Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 5/29/18 (updated 6/1/18)

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See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2018: May 22, 15, 8, 1 | April 24, 17, 10, 3, March 27, 20, 13, 6 | February 27, 20, 13, 6 | January 30, 23, 16, 9, 2

2017 | 2016 | 2015


CDs Now Available:

Audra McDonald & the New York Philharmonic: Sing Happy
(Decca Gold - new on CD)
Live from May 1 concert performance at Geffen Hall for the New York Philharmonic’s Spring Gala. "I Am What I Am," "Medley: It Might as Well Be Spring/Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here," "Cornet Man," "Sing Happy," "Simple Little Things," Introduction to Being Good Isn't Good Enough," "Being Good Isn't Good Enough," "Summertime," "Chain of Love," "0vanilla Ice Cream," "March Is a Windy Month," Introduction to Medley, "Medley: Children Will Listen/ You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," "Facebook Song," "Never Will I Marry," "Being Alive," Introduction to Make Someone Happy, "Make Someone Happy," "Introduction to Climb Ev'ry Mountain, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," "More I Cannot Wish You." Orchestra conducted by Andy Einhorn. Digital released May 11.

Ben Bagley's The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Though the Eyes of Cole Porter
(Kritzerland - new on CD)
Ran at Square East Theater in 1965. Kaye Ballard, Harold Lang, Carmen Alvarez, William Hickey, and Elmarie Wendel. With bonuses. Limited to 500 copies. Available at Kritzerland.com. Expected first week in June.

Jones & Schmidt: Hidden Treasures, 1951-2001
(Harbinger/The Musical Theater Project - new on 2 CDs//on mp3/at iTunes)
Part of the Songwriter Showcase Series. Vocals by Tom Jones, Harvey Schmidt, Mary Martin, Robert Preston, Liz Callaway, Carole Demas, Bert Lahr, Stanley Holloway, Susan Watson, Samantha Bruce and many others. "Prologue: Try to Remember," "Freshman Song/Registration," "Anyone Will Do," "At 22," "Mr. Off-Broadway," "The Race of the Lexington Avenue Express," "One and All," "The Holy Man and the New Yorker," "You Wonder How These Things Begin," "A Perfect Time to Be in Love," "Plant a Radish," "I Have Acted Like a Fool," "New York Medley," "Sketches," "Just Fine," "Pretty Is," "A Texas Romance," "Man and Wife," "Guess We May as Well Stay Married Now," "The Genuine Eccentric and His Wife," "Thousands of Flowers," "Celebration," "Under the Tree," "Opening Sequence from Colette," "Wand'rin' Child." Disc 2: "Thank You for Your Love," "Within This Empty Space," "Name: Cockian," "I Love His Face," "Postcards," "Middle of the Road," "Wonderful Way to Die," "Theme from "The Bone Room"," "Menage a Trois," "Joy" (Work Session), "Ooh-La-La," "You Could Hurt Me," "The Room Is Filled with You," "Medley from Colette," "Our Town," "The World Is Very Wide," "There Is a River/Heavenly Music," "I Only Want Someone to Love Me," "Broadway Sam," "Maybe," "Learning Who You Are," "Here Am I," "Epilogue: Try to Remember." Produced by Bill Rudman. 64-page color booklet includes extensive notes by Bill Rudman; details and notes on all of the selections by Tom Jones (with an assist from Harvey Schmidt), and never-before-seen photos.

Redhead 1959 studio cast/original Mexican cast +
(Stage Door Records - new on CD)
1959 "Selections from Redhead" studio recording of Albert Hague/Dorothy Fields score, featuring Rita Williams, Bryan Johnson and Fred Lucas with the Mike Sammes Singers and Hill Bowen Orchestra. Also, the Mexican cast recording of the Spanish language adaptation by Luis De Llano and Martha Fisher which opened at Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City in 1960 as La Pelirroja, starring Virma Gonzalez, Armando Calvo and featuring Placido Domingo. Bonus: three pop covers of songs from Redhead performed by Art Lund, Toni Arden and Tommy Leonetti. Part of Stage Door Records' Collector's Series, with retro LP packaging and limited to 500 copies. Also at StageDoorRecords.com.

Sutton Foster: Take Me to the World
(Ghostlight Deluxe - new on CD/mp3/at iTunes)
Joined by Megan McGinnis, Darcie Roberts, Jodi Cotton, Johnna Tavianini, Elizabeth Truitt & Ball State Cabaret Class Female Singers. "Take Me to the World / Starting Here, Starting Now," "Everybody Says Don't / Yes," "I'm on My Way / On My Way," "If I Were a Bell / Singin' in the Rain," "I Got Love / Gimme Gimme," "Give Him the Ooh-La-La," "Stars and the Moon," "A Quiet Thing / Hush, Little Baby," "Room," "Old Friends / Bookends," "You Can Close Your Eyes," "It All Fades Away," "C'est Magnifique," "Every Time We Say Goodbye" (Bonus Track). Customers who pre-order the digital album will immediately receive the track "Stars and the Moon," with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Also at Ghostlight Records.


DIGITAL MUSIC Now Available:

Lena Hall Obsessed: Radiohead
(Ghostlight Records - new EP on mp3/at iTunes)
"Nude," "High and Dry," "Exit Music (For a Film)," "Street Spirit (Fade out)," "Creep."


