Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 7/21/20 (updated 7/24/20)

Receive the weekly recap by email each Tuesday: Sign up on the front page, right below the menu (at the bottom of the page on mobile screens).

Please note that scheduling changes due to the coronavirus pandemic are being made as soon as we are aware of them. But there may be further changes in release dates in the future, as things play out.

See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2020: July 14, 7 | June 30, 23, 16, 9, 2 | May 26, 19, 12, 5 | April 28, 21, 14, 7 | March 31, 24, 17, 10, 3 | February 25, 18, 11, 4 | January 28, 21, 14, 7

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015


DIGITAL MUSIC Now Available:

Broadbend, Arkansas
(Broadway Records - new digital album on mp3/at iTunes)
Original cast recording of score by Ted Shen (music and lyrics), Ellen Fitzhugh (lyrics), Harrison David Rivers (lyrics), and Ted Shen (lyrics). Justin Cunningham and Danyel Fulton. With digital booklet. Released 7/17/20.

Ethan Slater: Life Is Weird
(Soundcat Records - new EP on mp3/at iTunes)
Second digital album from Tony-nominated (SpongeBob Squarepants) Ethan Slater. "Lisztomania," "Life Is Weird," and "Und."

"National Anthem (Another One)"
(Lucid Life - new digital single on mp3/at iTunes)
Song inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, performed by Broadway performer Chester Gregory (artistically known as C.H.E.S.S.); written with Terron Brooks. Produced by "Studio" Steve Wallace, written with Terron Brooks and features a rap by Jordyn. Released 7/15/20.

The Perfect Fit: The Musical
(Broadway Records - new EP on mp3/at iTunes)
Remote recording of new musical by 13-year-old Joshua Turchin (Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation). Featuring Laura Benanti, Nikki Renee Daniels, Joshua Turchin, Carly Gendell, Grace DeAmicis, Ellie Kim, Swayam Bhatia, Lily Brooks O'Briant, Luke Islam, Audrey Bennett, and Fabi Aguirre. Music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations, mixing and mastering by Dan Garmon and vocal direction by Joshua Turchin. Musicals Dan Garmon (keys 1/drums), Joshua Turchin (keys 2), Tomoko Akaboshi (violins, viola), Ansel Cohen (cello), David Kawamura (guitars), and Julia Adamy (upright/electric bass). Released 7/17/20.

Telly Leung: You Matter
(Soup J Productions - new digital album on mp3/at iTunes)
"You Matter" (Gary Adler and Phoebe Kreutz), "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "Zoom with You" (Gary Adler and Phoebe Kreutz), "Go the Distance Hero," "Proud of Your Boy."


BLU-RAY/DVDs Now Available:

Girl Crazy
(Warner Archive - new Blu-ray)
1943 musical film based on the stage musical. Music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Directed by Busby Berkeley and Norman Taurog. Starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. 99 minutes.


Books Now Available:

The Business of American Theatre
(Routledge - new Paperback Book)
By William Grange. Research guide to the history of producing theatre in the United States ... explores how traditions of investment, marketing, labor union contracts, advertising, leasing arrangements, ticket scalping, zoning ordinances, royalties, and numerous other financial transactions have influenced the art of theatre for the past three centuries ... Richard Rodgers and his keen eye for investment, Jacob Shubert and his construction of the "Bridge of Thighs" for his showgirls at the Winter Garden, the significance of the Disney souvenir shop near the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway, and the difference between losing millions of dollars on a Broadway show and making billions—all in one night. 336 pages. Kindle Edition released 6/2/20.

Michael Chekhov and Sanford Meisner: Collisions and Convergence in Actor Training
(Routledge - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
Anjalee Deshpande Hutchinson, editor. Compilation of essays that offers a comprehensive analysis of the Sanford Meisner Acting Technique in comparison to the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique, revealing the connections as well as the contradictions between these two very different approaches. 274 pages.

