Sound Advice
Schedule of New & Upcoming CD, DVD & Book Releases


Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap 8/12/14

Complete information on all known upcoming releases of theatre related audio and video recordings can be found on our Upcoming Releases page. Recordings released last week and earlier can be viewed here.

This recap is available by email. Join the e-blast list to receive the recaps each week (choose the Sound Advice Weekly Recap interest group).

Earlier recaps:

August 5 | July 29, 22, 15, 8, 1 | June 24, 17, 10, 3 | May 27, 20, 13, 6 | April 29, 22, 15, 8, 1 | March 25, 18, 11, 4 | February 25, 11, 18, 11, 4 | January 28, 21, 14, 7, 2014 | 2013


Quick list of all Amazon links for this week.


CDs Now Available:

Centennial Summer
(Kritzerland Records - new on CD)
Official world premiere release of the soundtrack for 1946 musical film. Music by Jerome Kern (his final score). Lyrics by Leo Robin, Oscar Hammerstein II and E.Y. Harburg. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Cornel Wilde, Linda Darnell, William Eythe, Walter Brennan, Constance Bennett, Dorothy Gish, Barbara Whiting, Larry Stevens, Kathleen Howard, Buddy Swan, Charles Dingle, Avon Long. Music direction and underscore by Alfred Newman. Screenplay by Michael Kanin. Directed by Otto Preminger. Includes "Up with the Lark," "All Through the Day," "In Love in Vain" and the magical specialty number "Cinderella Sue" performed by Avon Long. Oscar nominations for Best Song and one for Best Score. Transferred from the 1/4" archival elements in the Twentieth Century-Fox vaults and lovingly restored by Mike Matessino. Limited to 1000 copies only and is priced at $19.98, plus shipping. Available at Kritzerland.com.

La Grosse Valse
(Original Cast Records - new on 2 CD-Rs)
French cast and instrumental recording. Gerard Calvi/Andre Maheux score (for the Broadway production, the title was La Grosse Valise and Harold Rome wrote the English lyrics). Sequel to La Plume De Ma Tante. LP transfer of the 1965 French cast with Liliane Montevecchi. At Footlight.com.

I Like Men: Rebecca Kilgore with the Harry Allen Quartet
(Arbors Records - new on CD/mp3/iTunes)
"Medley I Like Men/I'm Just Wild About Harry," "The Gentleman Is a Dope," "The Boy Next Door," "An Occasional Man," "Goldfinger," "Ballad of The Sad Young Men," "The Man I Love," "For Every Man There's a Woman," "Marry The Man Today," "He Needs Me," "He's My Guy," "Down Boy," "One Man Ain't Quite Enough," "The Man That Got Away."

Perfect Picture: But Was All This Real?
(new on CD)
2013 studio cast recording. Music and lyrics by the Bluestone Sisters. Debbie Gravitte, Ron Holgate, Judy Kaye, Beth Leavel, Mark Jacoby, Andrea McArdle, Emily Skinner, Randy Skinner, Bob Stillman, Lillias White, Tom Wopat & Karen Ziemba. Arrangements and accompaniment by Sam Willmott. Produced by Joshua Sherman and Eileen Bluestone Sherman at MSR Studios. Sample clips and CD available at CD Baby.

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood/Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad
(Kritzerland Records - new on CD)
World premiere release of Won Ton... 1976 film soundtrack composed and conducted by Neal Hefti. Cast included Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Art Carney, and Augustus von Schumacher as Won Ton Ton, plus numerous cameos. From multi-track tapes stored in the Paramount vault and newly mixed especially for this release, in stereo. Also, the first U.S. release on CD of Neal Hefti's score for the 1967 comedy Oh Dad, Poor Dad ... , an adaptation of Arthur L. Kopit's 1962 play. Includes the bouncy main title song and several classic Hefti tunes along the way. From the original three-track album master. Limited to 1000 copies only and is priced at $19.98, plus shipping. Available at Kritzerland.com.


DIGITAL DOWNLOADs Now Available:

Duet: Ian Herman & Sean Harkness
(Miranda Music - new digital album in mp3/iTunes)
All instrumental pieces. "Duet," "Edwina," "4 S.P.," "G Minor Swing," "A Major," "Road Dance," "Checkered Shirt," "Aloft," "06/8." Recorded live in the studio on April 12, 2013, at Chung King Studios, New York by Ron Allaire. Mixed by Ron Allaire. Mastered by Chris Muth at Taloowa. Photography by Takako Suzuki Harkness. Layout design by Rolando Gori. Sample clips, tracks, and digital album at CD Baby.

