) Apparently, it's the work of some famous Italian illustrator. Whatever, it's washed-out, flat, and unmemorable. Plus, the physical arrangement seems borrowed from the logo to The Secret Garden. Of course, I was also nonplussed by the logos for Hair and A Catered Affair, and impressed by that of Cry-Baby. So there's no necessary connection between the quality of an individual show and that of its marketing materials.
Peeve Factor: 2 out of 10. Like many of you, I'm simply thrilled that Ragtime is getting another chance on Broadway. During its original run, it was overshadowed by The Lion King and hampered by irresponsible -- and now felonious -- producing.

Sondheim's Road Show on CD

A new recording of a Stephen Sondheim show is always a reason to, if not celebrate, at least pay attention. And when the show itself is new, or at least contains a significant amount of fresh material, even better. So, although Road Show could not, in the strictest sense of the word, be called new, it does represent a chance to witness the latest work by our greatest living composer and lyricist.

As you may know, Road Show is the most recent version of a musical that Sondheim and librettist John Weidman have been working on for years. In fact, the score has already been recorded, under the title Bounce. Which means that we musical-theater mavens now have a terrific opportunity to compare the two recordings and witness how the show has developed over time.

Of course, the experience would be that much better if the show itself were any good. Alas, it is not. In comparing the two recordings, it's clear that the show has improved greatly since its out-of-town tryouts in Chicago and Washington, DC. Most of the changes and cuts have been for the better. But ultimately Road Show will likely take its place alongside such fascinating Sondheim failures as Anyone Can Whistle and Merrily We Roll Along: musical works that have a tremendous amount going for them, but somehow never have, and never will, work as shows.

As is true with most Sondheim scores, repeated hearings of the Road Show recording have revealed a great deal of substance and subtext. I was particularly struck by Sondheim's use of leitmotif, or in this particular case contrafactum: the songs "Gold" and "Land Boom" share the same melody, as do a few other sections of the show that all connote some sort of persuasion or salesmanship. Although most of the show's ballads remain colorless and dull, Sondheim has tuned up considerably the show's uptempo musical sequences, including "Addison's Trip" and "I Love This Town," which here becomes the rousing "That Was a Year." There have also been a number of wisely excised numbers in the transition from Bounce to Road Show, including "Opportunity," "What's Your Rush," and "Next to You."

But I'm still left with the same overall impression I had when I saw the show at the Public Theater: that this is a show that must have seemed compelling on paper, but that fails to bring its characters and subject matter to sympathetic life. (Read my review) The key problem with Road Show is that we don't care about these people. I watched the show and listened to the CD with academic interest, but I never found myself actually feeling for anyone, despite the cast of theater pros, led by Alexander Gemignani and Michael Cerveris.

Of course, Stephen Sondheim could stop working entirely and still be the most important figure in musical theater of the past 50 years. His contributions to the form have been immeasurable, both in terms of his own professional output and his influence on other creators. How fortunate we would be if he could someday create another show on par with his best. If not, his rich and ample body of work remains to satisfy and inspire for generations to come.

Review - West Side Story Revival CD

I was reasonably pleased with the current Broadway revival of West Side Story when I saw it at the National Theater in Washington, DC. (Read my review.) Not overwhelmed, but engaged. I didn't think director Arthur Laurents had achieved his announced objectives for the show (i.e. make the gang violence credible, make the sexual passion more palpable, and successfully translate much of the show into Spanish).

But I did appreciate the essential quality of the piece, Leonard Bernstein's sensational score, and Jerome Robbins' dynamic choreography, recreated by Joey McKneely. I actually think that Hair is the best revival of the current Broadway season, and fully expect the Tony voters to agree on Sunday night. But now that the CD for the West Side Story revival has come out, I've come to the opinion that West Side Story might just have the single greatest musical score of all time.

Bernstein's music is flawless, deft, and surprising, even after repeated listenings. And Stephen Sondheim's lyrics are remarkable given that he was only twenty seven when he wrote them. There's not a bad number in the bunch. Every song is, in its own way, a masterpiece. Some of Sondheim's lyrics aren't quite character-appropriate (an uneducated Puerto Rican girl in the '50s would never say "it's alarming how charming I feel"), and some of them don't quite fit the music (the phrase "wire-spoke wheel" in "America" is nearly impossible to sing clearly). By the way, these are two criticisms that Sondheim himself has made of his own work. But, on the whole, the score to West Side Story is about as good as it gets. Which is interesting when you contemplate that many people thought the score "weird" and "dissonant" when the show premiered. 

Most of the performers translate quite well to the recording, particularly Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, and Karen Olivo as Anita. Both demonstrate the strong vocal abilities that Bernstein's score deserves. Considerably less effective on the recording is Josefina Scaglione as Maria. In the theater, I found her voice sweet but thin, and the recording makes this vocal attenuation more pronounced. It's not a deal-killer, but it is a disappointment. Cody Green as Riff is every bit as indistinct as he was on stage, but Curtis Holbrook as Action manages to create a distinctive characterization that comes across well. 

