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| Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 02:08 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 02:05 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Well, you may be right... - whereismikeyfl 12:56 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
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| Here's what Mandlebaum wrote for Playbill on 11/08/98: "Those who only know Donna Murphy from Passion and The King and I may not be aware of her flair for madcap comedy, which was lavishly demonstrated in the amusing 1991 off-Broadway musical Song of Singapore. The show also allowed her to show off her remarkable skills as a jazz/scat singer. Unfortunately, Murphy had vocal problems during the run and left the company; by the time DRG made the cast album, Jacquey Maltby was playing Rose, the band singer with memory problems, and posterity was thus deprived of hearing Murphy's uproarious star turn, as good as anything she has done since." Here's what Max Preeo wrote for ShowMusic, Summer 1992: "The recording has a measure of fun, but it isn't the same as if you were attending -- and being part of -- a Song of Singapore performance. The album features Jacquey Maltby, who took over the role of Rose when Donna Murphy left the show. Murphy is not on the recording because it would have required paying both her and Maltby a full week's wages under Equity's cast album rules, which wasn't in DRG's budget. Maltby is completely convincing as the saloon singer, but it does take some of the edge off the recording not to have the performer who received the show's best notices." Charles Wright in The TheaterMania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings, published 2004 says: "this recording . . . features the torchy Jacquey Maltby . . . Donna Murphy, who was in the original cast, is not heard here." Wright gives the recording a one star rating (*) out of a possible five (*****). |
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| re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Posted by: altonido 08:47 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
| In reply to: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording - BroadwayTonyJ 02:05 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
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| In instances like this, producers do tend to use the performer playing the role at the time of the recording rather than the role's now-gone creator. It's understandable that they don't want to pay two salaries, but it can be damaging to the final result. The most egregious instance of this is recording the '93 "She Loves Me" revival and not bringing back original leading lady Judy Kuhn (who had moved on to the L.A. "Sunset Boulevard) to make the recording. It might have been worth the money to do so, as Kuhn's vocals were such a strong element of that production and without them, the CD is far less noteworthy. |
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| re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 09:43 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording - altonido 08:47 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
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| When the reviews are as strong as they were for Murphy, you pay the extra bucks or face the consequences -- in other words, a disappointing cast recording. Song of Singapore was making money -- the producers could have coughed up the extra bucks and split the cost with DRG. | |
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| re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 09:29 am EDT 03/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording - BroadwayTonyJ 09:43 pm EDT 03/17/21 | |
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| Just out of curiosity, does anyone have a guess as to what it would have cost to hire Murphy for a day or two to come into the studio and record the cast album? And would the other actress have had to have been compensated for NOT getting to be on the recording? | |
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| re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 04:27 pm EDT 03/18/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Donna Murphy -- SONG OF SINGAPORE -- Comments about the Off-Broadway Cast Recording - JereNYC 09:29 am EDT 03/18/21 | |
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| Yeah, according to Max Preeo (ShowMusic Magazine -- see my earlier post) both Murphy and Maltby would have had to been paid a week's salary for Murphy to record Rose of Rangoon's vocals on the cast album. In 1992 for an off-off-Broadway musical, that amount couldn't have been more than $1000 to $2000. I think the producers and DRG records could easliy have afforded that sum. Of course, I'm just guessing. I'm sure Maltby on stage as a replacement gave a more than adequate performance for the fans who saw the show after a year's run. However, the cast album is for the ages, and Murphy is a genuinely gifted performer. Her characterization should have been captured. Just IMO. |
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