Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 6/4/19 (updated 6/7/19)

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See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2019: May 28, 21, 14, 7 | April 30, 23, 16, 9, 2 | March 26, 19, 12 | 5 | February 26, 19, 12, 5 | January 29, 22, 15, 8

2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015


CDs Now Available:

Follies National Theatre cast
(Arts Music/Warner Classics/National Theatre - new import CD)
2017 National Theatre cast album. Stephen Sondheim score. Cast includes Imelda Staunton, Philip Quast, Janie Dee, Peter Forbes, and Tracie Bennett. "Prologue," "Beautiful Girls," "Don't Look at Me," "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Rain on the Roof / Ah, Paris! / Broadway Baby (Medley)," "The Road You Didn't Take," "In Buddy's Eyes," "Who's That Woman?," "I'm Still Here," "Too Many Mornings," "The Right Girl," "One More Kiss," "Could I Leave You," "Loveland," "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through (Medley)," "Buddy's Blues," "Losing My Mind," "The Story of Lucy and Jessie," "Live, Laugh, Love," "End of Show." Recorded in January 2018. U.S. release status unknown. Released on mp3 and at iTunes 1/18/19. Expected to ship May 27 from Amazon UK (marked as "item does not ship to the United States).

Lost Broadway 1961: Broadway's Forgotten & Obscure Musicals
(Stage Door Records - new import on 2 CDs)
First in new series of albums that will focus on celebrating Broadway's forgotten and obscure musicals. Deluxe 2-CD set. 'Lost Broadway 1961' features over 55 tracks including over 20 tracks appearing on CD for the first time. Includes a complete disc of original Broadway cast recordings and a companion disc of "Covers and Rarities," showcasing pop covers and other rare recordings from the Broadway musicals of 1961. Featured musicals are 13 Daughters, The Conquering Hero, The Happiest Girl in the World, Milk and Honey, Subways Are for Sleeping, Sail Away, Let It Ride!, Donnybrook!, Carnival, The Gay Life, Kean, and Kwamina. Star performers include Elaine Stritch, Alfred Drake, Barbara Cook, Carol Lawrence, Cyril Ritchard, Sally Ann Howes, Johnny Mathis, Margaret Whiting, Dinah Shore, Gordon MacRae, Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Doris Day, Eddie Fisher and many others. 57 tracks. Track list on Amazon.com.

Philemon
(Harbinger Records - new on CD/on mp3/at iTunes)
Jones and Schmidt's legendary 1975 musical, in its first CD release. Off-Broadway cast includes Michael Glenn-Smith, Virginia Gregory, Drew Katzman, Dick Latessa, Leila Martin, Howard Ross, and Kathrin King Segal. "Within This Empty Space," "The Streets of Antioch Stink," "Don't Kiki Me," "I'd Do Almost Anything to Get Out of Here and Go Home," "He's Coming / Antioch Prison," "Name: Cockian," "I Love Order," "My Secret Dream," "I Love His Face," "Sometimes," "The Nightmare," "The Greatest of These," "The Confrontation: How Free I Feel/Oh, How Easy to Be Scornful/Come with Me," "The Vision: The Greatest of These (Reprise)/Within This Empty Space (Reprise)," Supplementary Material: "15 I Believe in Music" (demo performed by Harvey Schmidt), "The Clown Scene" (performed by Dick Latessa and Kathrin King Segal), "Sometimes/ There Must Be More Than This" (Howard Ross, Michael Glenn-Smith, Dick Latessa and all). Musical direction by Ken Collins. Ken collins, keyboard and guitar; Bill Grossman, percussion and French horn; Penna Rose, keyboard and recorder. Complete restoration and remastering by Alan Silverman. Booklet to include extensive liner notes by Tom Jones; reminiscences by cast members Michael Glenn-Smith, Virginia Gregory and Kathrin King Segal; notes by Penna Rose on the creation of Schmidt's orchestration; the composer's original logo design; and rare photos.


DIGITAL RECORDINGs Now Available:

An Act of God
(Audible Studios - new audiobook)
David Javerbaum's play, presented by Sean Hayes, Cheyenne Jackson, Colman Domingo.