Of course, the elephant in the room for this recording is the Spanish. As you may know, director Arthur Laurents brought in Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) to provide Spanish translations for significant portions of the show, including the "Tonight" quintet, "I Feel Pretty," and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love." In my review, I decided that I thought this was a mistake, and the recording hasn't changed my opinion. Sure, speaking in foreign languages is a standard practice in opera, but it's alienating in a musical. I found myself tuning out during most of the Spanish, my three years of high-school study insufficient to help me along.

My biggest problem with the Spanish is that Miranda's new lyrics don't match the integrity of the Sondheim originals. I have to say that I was wrong when I said that Miranda's lyrics don't scan. They do scan, for the most part. But they rely rather heavily on elision, specifically the gliding of two vowel sounds together. For example, the beginning of the second stanza of the song "I Feel Pretty," which in the original Sondheim lyric goes "I feel charming, oh so charming," now has the following Spanish lyric:

Hoy me siento encantadora ("Today I feel lovely")

But to make the lyric fit the melody, Miranda has required Scaglione to elide the "-to" of "siento" and the "en-" of "encantadora," which comes off sounding like "hoy me sien-TONE-cantadora." I've sung a few Spanish pieces with various choruses over the years, and I understand that elision is an acceptable practice in Spanish music. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. And Miranda uses it nearly every stanza of the song. Plus, he uses grace notes to cram extra syllables into a line. For example:

Atrayente, atractiva sin par ("Attractive, attractive unparalleled")

This corresponds to "It's alarming how charming I feel," and it needs to be sung with an extra note ("Atrayente ah-tractiva sin par"), or with the first syllable of "atractiva" left out, to fit the meter. From where I sit, that's cheating; write a lyric that actually fits the meter of the line. Sondheim did.

Which brings me to the bonus tracks. Those of you who, like me, prefer the songs with their original Sondheim lyrics have a number of options. On iTunes, you can get "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" in English, as well as a cut called "Jump," which is part of the "Dance at the Gym" suite. The annoying part here is that you can only get the bonus cuts when you buy the entire album. Then, over at Barnes and Noble, you can purchase a BN-only edition of the CD with the English version of "I Feel Pretty," along with instrumental tracks of "Somewhere" and "Tonight." So, to get all the tracks, at the very least you need to buy the entire recording twice. (At least if you want to do things legally. Wink.) As much as I hate to be forced to make an additional purchase, I must confess that I got both the iTunes and Barnes and Noble versions.

Obsessive, out-of-control, show-tune queen? Yeah, I can live with that.

Hair Cast Recordings - Past and Present

As we eagerly await the new cast recording from the critically acclaimed current revival of Hair from the good folks at Ghostlight Records, those of us who love the score to this landmark show can certainly make do with extant recordings, of which there are many.

Of course, the essential recording of Hair is that of the original 1968 Broadway cast, re-released in 2003 by RCA Victor in a deluxe package that includes a separate CD of the 1967 Off-Broadway cast recording. This release represents an unprecedented chance to compare the two versions of the show in one sitting, as it were, and both remain vital as the years pass.

There's also the soundtrack to the somewhat maligned but nonetheless fascinating 1979 movie version of Hair. This was my first exposure to the score, when I was in high school, and it remains the watermark version for me, irrespective of its objective quality. I keenly recall watching the movie and being mesmerized by Twyla Tharp's arresting and iconic choreography, and transfixed by Treat Williams briefly in the buff. (Woo woo.) 

More recently, we saw an all-star studio cast album of Hair, the proceeds of which went to benefit the Actors Fund of America. Despite the repugnant cover (see left: pubes, anyone?), this recording features a lot of terrific renditions of these now-classic songs. I find myself particularly compelled to listen to Gavin Creel's version of "Going Down" and Ana Gasteyer's "Dead End." There are also some...er...curiosities on this recording, including Charles Busch's coquettish rendition of "My Conviction," and Harvey Fierstein's (perhaps appropriately) raspy version of "Air."

I have at least a half dozen more recordings of Hair in my collection, including the London, Australian, German, and Israeli versions, but I was especially pleased to discover that RCA had struck a deal with ArkivMusic to offer disinHAIRited, among numerous other previously unavailable titles, as an on-demand CD release. (See my previous post about ArkivMusic's on-demand releases here.) Just seeing the admittedly drab cover (see left) of this release takes me back to my days of scouring used record stores for cast recordings on LP, and coming across this quirky album in a dusty bin in some Harvard Square basement-level shop.