BOOKs Now Available:

Fraver by Design: Five Decades of Theatre Poster Art from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Beyond
(Schiffer - Hardcover Book)
By Frank "Fraver" Verlizzo. A monograph collection that takes you behind-the-scenes into the world of theatrical advertising through a rare look at 40 unpublished poster sketches for some of Broadway's favorite shows, career anecdotes, and commentary including Bernadette Peters, Dean Pitchford, and Jack Viertel. More than 20 of Fraver's poster designs for the works of Stephen Sondheim are spotlighted, as well as those created for Rodgers & Hammerstein, The Kennedy Center, and New York City Center's Encores! series. 208 pages.

Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die: A Love Letter to Britain's Theatres
(Penned in the Margins - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition)
By Amber Massie-Blomfield. A celebration of thriving against the odds ... also a personal account of a life-long love affair with the places where 'anything is possible': from open-air fry-ups and an impromptu can-can to paranormal manifestations. An adventure through theatre, place and the people who make it happen. 350 pages.


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Carousel 2018 revival cast
(Craft Recordings - new on CD)
Rodgers & Hammerstein score. Cast includes Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, Renée Fleming , Lindsay Mendez, Alexander Gemignani, Margaret Colin, Amar Ramasar, John Douglas Thompson. "The Carousel Waltz," "Mister Snow," "If I Loved You," "June Is Bustin' Out All Over," "Mister Snow - Reprise," "When The Children Are Asleep," "Blow High, Blow Low," "Soliloquy," "This Way A Real Nice Clambake," "What's The Use Of Wond'rin'?," "You'll Never Walk Alone," "The Highest Judge Of All," "Ballet," "Finale: You'll Never Walk Alone - Reprise."

James Shigeta: Scene One / We Speak The Same Language
(Stage Door Records - new on CD)
Includes Shigeta's first solo album in 1960, "Scene One," a collection of standards and original songs with orchestrations and musical direction by Axel Stordahl. Produced by composer Haydn Broughton and featuring four of Broughton's original compositions. Also, his 1962 post-Flower Drum Song album "We Speak The Same Language," with orchestrations and musical direction by Harry Betts and Dick Hazard, production by Tommy Wolf, plus original songs penned by Hermes Pan, Tommy Wolf, Don Raye and Fred Astaire. Selections from The Fantasticks, Kean and All American. Bonus tracks: "You Are Beautiful" from the soundtrack of Flower Drum Song and one of Shigeta's highly collectable Japanese language singles, his 1955 cover of "Tara's Theme." Track list at Amazon and Stage Door. Part of Stage Door's Collector's Series, with retro-style packaging and limited to 500 units. Also at StageDoorRecords.com.

Irma la Douce Blu-ray
(Kl Studio Classics - new Blu-ray)
1963 comedy film based on the stage musical. Featuring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Louis Jordan (narrator), Lou Jacobi, Herschel Bernardi. Directed by Billy Wilder. New HD master from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Special features: audio commentary by film historian Joseph McBride, author of "How Did Lubitsch Do It?"; audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger; original theatrical trailer. 143 minutes.


OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Track list and cover released:

2018 Tony Award Season
(Broadway Records/Tony Award Productions - new on CD)
Each musical from the 2017-2018 season, including the 2018 Tony nominated musicals, have been invited to contribute a song to this new compilation album. "Angels in America Highlights" (Angels in America), "Mama Will Provide" (Once on This Island), "(Just a) Simple Sponge" (Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical), "I Could Have Danced All Night" (My Fair Lady), "Margaritaville" (Escape to Margaritaville), "The Beat of Your Heart" (The Bands Visit), "Stop" (Mean Girls), "Monster" (Frozen), "She Works Hard for the Money" (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), "Do the Work" (Prince of Broadway), "Children of a Lesser God Highlights" (Children of a Lesser God), "The Music of the Night" (From the Phantom of the Opera 30th Anniversary), "Stick It to the Man" (From School of Rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber Lifetime Achievement), "All That Jazz" (From Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville, Chita Rivera Lifetime Achievement). A portion of the proceeds from the album will go to the American Theatre Wing and Broadway League’s arts educations initiatives. The cover art features a specially commissioned Tony season illustration by Justin “Squigs” Robertson. The packaging includes essay by noted musical theatre historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper as well as details about each show. Also at BroadwayRecords.com.

Moved to June 7:

Audra McDonald & the New York Philharmonic: Sing Happy
(Decca Gold - new on CD)
Live from May 1 concert performance at Geffen Hall for the New York Philharmonic’s Spring Gala. "I Am What I Am," "Medley: It Might as Well Be Spring/Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here," "Cornet Man," "Sing Happy," "Simple Little Things," Introduction to Being Good Isn't Good Enough," "Being Good Isn't Good Enough," "Summertime," "Chain of Love," "0vanilla Ice Cream," "March Is a Windy Month," Introduction to Medley, "Medley: Children Will Listen/ You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," "Facebook Song," "Never Will I Marry," "Being Alive," Introduction to Make Someone Happy, "Make Someone Happy," "Introduction to Climb Ev'ry Mountain, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," "More I Cannot Wish You." Orchestra conducted by Andy Einhorn. Digital released May 11.