There are so many shows to choose from, but I'd have to single out ''The Civil War'' (1999) by Frank Wildhorn, Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd.
It really had no plot. No stars. No razzle-dazzle. It was simply a series of musical vignettes inspired by historical events, characters and correspondence during the Civil War. The critics hated it. And I loved it. It ran for only 61 performances, but I saw it again and again and again.
Vocally, the cast was incredible and one of the most glorious-sounding ensembles I've ever heard on Broadway. Among them: Michel Bell, Cheryl Freeman, Matt Bogart, Gilles Chiasson, Gene Miller, Michael Lanning, Beth Leavel, Capathia Jenkins, Chad Kimball ...
Musically, I loved Murphy and Wildhorn's melodic and stirring pop-country songs: ''Sarah,'' ''Virginia,'' ''Last Waltz for Dixie,'' ''I'll Never Pass This Way Again,'' ''The Glory,'' etc. I wish I could've seen the revised version that played Gettysburg, Pa., in 2006, but I'm a real ''Civil War'' buff. |