Beetlejuice OBC digital
(Ghostlight/Warner Bros. - new on mp3/at iTunes)
Score by Eddie Perfect. Music Supervision, orchestrations, and incidental music By Kris Kukul. Cast includes Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Adam Dannheisser, Leslie Kritzer, Jill Abramovitz, Kelvin Moon Loh, Danny Rutigliano, and Dana Steingold. Album produced by Matt Stine, Alex Timbers, Eddie Perfect, and Kurt Deutsch. "Prologue: Invisible," "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing," "Ready Set, Not Yet," "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing, Pt. 2," "Dead Mom," "Fright of Their Lives," "Ready Set (Reprise)," "No Reason," "Invisible (Reprise) / On the Roof," "Say My Name," "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) [Act 1 Finale]," "Girl Scout," "That Beautiful Sound," "Barbara 2.0," "What I Know Now," "Home," "Creepy Old Guy," "Jump in the Line." Recording dates May 5, 6 and 13, 2019. At GhostlightRecords.com.

Hadestown OBC digital rollout
(new digital tracks)
Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Andre De Shields, Jewelle Blackman, Kay Trinidad, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer. Now available: "Way Down Hadestown," "Wait for Me ("Hey, the big artiste...") [Intro]," "Wait for Me," "Our Lady of the Underground." June 7: "Livin' It Up On Top," "Hey, Little Songbird," "When the Chips Are Down ("Songbird vs. rattlesnake…") [Intro]," "When the Chips Are Down," "Gone, I'm Gone," "Why We Build the Wall," "Why We Build the Wall ("Behind closed doors…") [Outro]," "Flowers," "Road to Hell (Reprise)"; June 28: Songs for characters Hades and Persephone; July 12: songs for Hermes, the Fates, and the Workers Chorus; July 26: songs for Orpheus and Eurydice.Full digital album with 40 tracks to be released July 26. Double CD to be released later.

Kiss Me, Kate digital
(Ghostlight Records - new on mp3/at iTunes)
2019 Broadway revival cast recording of Cole Porter score. Featuring Kelli O'Hara, Will Chase and Corbin Bleu, with Darius Barnes, Preston Truman Boyd, Will Burton, Derrick Cobey, Jesmille Darbouze, Rick Faugno , Haley Fish, Tanya Haglund, Erica Mansfield, Marissa McGowan, Sarah Meahl, Justin Prescott, Christine Cornish Smith, Sherisse Springer, Sam Strasfeld, and Travis Waldschmidt. Orchestrations by Larry Hochman. Music direction by Paul Gemignani. Album produced by Kurt Deutsch and Lawrence Manchester. "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "Why Can't You Behave," "Wunderbar," "So in Love," "We Open in Venice," "Tom, Dick, or Harry," "I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua," "I Hate Men," "Were Thine That Special Face," "Kiss Me, Kate (Act 1 Finale)," "Too Darn Hot," "Where Is the Life That Late I Led," "Always True to You in My Fashion," "Bianca," "So in Love (Reprise)," "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," "I Am Ashamed That People Are So Simple," "Kiss Me, Kate (Reprise)." Recording date: Monday, April 22. At GhostlightRecords.com. Album produced by Kurt Deutsch and Lawrence Manchester. CD release expected later this year.

Tootsie OBC digital
(Decca Broadway/Verve - new on mp3/at iTunes)
Score by David Yazbek. Santino Fontana, Lilli Cooper, Sarah Stiles, John Behlmann, Andy Grotelueschen, Julie Halston, Michael McGrath, and Reg Rogers. "Overture," "Opening Number," "Whaddaya Do," "What's Gonna Happen," "I Won't Let You Down," "I'm Alive," "There Was John," "I Like What She's Doing," "Who Are You," "What's Gonna Happen (Reprise)," "Unstoppable," "Entr'cte," "Jeff Sums It Up," "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Who Are You?," "This Thing," "Whaddaya Do (Reprise)," "The Most Important Night," "Talk To Me Dorothy," "Arrivederci!," "Michael's Reprise." Andrea Grody and Dean Sharenow, musical supervisors. Produced by Dean Sharenow and David Yazbek. CD to be released in August.


VINYL LPs Now Available:

Come from Away vinyl
(Concord - new vinyl LP)
Score by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Petrina Bromley, Geno Carr, Jenn Colella, Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks, Kendra Kassebaum, Chad Kimball, Lee MacDougall, Caesar Samayoa, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren, Sharon Wheatley.