The album disinHAIRited features a raft of songs that were cut from both the original Off-Broadway and Broadway versions of Hair. Some of the songs wound up making their way back into the show, but not onto the Broadway cast recording, including "I'm Hung" and "The Bed." The recording also features alternate versions of some numbers that did wind up on the Broadway recording, including "Electric Blues," "Going Down," and "Dead End."

This new release offers a fascinating glimpse at the development of the show, along with cautionary revelations of the pretension and earnestness that could easily have enveloped the show had it not been for the guiding hand of original Broadway director, Tom O'Horgan. Most of the good stuff on this album resides in the aforementioned reinstated material, but there are some unearthed gems as well, including "Mr Berger" and "Manhattan Beggar." The main attraction here is Galt MacDermot's urgent, tuneful, and compelling music, although it's often paired with subpar James Rado/Gerome Ragni lyrics. But there are touches of poetry and inspiration in even the most self-consciously psychedelic and repetitive of the pair's words.

The new cast recording of Hair comes out sometime in the spring. You can sign up at Ghostlight to be alerted when they set a specific release date.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro: The New Recording

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Allegro (1947) is one of the most important and historic musicals that most people have never heard of. It was R&H's third show, after Oklahoma and Carousel, and came out shortly after their only musical written directly for the movies, "State Fair," which won them an Oscar for best song ("It Might as Well Be Spring").

Allegro was a serious attempt on Oscar Hammerstein's part to craft an original story, one that contained numerous innovations. It was the first of what we now consider the "concept" musicals, shows that explore a particular idea rather than tell a specific story. The concept here was originally a cradle-to-grave story of a certain earnest everyman. That idea proved untenable, so Allegro wound up being the cradle-to-midlife-crisis story of one Joseph Taylor, Jr.

Hammerstein made significant use of an omniscient sort of Greek chorus, which commented on the action in unison to both the actors and the audience. The production concept represented a break from the literal realism of the time, and featured back-wall projections and a minimal, modular set that was both spare and complicated at the same time. Allegro also represented the beginning of the rise of the director/choreographer, in this case, Agnes de Mille. When we think of director/choreographers, we typically think of the men: Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett, Jerome Robbins, etc. But Agnes de Mille took on this dual role before any of the guys did. 

So, Allegro is unquestonably a significant show. It just isn't very good. 

Despite the biggest advance sale of any musical up to that time, the show sharply divided audience members and critics when it premiered in 1947. While some thought it sublime and appreciated the sheer ambition and scope of the show, others found it pretentious, preachy, and boring. I happen to fall in the latter camp. In his libretto, Hammerstein expresses the danger of social climbing and rampant materialism, and the result is cold, humorless, and didactic.

But even second-rate R&H is worth savoring, and until now show fanatics have had to make do with the severely truncated original cast recording of Allegro, which is only 33 minutes long. In an attempt to rectify this slight, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization has put its considerable resources behind a new studio recording of the score. The treatment is sumptuous, indeed, and features an interdisciplinary cast of the best the musical stage currently has to offer. The recording features Patrick Wilson as the central Joseph Taylor, the sublime Audra McDonald as his mother and opera hunk Nathan Gunn as his father.

But the fact that these terrific performers have very little actual recording time illustrates one of the major problems with Allegro: the best songs go to very minor characters and the Greek chorus. It's hard to work up any sympathy for these people when they do so little singing in the show and on the recording. The two best-known songs from the show are the lovely "So Far" and the rueful "The Gentleman is a Dope," sung respectively by Judy Kuhn and Liz Callaway, who perform these songs and either disappear from the plot entirely, or show up out of nowhere and suddenly we're supposed to care.

The other problem with the show is that the central love story is cynical and empty, which was by design, but makes for a very unsatisfying experience. Joe grows up to wed his childhood sweetheart, Jenny, played here by Laura Benanti. Act 1 ends with their wedding, in which everyone onstage seems to question whether this is really a good idea, including the bride and groom themselves. It's the sort of thing Stephen Sondheim could have pulled off, but Hammerstein seems unable to make it compelling. (Sondheim actually served as a production assistant during Allegro's tryout period, and points to the show as providing inspiration for much of his later work.)

But the most damning evidence in the case against Allegro is the the songs themselves, which, other than the two listed above, simply aren't very good. There's some lovely music here -- and since this recording apparently represents every last note written for the show, we get to savor it all in one package -- but overall this score represents second-tier Richard Rodgers and third-tier Hammerstein. Many of the melodies and rhyme schemes are awkward and forced, and the overall emotional impact of the score doesn't even come close to the power of R&H's best work. It was nice to rediscover some of the songs from the show, including the jaunty title number, but overall I think I'm just going to file this CD into my collection and leave it there.