The Robber Bridegroom OBC Digital
(Original Cast Records - new digital mp3/Amazon mp3/iTunes)
1976 Broadway cast recording of Robert Waldman/Alfred Uhry score. Barry Bostwick, Rhonda Coullet, Steven Vinovich, Barbara Lang, Lawrence John Moss, Trip Plymale, Ernie Sabella. "Once Upon The Natchez), "Sudden The Day Looks Sunny/ Two Heads), "Steal With Style), "Rosamund's Dream), "The Pricklepear Bloom), "Nothin' Up), "Deeper In The Woods), "Riches), "Little Piece Of Sugar Cane), "Love Stolen), "Poor Tied Up Darlin'), "Mean As A Snake), "Goodbye Salome), "Sleepy Man), "Where Oh Where Is My Baby Darlin'?/ Pass Her Along/ Wedding Ceremony/ Finale), "Company's Comin'" (Bonus: Townspeople, "There's The Way The People Blend" (Bonus: Dennis Warning, "Gallop To Your Treasure Thy Wife" ((Bonus: Dennis Warning, "Grab Your Mate And Skedaddle All" (Bonus: Trip Plymale, "You Got You A Suckling Pig" (Bonus: Barbara Lang, Susan Berger, Trip Plymale, "Poor Little Baby Darlin'" (Bonus: Townspeople). Sample clips, tracks and digital album at CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes.


DVD/Blu-Rays Now Available:

Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad / Fun & Fancy Free Blu-ray set
(Disney - on Blu-ray/DVD 3 disc set)
1949 Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad is adapted from Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and Kenneth Grahame "Wind in the Willows" with Bing Crosby singing songs by Don Raye and Gene De Paul; Basil Rathbone and Eric Blore; songs include "Ichabod," "Katrina," "The Headless Horseman," "Merrily on Our Way (to Nowhere in Particular)," "Auld Lang Syne." 1947 Fun and Fancy Free comprised of "Bongo" featuring songs with Dinah Shore; and "Jack and the Beanstalk" with Disney characters and songs featuring Anita Gordon; songs include "I'm A Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow," "Too Good to be True," "Say It With a Slap," "Lazy Countryside," "Fun and Fancy Free," "My, What a Happy Day," "Fee Fi Fo Fum," "My Favorite Dream." Bonus: 1941's The Reluctant Dragon, with Robert Benchley and some surprise cameos; and bonuses on the DVDs that aren't on the Blu-ray disc.

Bedknobs & Broomsticks Blu-ray Special Edition
(Disney - new Blu-ray/DVD set)
1971 musical film with Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe, Bob Holt, Dal McKennon and songs by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. This is the theatrical release, not the extended version previously issued on DVD. Bonuses: Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers; deleted & extended scenes; David Tomlinson recording session; The Wizards of Special Effects; theatrical trailers; Disney song selection; Sing Along With the Movie.

Hercules Blu-ray Special Edition
(Disney - new Blu-ray/DVD)
1997 musical animated film with songs by Alan Menken-David Zippel. Vocalists include Roger Bart and Susan Egan, Danny DeVito, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, Michael Bolton. Bonuses: The Making of Hercules; "Go The Distance" music video with Ricky Martin; "Zero to Hero" sing-along.

Viva Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Blu-ray
(Warner Home Video - new Blu-ray)
1964 musical film in digibook format. Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret.


BOOKs Now Available:

Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist's Letters
(Oxford Univ Press - new Hardcover book)
Dominic McHugh, editor. Dozens of previously-unpublished letters. First book to focus on Lerner's work (incl Brigadoon, Love Life, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Camelot, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Coco, Lolita, My Love, Gigi, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Carmelina, Dance a Little Closer) in depth, rather than his private life. Includes correspondence with Broadway and Hollywood royalty: Richard Rodgers, Jule Styne, Katharine Hepburn, Rex Harrison, and Richard Burton, and others. Emphasis on Lerner's aborted projects with composers like Richard Rodgers and Arthur Schwartz. Unprecedented coverage of Lerner's final years, when he worked on a movie version of The Merry Widow, a BBC TV series about musicals, and a musical version of My Man Godfrey, none of which came to fruition, ending with a final exchange between Lerner and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he was to have written The Phantom of the Opera. Chapters: "From This Day On": The Rise of the Playwright-Lyricist, 1918-51; "Open Your Eyes": Lerner Without Loewe and the MGM Years, 1952-55; "You Did It": My Fair Lady, Gigi and Beyond, 1955-58; "One Brief Shining Moment": Changing Partners, 1959-64; "Rise and Look Around You": From Clear Day to Coco, 1965-70; "Matters of Consequence": Collaborations Old and New, 1970-74; "I Remember It Well": Old Friends, 1975-80; "Another Life": The Final Years, 1980-86. 336 pages.

All the Way: A Play
(Grove Press - Paperback Book)
Play by Robert Schenkkan produced on Broadway in 2014. Introduction by Bryan Cranston. 192 pages.

I Joke Too Much: The Theatre Director's Tale
(Capercaillie Books Limited - Paperback Book)
By National Theatre and Broadway director Michael Rudman.

Stephen Sondheim - 25 Selected Favorites: Songs from 13 Shows and Films
(Rilting - Paperback Book)
"Another Hundred People," "Anyone Can Whistle," "Being Alive," "Broadway Baby," "Children Will Listen," "Comedy Tonight," "Everybody Says Don't," "Good Thing Going," "Into The Woods," "Johanna," "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Losing My Mind," "Loving You," "Move On," "No One Is Alone - Part I," "Not A Day Goes By," "Not While I'm Around," "Old Friends," "Pretty Women," "Send In The Clowns," "So Many People," "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)," "Sunday," "Take Me To The World," "With So Little To Be Sure Of."


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Blu-ray
(Kino Lorber - new Blu-ray)
1966 film adaptation of Broadway musical with score by Stephen Sondheim. Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton and Michael Crawford.

Sleeping Beauty: Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection
(Disney - new on 2 CDs)
Disc one: the original soundtrack; Disc two, new Lost Chords collection: Outtakes "It Happens I Have a Picture," "Riddle, Diddle, One, Two, Three," and "Evil, Evil performed by voices including Hans Conried Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen and Bill Thompson, and new renditions of those sung by Dennis Kyle, Randy Crenshaw, Cindy Robinson and Kevin Michael Richardson; two album-version songs from Sleeping Beauty, Disneyland, "Blue Bird / I Wonder" and "Woodland Symphony / Once Upon a Dream" performed by Mary Costa and Bill Lee; "Sleeping Beauty Overture " and "Love Theme from Sleeping Beauty from Disney's 1961 The Parent Trap.


Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Blue-Collar Broadway: The Craft and Industry of American Theater
(Univ of Pennsylvania Press - Hardcover Book)
By Timothy R. White. The history of craft and industry in American theater, including scenery, costumes, lights, etc. From pre-Broadway years to current day. Includes case studies of Oklahoma! (1943) and Evita (1979), and an exploration of the craftwork of radio, television, and film production around Times Square. 288 pages.

The Collected Poems of Samuel Beckett by Samuel Beckett
(Grove Press - Hardcover Book)
Seán Lawlor and John Pilling, editors. Presents Beckett's poetry in the order it was composed, from pre-war to post-war, and contains previously unpublished and never-before-reprinted work. 528 pages.

Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater
(Riverhead Trade - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
Paperback version of Michael Sokolove 2013 book about Levittown, Pennsylvania's Harry S Truman High School and its drama director Lou Volpe. 368 pages.

The Great Parade: Broadway's Astonishing, Never-to-Be-Forgotten 1963-1964 Season
(St. Martin's Press - Hardcover Book)
By Peter Filichia.

Ham: Slices of a Life: True Life Tales
(Gallery Books - Paperback Book)
Collection of 16 personal essays by Sam Harris.

I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend
(Harper - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
Martin Short memoir. 336 pages.

Streisand: In the Camera Eye
(Abrams - Hardcover Book)
James Spada, editor. Collection of 170 of the most compelling photographs of Barbra Streisand, chosen for their rarity, beauty, and insight into Streisand's multifaceted life and career. Most have never been published before. From her early days on Broadway, including Funny Girl, to her TV specials, to her work as an actress in films such as Hello, Dolly!, The Way We Were, and A Star Is Born, to her concerts, as well as personal moments away from the set and stage. Taken by some of the greatest names in photography, including Philippe Halsman, Francesco Scavullo, Douglas Kirkland, Bob Willoughby, and Cecil Beaton. Seven essays by Spada introduce the various periods of Streisand's adult life, with substantial anecdotal and quote-filled captions. 288 pages.

