Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 6/7/16 (updated 6/10/16)

Receive the weekly recap by email each Tuesday: Sign up on the front page, right below the menu.

See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2016: May 31, 24, 17, 10, 3 | April 26, 19, 12, 5 | March 29, 22, 15, 8, 1 | February 23, 16, 9, 2 | January 26, 19, 12, 5, 2016 | 2015


Quick list of all Amazon links for this recap.


CDs Now Available:

Bonnie & Clyde & A Whole Lotta Jazz: Live at 54 Below
(Broadway Records - new on CD/mp3)
Recorded live at 54 Below. Familiar and brand new songs by Frank Wildhorn. Laura Osnes, Jeremy Jordan, Leslie Odom, Jr., Adrienne Warren, Kevin Massey, Melissa van der Schyff, Janet Dacal, Mimi Bessette, Louis Hobson, Emmy Raver-Lampman. "How 'Bout A Dance?," "When I Drive," "Bonnie," "Now That's What You Call A Dream," "You Can Do Better," "Raise A Little Hell," "This Never Happened Before," "The Devil," "Dyin' Ain't So Bad," "This World Will Remember Us," "Havana," "It's No Secret Anymore," "I'll Forget You," "What I Do Best," "One Bad Habit," "The Mad Hatter," "Sarah," "Where Are You Now." Also at BroadwayRecords.com.


DIGITAL DOWNLOADs Now Available:

Sorry, You're Not Hamilton
(free digital single)
Randy Rainbow 2016 Tonys song parody. Available at CDBaby.


BOOKs Now Available:

Focus on Playwrights: Portraits and Interviews
(Univ of South Carolina Press - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By Susan Johann. Introduction by Alexandra C. Anderson. Johann photographed more than ninety playwrights, including Wendy Wasserstein, Anna Deavere Smith, August Wilson, and Nilo Cruz in the weeks after they won the Pulitzer. Tony Kushner sat for his portrait between the productions of part 1 and part 2 of Angels in America. Eve Ensler came to Johann's studio during the week she was previewing The Vagina Monologues, and George C. Wolfe sat for her the morning after his play Spunk opened at the Public Theater. Each playwright was photographed in Johann's studio using the same film, a single light, and a plain backdrop, creating a portrait that captures and distills something essential—an intimate view. Her interviews explore the writers' personal and creative journeys including their inspirations, roadblocks, and obsessions, which influenced their work on paper and on the stage. 184 pages.

Shakespeare's Strangest Tales (Strangest series)
(Pavilion - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
By Iain Spragg. Stories from Shakespearean theatre through the centuries, including distinguished actors falling off stages, fluffed lines, performances in the dark and why you must never, ever say the name of that Scottish play, especially if you are Peter O'Toole. 240 pages.


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

The Dresser
(Anchor Bay - new on Blu-ray/DVD)
Starz network production of Ronald Harwood play. Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen. Directed by Richard Eyre. 109 minutes.

Patty Duke: The Complete Album Collection
(Real Gone Music - new on 2 CDs)
Four albums plus bonus tracks. Don't Just Stand There (1965), Patty (1966), Sings Songs from Valley of the Dolls (1967) and a ever-before released album of folk songs Duke recorded with United Artists in 1968. 48 tracks. See Amazon for track listings.

Hamilton OBC recording - "clean" version
(Atlantic - new on CD)
OBC recording of Hamilton with clean lyrics.

Samantha Barks
(new import CD)
UK/U.S. actor/singer (Les Misérables, City of Angels, Amelie. "Troublemaker," "Stay," "If I Die Young," "On My Own," "As Long As He Needs Me," "One Day I'll Fly Away," "Holding on," "When He Loved Me," "Hard to Find," "This House Is Empty Now," "Go the Distance," "Ellan Vannin." Also available directly from the UK at Dress Circle and Amazon UK.

Stephen Schwartz's Magic To Do
(DMI Soundtracks - new on CD)
"In this whimsical musical revue, Schwartz weaves a spell-binding story inspired by his lifelong fascination with magic, showcasing some of his most famous songs, including "Day by Day" and "Defying Gravity" along with a new number, "A Little Magic," composed exclusively for Princess. Guided by a Magic Maker and his fantastical assistants, join us through a wondrous world of song, dance and history’s most memorable magic illusions. It’s a Broadway-caliber experience at sea. And where there’s Magic to Do, there can be miracles, when you believe." Partnership with Princess Cruises, Stephen Schwartz, Jim Steinmeyer, Don Frantz, and Gabriel Barre.


Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Agnes de Mille: Telling Stories in Broadway Dance
(Oxford Univ Press - Hardcover Book)
by Kara Anne Gardner. Part of the Broadway Legacies series. Explores the Broadway legacy of choreographer Agnes de Mille, from the 1940s through the 1960s. Six musicals are discussed in depth : Oklahoma!, One Touch of Venus, Bloomer Girl, Carousel, Brigadoon, and Allegro. Each chapter emphasizes de Mille's unique contributions to the original productions. Includes De Mille's work as an activist. 272 pages.

Broadway Actors in Films, 1894-2015
(Mcfarland & Co. - Paperback Book)
by Roy Liebman. 277 pages.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One & Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script): The Official Script Book of the Original West End Production
(Arthur A. Levin Books - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
A new play by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, to debut July 30, 2016, in the West End. 320 pages.

My Big Fat Broadway Debut!: Volume 1: Big Dreams, Big Lessons
(Bangadilly - Kindle Book)
Volume one of Steven Cutts "personal step-by-step account of the ambitious road to Broadway" - going from being a kid with a dream to being a pro on the Broadway stage.

New York City and the Hollywood Musical: Dancing in the Streets
(Palgrave Macmillan - Hardcover Book)
By Martha Shearer. "...how the city shaped the genre and equally how the genre shaped representations of the city." Analysis of 42nd Street, Swing Time, Cover Girl, On the Town, The Band Wagon, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story and many other classic and little-known musicals ... study of the relationship between cinema and urban space. 198 pages.

Stephen Sondheim and the Reinvention of the American Musical
(Univ Press of Mississippi - Hardcover Book)
By Robert L. McLaughlin. Places Sondheim's work in two contexts: the exhaustion of the musical play and the postmodernism that, by the 1960s, deeply influenced all the American arts. 312 pages.

Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design
(Focal Press - Paperback Book)
By Shura Pollatsek. Each chapter provides an overview of the process, including designing and shopping; draping, cutting, dyeing, and painting; and beading, sewing, and creating embellishments and accessories. Features interviews with practitioners from Broadway and regional theatres to opera and ballet companies. Behind-the-scenes photography illustrates top costume designers and craftspeople at work, along with costumes in progress. 192 pages.