BOOKs Now Available:

Sense of Occasion: Harold Prince
(Applause Books - Paperback Book)
Paperback version of memoir by Harold Prince. Includes the content of Prince's 1974 book "Contradictions: Notes on Twenty-Six Years in the Theatre," plus his present-day reflections on that text and much more original content, offering insights into the way business is conducted on Broadway, drawing sharp contrasts between past and present. 304 pages. [See our review of the hardcover version.]

Take You Wherever You Go paperback
(Grand Central Publishing - Paperback Book)
Paperback version of 2017 memoir by Tony Award winning director Kenny Leon. Foreword by Samuel L. Jackson. 256 pages. Released in hardcover, Kindle, audiobook, and Audible formats 6/5/18.

The Theatre of Eugene O'Neill: American Modernism on the World Stage (Critical Companions)
(Methuen Drama - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition released earlier)
2017 book, now in paperback. Kurt Eisen, editor. Comprehensive overview of O'Neill's career and plays in the context of the American theatre. Organized thematically. Includes a study of all his major plays-The Emperor Jones, The Hairy Ape, The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, A Moon for the Misbegotten and Desire Under the Elms-plus numerous other full length and one act dramas. Additionally features four contributed essays providing further critical perspectives on O'Neill's work, alongside a chronology of the writer's life and times. 256 page.


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

2019 Tony Award Season
(Broadway Records - new on CD)
Annual compilation album of songs from Broadway shows of the 2018-2019 season. Each musical, including the 2019 Tony-nominated musicals, have been invited to contribute a song. We Got the Beat" (Head Over Heels), "Gettin' The Band Back Together" (Gettin' The Band Back Together), "Say My Name" (Beetlejuice), "A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into" (Be More Chill), "The Way You Do The Things You Do" (Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations), "Too Darn Hot" (Kiss Me, Kate), "Gone, Gone, Gone" (Tootsie), "If I Could Turn Back Time" (The Cher Show), "I Can't Go Back" (Pretty Woman: The Musical), "Wait For Me" (Hadestown), "Unruly Heart" (The Prom), "Oklahoma!" (Oklahoma!), "Last of Our Kind" (King Kong); Bonus Track: "Goodbye, My Love/Back To Before" (performed by Marin Mazzie, live). A portion of the proceeds from the album will go to the American Theatre Wing and Broadway League's arts educations initiatives. Cover art features a specially commissioned Tony season illustration by Justin "Squigs" Robertson. Packaging includes an essay by noted musical theatre historian Mark A. Robinson as well as details about each show. Albums from 2017-2018 season and 2016-2017 season still available. At BroadwayRecords.com. [Amazon link should start working shortly.]

Laura Benanti: Songs from My Fair Lady
(Broadway Records - new CD/digital)
Laura Benanti sings "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "Just You Wait," and "Show Me," from the Lerner & Loewe score. Produced by David Lai and Ted Sperling. Also at BroadwayRecords.com. [Amazon link should start working shortly.]

Lost Broadway 1956-1957: Broadway's Forgotten & Obscure Musicals
(Stage Door Records - new import double CD)
56 tracks including over 25 recordings that appear on CD for the very first time. One disc of original Broadway cast recordings and a companion disc of "Covers and Rarities," showcasing pop covers and other rare recordings from the Broadway musicals of 1956 and 1957. Included are items from Shangri-La, Copper and Brass, Shinbone Alley, Rumple, Happy Hunting, Mr. Wonderful, New Faces Of 1956, Candide, Jamaica, New Girl In Town and the play with music Time Remembered. Performers include Ethel Merman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Chita Rivera, Maggie Smith, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Gwen Verdon, Maurice Chevalier, Buddy Grecco, Margaret Whiting, Tony Martin, Eddie Fisher and more. More details to come. [Amazon link should start working shortly.]


Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Broadway Musicals, Show by Show, 9th edition
(Applause - Paperback Book)
By Stanley Green and Cary Ginell. Newly updated edition (first published in 1985). Includes many of the most important and memorable productions of American musical theater, including revivals. Arranged chronologically, beginning with musicals from just after the Civil War. Trends in musical theater and capsule features on the most significant musicals of the day. This edition documents important musicals produced since the end of the 2012–2013 season through spring 2019. Features statistics and inside information, critical reception, cast lists, pithy commentary about each show, and numerous detailed indexes. 544 pages.