The Sanest Guy in the Room: A Life in Lyrics
(Constable - Paperback Book)
By lyricist Don Black. "A rich and delightful paean to a life lived through song ... reveals the essence of Black's craft, looks at those who have inspired him and allows us to understand what made those icons tick ... with wit, warmth and great humour." Hardcover version available at Amazon UK. 320 pages.

Victorians on Broadway: Literature, Adaptation, and the Modern American Musical
(Univ of Virginia Press - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
By Sharon Aronofsky Weltman. A wide-ranging interdisciplinary study of live stage musicals from the mid- to late twentieth century adapted from British literature written between 1837 and 1886. Investigates musical dramatizations of works by Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Christina Rossetti, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others ... reveals what these musicals teach us about the Victorian books from which they derive and considers their enduring popularity and impact on our modern culture. Explores themes of race, religion, gender, and class, focusing attention on how these theatrical adaptations fit into aesthetic and intellectual movements while demonstrating the complexity of their enduring legacy. 328 pages.


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

The Andrews Sisters in Hollywood
(Sepia Records - on 2 CDs)
Rare film studio recordings The Andrews Sisters made for filming and not released commercially. Most tracks have never been available till now. 50 tracks.

The Merry Widow
(Sepia Records - on CD)
Score by Franz Lehar. Remastered recording from 1962, translated into English by Merl "Ted" Puffer and Deena Cavalieri and first time on CD. Featuring Lisa Della Casa, John Reardon, Laurel Hurley, Charles K. L. Davis, Paul Franke, Howard Kahl, Paul Richards. The American Opera Society Orchestra and Chorus. Franz Allers, conductor. Margaret Hillis, choral conductor. "Opening Chorus," "We Are Alone," "Hanna's Entrance," "Maxim's," "Finale Act I," "Vilja," "Soldier Boy," "Women," "Love In My Heart," "Finale Act II," "Grisettes," "Merry Widow Waltz / Finale Act III." Bonus tracks: "Ave Maria" (Lisa Della Casa), "Ave Maria! Jungfrau Mild" (Lisa Della Casa). In stereo.


Books/Plays RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

The Dramatic Moment of Fate: The Life of Sherlock Holmes in the Theatre
(MX Publishing - Paperback Book)
Alexandra Kitty curates Sherlock Holmes' theatrical world throughout the decades: from unlikely Off-Broadway musicals to lauded slapstick comedies, to more traditional and gripping portrayals of his iconic stories and new incarnations. 172 pages.

Gene Kelly: The Making of a Creative Legend
(Univ Press of Kansas - Hardcover Book)
Biography by Earl Hess and Pratibha A. Dabholkar. Offers a full picture of Gene Kelly as the Renaissance man he actually was—dancer, choreographer, actor, clown, singer, director, teacher, and mentor. Photographs. 552 pages.

Ink
(Methuen Drama - Paperback Book)
Play by James Graham, which appeared on Broadway in 2019. 144 pages.

London Theatres (new edition)
(Frances Lincoln - Hardcover Book)
Fully revised and updated version of 2017 book by drama critic Michael Coveney, with photographs by Peter Dazeley. Stories of the architecture, the people, and the productions which have defined each theatre, with photographs of the public areas, auditorium and backstage, Updated to include ten additional theatres, including the Victoria Palace Theatre, the Sondheim Theatre, the Bridge Theatre and the Noël Coward Theatre. Foreword by Mark Rylance. 288 pages.

Paula Scher: Twenty-Five Years at the Public, A Love Story
(Princeton Architectural Press - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
Illustrated book by graphic designer Paul Sher, who turned her first major project as a partner at Pentagram into a formative twenty-five-year relationship with the Public Theater in New York. Chronicles over two decades of brand and identity development and an evolving creative process in a unique "autobiography of graphic design."





Compiled by Talkin' Broadway Staff.

Corrections and questions may be directed to SoundAdvice@talkinbroadway.com