The New Duncan Sheik Musical: Whisper House

Although Spring Awakening recently closed on Broadway, it was certainly one of the more interesting and ambitious shows to tread the boards over the last few seasons. Some found it overly depressing and pretentious, but there was no denying the power of the story, the dynamism of Michael Mayer's direction, and the magnetism of the uniformly talented cast.

One of my initial concerns about Spring Awakening was the often non-integrated nature of the score. Duncan Sheik's songs, with lyrics by Steven Sater, didn't always seem directly relevant to the action at hand. But I eventually reconciled that concern with Mayer's deliberately anachronistic, almost Brechtian presentation. Yeah, the show was set in the 19th century, and here we have these kids singing into microphones, and talking about listening to stereos, and singing directly to the audience. But all that seemed part of a conscious decision on the part of the creators to try to give the story more universal resonance, something that today's youth could more directly identify with.

Since the success of Spring Awakening, we've been hearing periodically about other musical-theater projects that Duncan Sheik has been working on, including Whisper House, which comes out today in concept-album form. The new CD features Sheik on vocals, along with guest artist Holly Brooke. The songs sport music by Sheik and lyrics by Sheik and Kyle Jarrow (A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant), the latter of which is also providing the book for the developing show. The story centers around a mother and child who live in a lighthouse in Maine around the time of World War II. The boy's father dies in the war, and the story of the child's and the mother's grief is related through the eyes of the ghosts who haunt the lighthouse. An intriguing scenario, to be sure.

But as a possible result of the ghosts-as-narrator conceit, Whisper House plays, at least on CD, more like a soundtrack than a cast album: the songs comment on the action rather than propel it forward. Except for the first two songs, it's hard to figure out what's going on in the story from just listening to the CD. Of course, the same can be said of a number of other shows, including Cabaret.

The songs of Whisper House themselves are pleasant enough, although by the end of the CD I found myself struggling to distinguish the different tracks from each other. They all seemed to blend together into one album-long lament. I think I was also becoming increasingly perturbed that the songs didn't seem to be telling the story. The only track from the CD that has stuck with me in "The Tale of Solomon Snell," a macabre little self-contained fable with some catchy orchestral touches.

The melodies and orchestrations of Whisper House seem to consciously echo those of the The Eagles and The Beatles, although the dated nature of those references should give you an inkling of how long it's been since I paid any attention to "popular" music. The lyrics fall frequent victim to slant rhyme, pairing "precaution" with "Boston" and "arrival" with "style." This is also true of Spring Awakening, and I, for one, have little patience for it. I know it's an acceptable practice in pop music, but I'm a bit of a purist, and hold musical theater to a slightly higher standard.

But the premise for Whisper House is intriguing, and although the CD doesn't really float my musical boat, I'm willing to give Whisper House the musical the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps as the show develops, the songs will become more integrated into the story. Or perhaps the show will feature a presentation style that will make the songs work in their current form. No word yet as to when the show might appear on stage, but Sheik is currently performing the songs from the show on tour. If you happen to catch his show, let me know what you think. I'm hoping to see for myself when Sheik plays Boston's Berklee Performance Center in March.

The Glorious Ones on CD

I've made no secret of my undying affection for the work of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, easily the most talented and versatile musical-theater writing team that we currently have. Which is why I was so disappointed in their most recent show, The Glorious Ones. (Read my review here.) I found the piece unfocused and uninvolving in performance.

Flaherty and Ahrens seem to produce much better shows when they have a separate collaborator working on the libretto, such as Terrence McNally, who helped make Ragtime and A Man of No Importance the superior shows that they are. When they try to craft the book on their own, well, sometimes we get Once on This Island (yay!), but other times we get Seussical (not so yay).

But I did genuinely enjoy the score to The Glorious Ones, and was greatly looking forward to the release of The Glorious Ones CD, which fortunately does not disappoint. The show is much more emotionally engaging on CD, without the distraction of director Graciela Danielle's often wearisome stage business. Stephen Flaherty once again proves himself a master of evocative and often intricate melody lines. Lynn Ahrens' lyrics work better when they're meant to be poignant that when they're trying to be funny. Both the vulgarity and the jocularity, although certainly true to the the source material, come off forced and unconvincing. But Flaherty and Ahrens demonstrate in this score two of their greatest strengths: the rousing opening number ("The Glorious Ones") and the stirring 11 o'clock anthem ("I Was Here"). Both will doubtless be in regular rotation on my iPod. 

One flaw from the show that remains on CD is the lack of distinct characterizations, particularly those of the young lovers, Isabella and Francesco. The numbers for these characters remain dull and indistinct. But overall, this is a strong and solid score, and an entertaining CD. Of course, anything new from Flaherty and Ahrens is a reason to celebrate. Let's hope that they're planning, nay writing, their next show even as we "speak."

Patti LuPone's Gypsy May Be Filmed

Amid all the news of economic tumult and political unrest, it's nice to get some positive news for a change, albeit tentative.