This Is Our Youth: Broadway Edition
(Overlook TP - Paperback Book)
Kenneth Lonergan play.

You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman
(Applause Books - Hardcover Book)
By Andy Propst. Takes readers into the world and work of Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning composer/performer Cy Coleman: his days as a child prodigy in the 1930s, his time as a hot jazz pianist and early television celebrity in the 1950s, and his life as one of Broadway's preeminent composers. This first-time biography of Coleman has been written with the full cooperation of his estate, and it is filled with previously unknown details about his body of work. Interviews with colleagues and friends, including Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Ken Howard, Michele Lee, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, Hal Prince, Chita Rivera, and Tommy Tune, provide insight into Coleman's personality and career. 400 pages.

OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Added to October 2:

Oklahoma! Blu-ray
(Fox Home Entertainment - new Blu-ray)
Single release from the recent Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection set. With Todd-AO restoration and CinemaScope versions. Also being release from the same set, The King and I

Added to December 5:

Funny Lady
(Twilight Time - new on Blu-ray)
1975 fictional musical sequel to Funny Girl featuring songs by Kander & Ebb and others. Screenplay by Jay Presson Allen and Arnold Schulman, based on a story by Schulman. Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
(Twilight Time - new Blu-ray)
1969 British film based on Muriel Spark's novel (which also inspired the preceding play by Jay Presson Allen). Maggie Smith (Oscar for Best Actress), Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin. Score by Rod McKuen. Directed by Ronald Neame.

Yentl
(Twilight Time - new on Blu-ray)
1983 film featuring Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving. Score by Michel Legrand and Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman.

Added, no release date:

The Liaisons Project: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano
(ECM Records - new CD set)
Conceived by concert pianist Anthony de Mare. Commissioning of 36 writers to re-imagine a Stephen Sondheim song as a solo piano piece. Andy Akiho "Into the Woods," Mason Bates "Very Put Together" (after "Putting It Together")," Eve Beglarian "Perpetual Happiness (after "Happiness")," Derek Bermel "Sorry-Grateful," Jherek Bischoff "Ballad of Guiteau," William Bolcom "A Little Night Fughetta" (after "Send in the Clowns/Anyone Can Whistle")," Jason Robert Brown "Birds of Victorian England" (after "Green Finch and Linnet Bird")," Kenji Bunch "The Demon Barber" (after "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd")," Mary Ellen Childs "Now" (Now/Later/Soon")," Michael Daugherty "Everybody's Got the Right," Peter Golub "A Child" (of "Children and Art)" Ricky Ian Gordon "Every Day a Little Death," Annie Gosfield "A Bowler Hat," Jake Heggie "I'm Excited. No, You're Not." (after "A Weekend in the Country")," Fred Hersch "No One is Alone," Ethan Iverson "Send in the Clowns," Gabriel Kahane "Being Alive," Phil Kline Paraphrase of "Someone in a Tree," Tania Leon "going… gone" (after "Good Thing Going")," Ricardo Lorenz "The Worst [Empanadas] in London" (after "The Worst Pies in London/A Little Priest")," Wynton Marsalis "That Old Piano Roll," Paul Moravec "I Think About You" (after "Losing My Mind")," Nico Muhly "Color and Light," John Musto "Epiphany," Thomas Newman "Not While I'm Around," David Rakowski "The Ladies Who Lunch," Steve Reich "Finishing the Hat —Two Pianos," Eric Rockwell "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," Daniel Bernard Roumain "Another Hundred People," Frederic Rzewski "I'm Still Here," Rodney Sharman "Notes on Beautiful" (after "Beautiful")," Duncan Sheik "Johanna… in Space," David Shire "Love is In the Air," Bernadette Speach "In and Out of Love" (after "Liaisons/ Send in the Clowns")," Mark-Anthony Turnage "Pretty Women," Nils Vigeland "Alma Mater/Merrily We Roll Along." Producer Judy Sherman. Recording has begun at American Academy of Arts & Letters. Produced by Rachel Colbert. Crowd-source funded.