Playbill.com reports that the current revival of Gypsy, starring Tony Award winner Patti LuPone, will likely be filmed before it closes in March. According to Playbill, the ticketing site Telecharge.com is featuring the following notice for those buying tickets for the final Gypsy performances:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This performance of 'Gypsy' may be filmed for future purposes. Please be advised that stationary and moving cameras may be placed throughout the theatre as we attempt to capture this historic production on film.

A production spokesperson wouldn't confirm that the show would be filmed, but the very prospect sets my heart atwitter. (Read my original review and my revisit review.)

In other shows-on-film news, it turns out that the recent "cine-cast" of Rent will indeed receive a DVD release, which is scheduled to come out in February 2009. Now we can all throw away our copies of Chris Columbus's flaccid film version and savor a film worthy of the show and its late creator, Jonathan Larson. (Read my review of Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway.)

In other La LuPone news, I just got the CD for her legendary Les Mouches concert, and it's unbearable. It's basically a live recording Patti made way back when she was starring in Evita. The sound quality isn't very good, because it was apparently never meant for commercial release, but that's not really the problem here. What makes the CD virtually unlistenable is (1) Patti's notoriously bad diction, and (2) her insufferable, self-satisfied demeanor. Her diction has unquestionably gotten better over the years, and her career ups and downs have instilled at least a feigned modicum of humility. But, unless you're jonesing for a Patti fix, I'd say give this recording a wide berth.

Rufus Wainwright: You're No Judy Garland

I pay very little attention to popular music, so when I heard that Rufus Wainwright was recreating Judy Garland's legendary 1961 Carnegie Hall concert song for song, I wasn't really sure who the hell he was. I had heard the name before: I knew that he was an openly gay singer/songwriter, and that he was the son of singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. But I had never actually heard Rufus sing until I saw him in a guest appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" on BBC America.

I should have known right then that there would be trouble ahead. Wainwright's performance on that show was nasal, sloppy, and intolerable. But, hey, I thought: Maybe it was an off night. Apparently not.

I was greatly looking forward to listening to Wainright's album. As stereotypically gay as this might seem, I'm a huge Judy Garland fan, and I grew up listening to her Carnegie Hall album. It's a fascinating train-wreck of a performance, like most of the rest of Judy's career, but it's never less than entertaining. I used to listen over and over to "You Go to My Head," dumb-struck that Judy at one point goes up on her lyrics and sings:

You go to my head
And...I forgot the goll-darned words...

To Wainwright's credit, he recreates the flub when he delivers that particular song. But that's really the only thing he shares with Judy Garland. Judy wasn't really so much a great singer as she was an incredible stylist, a hell of a performer, and a tortured soul who was seemingly coming to pieces before your very ears (and eyes, as evidenced by her repeated performances of the same songs with the same orchestrations on her painful-yet-unmissable variety program, "The Judy Garland Show"). With Judy, it was all about volume and vibrato, but there was also an undeniable heart and plenty of good old-fashioned gay-diva angst.

As for Rufus Wainwright's renditions, well, to paraphrase the late Lloyd Bentsen, Rufus, you're no Judy Garland. Is this what passes for vocal quality these days? Sloppy intonation, piercing nasal resonance, and a physiological inability to form an "E" vowel? Actually all of his vowels are annoyingly imprecise, but his "E's" are especially egregious. ("Yow made may love yow, Ah didn't wanna dow et...")

I must be in the minority here, because Wainright's sold-out Carnegie Hall audience goes absolutely ape-shit at the end of every number, apparently under the mistaken impression that they're witnessing some kind of genius. But on song after song, Wainwright proves that he can't hold a candle to Garland. One possible exception is George and Ira Gershwin's "How Long Has This Been Going On?," which, while still painful, at least illuminates what Wainwright's legion adoring fans might see in him: a quirky, slurring delivery combined with a kind of smoky introspection.

The term "song stylist" is often used euphemistically about someone who, although not the best musician, delivers a song with a certain intangible something. For a terrific example of same, Wainright need look no further than his sister, Martha Wainwright, who makes a guest appearance on the album singing the hell out of Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather." Sister Martha is no great shakes in the vocal department either, yet she imbues the song with a certain Billie Holliday-esque, whiskey-voiced pathos, a contrast that made what's wrong with her brother's vocal stylings all the more obvious.

Perhaps Rufus Wainwright has built his popularity and reputation more as a songwriter than as a performer, or maybe he's just out of his idiom with Garland's material. Chances are, I'll never find out, because I can't imagine picking up any of his other recordings. I'll stick to Judy Garland, thank you very much. And, unless you're mad for Rufus yourself, yet still want to witness him flailing ineffectually with material he has no business performing, I suggest you do the same.

110 in the Shade: The Definitive Recording

What a thrill it is to finally have a first-rate recording of the glorious 110 in the Shade.

The original Broadway cast, which has been out of print for years, has significant limitations, mainly the dramatically challenged Inga Swenson in the lead role of Lizzie. Her line readings on the spoken parts of the album are unbelievable and amateurish. Plus the break between her chest- and head-voice is jarring. On the recent concert-cast recording, the otherwise redoubtable Karen Ziemba is miscast in the Lizzie role, at least with respect to her upper range.

Finally, we have Audra.

What more can be said about the dazzling Audra McDonald? I was out to dinner with my dear friend Richard Carey the other night (Ricky: "After twenty-five years, it's nice to know..."), and he made the claim that with 110, Audra has officially joined the pantheon of musical-theater legends, demonstrating not merely the gravitas of her four Tony-Award-winning performances (Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, and Raisin in the Sun) but also the charming playfulness of Mary Martin and the eye-catching ability to fill an entire stage merely with her presence, like Chita Rivera or Gwen Verdon.

Hear, hear.

As for the other key performers, Steve Kazee, whom I found underwhelming on stage, acquits himself partially in the recording studio. His presence seemed small in the theater, but on the CD his voice is somewhat richer and his intonation is a bit more accurate. He's still not the magical Starbuck that the role requires, but he's at least serviceable. Christopher Innvar's smoldering (to borrow Ben Brantley's word) performance as File doesn't quite come through on the CD, but Innvar remains vocally rich and highly sympathetic.

Overall, this CD for me becomes the definitive recording of a glorious and underrated show. The score is chockablock with gorgeous and heartrending pieces (including "Is It Really Me?," "A Man and a Woman," "Old Maid") as well as rousing character numbers ("Melisande," "Wonderful Music"). There are a few superfluous songs (including "Little Red Hat"), but for my money, 110 in the Shade ranks with any of the better-known musical theater classics, and in many cases surpasses them.

The Definitive Candide?

Every composer seems to have his "show that will not die." Jerry Herman has Mack and Mabel. Stephen Sondheim has Merrily We Roll Along. And Leonard Bernstein had Candide. And they all have one thing in common: they have terrific scores, but troublesome books, at least in their original incarnations.

That is, until director Hal Prince and librettist Hugh Wheeler took a crack at Candide in 1974 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The production jettisoned the ponderous and pretentious original book for a fast-and-loose interpretation that was far more true to the spirit of the original Voltaire classic. The cast album for this Candide recently came out on CD, which is what got me thinking about the topic in the first place.

The BAM version caught on, and literally moved to Broadway: the Broadway Theater, in fact, one of the seven or so Broadway houses that are actually on Broadway. (I count the Minskoff, the Marquis, the Palace, the Gershwin, the Circle in the Square, the Winter Garden, and the Broadway. Am I missing any?) The production played for two years, and many thought this version to be the definitive Candide.

But that hasn't stopped people from trying to improve the show. Before he died, Bernstein himself oversaw numerous additional attempts to "perfect" the show, including a recording in 1989 that he labeled the "final" version. A few years back, the folks at the Boston Conservatory performed the latest version of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, one concocted by director John (Les Miserables) Caird.

Here's the main problem with all these new versions: they try to do the whole damn score, every little number ever written, no matter how tangential or tedious, and it slows the production down to a snail's crawl. The BoCo production was admirable and swell to look at, but it felt like it lasted a friggin' week. The Caird version adds characters, scenes, and plot-lines in addition to every damn song imaginable, and the result is overwrought and downright soporific.

The Hal Prince version, however, is zippy and punchy, and tons of fun. The performances are spot-on, particularly those by Mark Baker (Candide), Maureen Brennan (Cunegonde), and Lewis J. Stadlen (Dr. Pangloss). There's very little dead weight in this show, which is performed in its entirety on the new 2-CD set. Each musical number has a purpose, and performs it admirably, and the true purpose of Voltaire's satiric piece comes through in a way that none of the other versions even approximates.

New Evita CD from London

I've just been listening to the CD from the new London production of Evita. Regular readers will recall that I had the pleasure of seeing this show on my recent trip to London. Since I enjoyed it very much, I was eagerly anticipating the CD release.

The CD is actually a mixed bag, but then it would be hard for any recording to live up to the original. I grew up listening to the Broadway cast album of Evita, so I pretty much know the show by heart. In fact, years ago, when I did the show, the music director once stopped a rehearsal and said, "OK, it would be great if someone besides Chris knew the damned music."

My biggest complaint about this new CD is that it's just that: one CD. They've cut down the score considerably for the new recording, though perhaps that's understandable. There are numerous complete recordings of Evita available, and anyone looking for a document of the entire show certainly has other options. But the musical numbers for this recording begin and end in weird places, although that may be my preconceptions talking.

Quibbles aside, the strengths of this recording lie in the performances and orchestrations. Elena Rogers was a powerhouse as Evita on stage, and she's no less impressive in aural form. She has sufficient fire and pathos to carry the entire recording on her own. Her costars Matt Rawle and Philip Quast come off a bit less well. Rawle seems to have only one emotion: anger. There's very little humor in his interpretation of Che, just intermittent, forced sarcasm. Quast was remarkable on stage as Peron, but somehow his impressive stature fails to translate to the recording.

What I really noticed on the CD that I didn't in the theater is the dynamic new orchestrations. Although the charts seem thinner than those from the original US production, the music has a far more sinister and authentically Argentinian sound to it. Of particular note is the solo violin and accordian accompaniment during the numerous tango sequences. This becomes especially effective during the creepy and dissonant "Art of the Possible."

One final note, it's great to have another recording of the song "You Must Love Me," Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Oscar-winning song from the movie version. The song really works well in the new show, giving Evita a chance to show Peron that she really does need him. (Or is it just more manipulation? You be the judge.) In any case, it's great to have someone other than...[shudder]...Madonna singing this song. Remember when she sang it on the Oscars, stiff as a board, and stretching to hit the notes? Painful.

New Sunday CD

Just got the new CD for the London revival of Sunday in the Park with George. It's not supposed to come out until the 30th, but for some reason Footlight had it as of last week.

On the whole, I'm somewhat nonplussed about the CD. It's always great to have another recording of a cherished show, but there's always the danger that it will never live up to the original, even if the quality is in fact equal to or greater than.

The orchestrations seem scaled down considerably. The performances are serviceable but undistinguished. One jarring difference in this recording is the use of English accents in act one. Yeah, I know: that's no different from using American accents on the original. The show is set in France, after all. But French accents would be pretentious and distracting. (As the Italian accents were in the revival of Nine.) And I must concede that the use of various English dialects to show class distinctions is an interesting touch. George sounds somewhat posh to convey his education level, while Dot has more of a working-class, East End, almost Cockney feel to her. The Boatman speaks with a Scottish brogue. Perhaps as I listen to the recording more, this will grow on me.

In the second act, everyone speaks with an American accent, and the results are uneven. Daniel Evans as George does a creditable job, but Jenna Russell as Marie has an unconvincing southern drawl. (Dot and Louie moved to Charleston, after all.) And much of the rest of the cast are so exaggerated, they seem like parodies. Accents may seem like a minor point to focus on, but they're inescapable on the recording, and very distracting.

The recording is significantly longer than the OCR, but most of what's added is dialog, which I am not a big fan of on cast recordings. The Damn Yankees revival recording is practically ruined by excess verbiage. One welcome addition is a bonus track of the extended version of "The One on the Left," which involves the soldier(s) and both Celestes. It's quite fun, and it must have been cut for time alone, because it certainly fits nicely within the show. I'm going to program it in it's rightful place on my iPod.

New Pajama Game CD

Just got the CD of the Pajama Game revival. Again, TPJ holds a very special place in my heart: it was the first musical I ever did, when I was thirteen. (And no, Brian, this wasn't the production in which Coco played Sid.) Overall, I'm impressed by the CD. Harry Connick, Jr. does extremely well on the ballads, although he seems just a tad awkward on some of the up-tempo numbers.

The big revelation to me is Kelli O'Hara as Babe. I was skeptical when I heard she was cast, because I only really knew her from The Light in the Piazza. She has such a lovely head voice, but I'd never heard her really belt, so I wasn't sure she'd be a great Babe. Well, she acquits herself very nicely, at least on CD. Lots of resonance and plenty of character, especially on one of my all-time favorite numbers, "I'm Not At All in Love."

Michael McKean is a bit amorphous as Hinesy. McKean is a very talented guy, and an absolute stitch in Christopher Guest's movies (Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and my favorite, Best in Show), but his performance on CD is a bit bland. I haven't seen the revival, so I don't know if something got lost in the translation from stage to disc.

A final note on the packaging. As you might be aware, the recording company packaged the Pajama Game CD with a studio recording of Connick's dreadful flop Thou Shalt Not featuring Connick and Kelli O'Hara. Connick is a major recording star, and no doubt his economic power drove this decision. But I resent having to buy both together, since I already have Connick's self-published original cast album. (Although I probably would have bought both CDs anyway, it's presumptuous of them to assume that I would.) Connick is basically forcing you to buy a CD that very few people will ever listen to. It's a total vanity ploy. I fully expect to see scads of these unwanted CDs listed on eBay within a matter of hours.

Theater Mania Recording Guide: Part II

Today, more revisionist CD reviews based on questionable listings in The Theater Mania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings:

A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD/A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE
(Original Broadway Cast)
TM rating: Two stars
My rating: Five stars
This recording is, quite simply, one of the all-time underrated gems in musical theater history. The show was profitable in its original run, but it's pretty much forgotten these days. The plot-less first act takes place at the Graumann's Chinese Theater, and is basically a wonderful collection of songs performed by the ushers. There's not a bad number in the entire lot, but my favorites include "Just Go to the Movies," "Best in the World," "Nelson," and "Doin' the Production Code." All but the last are by Jerry Herman, who was brought in to perk up the score. The second act is a fictional Marx Brothers movie, and the parodies and homages are dead on. Simply put: you must own this disc.

I LOVE MY WIFE
(Original Broadway Cast)
TM rating: One star
My rating: Three stars
For some reason, this is one of those CDs that I go back to again and again. I'm not saying it's a great show. The late Cy Coleman was overall a tunesmith par excellence, but this isn't his best effort. And Mark Bramble's lyrics at times are too clever for their own good. But for some reason, I just love this recording. The show is very much a product of its time: the plot revolves around two couples planning a wife-swapping orgy, and one look at the song titles gives you a sense of the show's tone: "Sexually Free," "Everybody Today is Turning on," "Love Revolution." Score highlights include the lovely country ballad "Someone Wonderful I Missed" and the classic "Hey There, Good Times," which admittedly has absolutely nothing to do with the show.  Overall, it's a quirky show that I'm inexplicably drawn to.

MOVING OUT
(Original Broadway Cast)
TM rating: Five stars
My rating: Not recommended
I find this TM review absolutely dumbfounding. Five stars?! Think about it: whom is this recording for? Surely not for Billy Joel fans, who would undoubtedly prefer Billy doing the actual singing. For that matter, why would anyone want to listen to 60+ minutes of Billy Joel covers? This is the most pointless cast album since Contact. Movin' Out is a similarly visual show the appeal of which lies not in Michael Cavanaugh's admittedly distinctive performance. Yes, I own it. But I have a disease; I have to own every cast album I can get my undiscriminating little hands on. It's no wonder you see used copies of Movin' Out is used records stores everywhere.

Theater Mania Recording Guide: Part I

I was very pleased when Theater Mania published its Guide to Musical Theater Recordings. Because I own an obscene number of Broadway CDs, I was eager to see how my favorites would stack up.

Well, for the most part, the book is quite accurate -- and by "accurate," of course I mean "They agree with me." But there are a number of egregious listings that I feel it is my duty to rectify, which I'll be doing in this forum over the next few weeks (whenever I can't think of anything else to write). TM rates each recording a certain number of stars out of five, although they do also have a basement rating below one star of "not recommended," reserved for the especially grisly.

BARNUM
(Original Broadway Cast)
TM rating: One star
My rating: Four stars
I must confess that I have a soft spot for this show. TM reviewer David Barbour describes the score to Barnum as "manically cheerful," which is bit unfair, especially given the concept of the show. I mean, it's a circus, right? And when did you ever hear a dirge under the big top? He also describes the show as "a series of production numbers looking for a show to do." No, that's Tommy. But, to be fair, Barbour does have a point. Barnum is long on style and short on substance, but the score is tons of fun, expecially "One Brick at a Time" and "Thank God I'm Old." A masterpiece? No. But a thoroughly enjoyable score, and one that no collection is complete without.

BAT BOY
(Original Cast)
TM rating: Two stars
My rating: Five stars 
Bat Boy is a gem, pure and simple. It's one of the best scores of the last 15 years. Not only is the show tuneful, it's extremely witty. Such numbers as "Show You a Thing or Two" and "Three-bedroom House" have made their permanent way into my iPod playlists. Not every number translates well to disc, particularly "Children, Children," a hilarious spoof of The Lion King. But the mainly visual jokes of that song are absent from the recording. Composer Lawrence O'Keefe is someone to watch, particularly on his first mainstream outing, the upcoming Legally Blonde.

COCO
(Original Broadway Cast)
TM rating: One star
My rating: Three stars
OK, so this one is an acquired taste. And it's not for the casual Broadway fan. But, c'mon, Katherine Hepburn in a musical? How can any self-respecting queen resist? And the score is actually quite good. Although Hepburn isn't really singing, Andre Previn's melodies are quite pleasant. And lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, if not at the top of his form, does a respectable job. He's a little too clever at times, but you certainly have to admire the skill of a line like "I want Paree to wake and see, without me there's a vacancy." Some of it is lame, but overall this is a recording I go back to time and again. According to David Barbour in the TM Guide: "It's terrible, fascinating, and possibly the most unreviewable disc in this book." I'll give him "fascinating," but that's it.

I just noticed that  all three of the reviews I'm objecting to are by David Barbour. I also noticed that I agreed with many of the points Barbour makes in his reviews, but I disagree with his overall star ratings. Ah, well. Everyone's entitled to my opinion.