Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 7/20/21

Receive the weekly recap by email each Tuesday: Sign up on the front page, right below the menu (at the bottom of the page on mobile screens).

See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2021: July 13, 6 | June 29, 22, 15, 8, 1 | May 25, 18, 4-11 | April 27, 20, 13, 6 | March 30, 23, 16, 9, 2 | February 23, 16, 9, 2 | January 26, 19, 12, 5

2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015


CDs Now Available:

Ben Bagley's Cole Porter, Volume III
(Kritzerland - new on CD)
Songs from Fifty Million Frenchman, Gay Divorce, Nymph Errant, Wake Up and Dream, Let's Face It and more, including songs from unproduced films and songs cut from various shows. Elaine Stritch, Dolores Gray, Lynn Redgrave, Helen Gallagher, Georgia Engel, and Arthur Siegel. Arrangements and orchestrations by Dennis Deal. Remastered. Cover art by Harvey Schmidt. Limited to 500 copies. Expected by the third week of July. At Kritzerland.com.

The Sap of Life
(Kritzerland - new on CD)
First time on CD. Off-Broadway cast recording of score by David Shire (music) and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics). Remastered from a reel-to-reel tape. Booklet includes new liner notes by Richard Maltby, Jr. and rare photographs and memorabilia. Also include is premiere of David Shire's "Sonata for Cocktail Piano," played by Shire when it was written. Limited to 500 copies. Expected to ship by third week in July. At Kritzerland.com.


DIGITAL MUSIC Now Available:

Marieann Meringolo: "I Am Blessed"
(Blue Jazz - new digital single)
Released 7/12/21.

Schmigadoon! Episode 1
(Milan Records - new digital album)
Soundtrack from episode one of Apple+ TV series "Schmigadoon!" with score by Cinco Paul and Christopher Willis. Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Cinco Paul, Martin Short, Cecily Strong, Aaron Tveit, Christopher Willis. "Schmigadoon! Main Title," "Schmigadoon!," "You Can't Tame Me," "Corn Puddin'," "Leprechaun Song," "Just one kick and apparently magic?," "See you at seven," "It's like a trick bridge or something." Released 7/16/21.

Schmigadoon! Episode 2
(Milan Records - new digital album)
Soundtrack from episode one of Apple+ TV series "Schmigadoon!" with score by Cinco Paul and Christopher Willis. Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Dove Cameron, Cinco Paul, Cecily Strong, Aaron Tveit, Christopher Willis. "Lovers' Spat," "Somewhere Love Is Waiting for You," "Enjoy the Ride (Part I)," "Enjoy the Ride (Part II)," "Cecily Strong & Aaron Tveit," "Have you been crying?," "It's the Picnic Basket Auction!." Released 7/16/21.


BLU-RAY/DVDs Now Available:

Bye Bye Birdie
(Sony - Blu-ray)
1963 film based on the 1960 stage musical. Songs by Charles Strouse (music) and Lee Adams (lyrics); musical score by Johnny Green. Screenplay by Irving Brecher, adapted from Michael Stewart's book. Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Maureen Stapleton, Bobby Rydell, Paul Lynde, Jesse Pearson, Ed Sullivan. 112 minutes.

Pal Joey
(Sony Pictures - on Blu-ray)
1957 film adapted from the Broadway musical. Songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak. Directed by George Sidney. Screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley from John O'Hara's book.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
(Warner Archive - new Blu-ray)
1949 musical film. Directed by Busby Berkeley. Produced by Arthur Freed. Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett, Edward Arnold. Some songs by Roger Edens, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. 93 minutes.


Books Now Available:

Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater
(Rowman & Littlefield - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By James Fisher. This second edition covers theatrical practice and practitioners as well as the dramatic literature of the United States of America from 1930 to the present. Includes a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1.000 cross-referenced entries on plays, playwrights, directors, designers, actors, critics, producers, theaters, and terminology. 1272 pages.

My Melancholy Baby: The First Ballads of the Great American Songbook, 1902-1913
(Univ Press of Mississippi - Hardcover/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
By Michael G. Garber. Focuses on ten ballads to show how the style of the Great American Songbook evolved. Unveils the complicated, often-hidden origins of these enduring, pioneering works. Includes colorful stories that amplify the rising of an American folk art composed by innovators both famous and obscure. From previously underexamined sources, Garber demonstrates how these songs shaped the music industry and the lives of ordinary Americans. Famous composers like Irving Berlin and little-known figures as Maybelle Watson, who had to sue to get credit and royalties for creating the central content of the lyric for "My Melancholy Baby," and Frank Williams, who contributed to the seminal "Some of These Days" but was forgotten for decades. 336 pages.


MUSIC to be released this Friday, July 23:

Lillias White: Get Yourself Some Happy
(Old Mill Road Recording - new on CD/digital)
Lillias White's (Fela!, The Life) first solo album. "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Accentuate the Positive," "Happy Together," "A Brand New Me," "Put On a Happy Face," "The Twist," "A Little Imagination," "You're My Best Friend," "You've Made Me So Very Happy," "Yes," "That's All," "Make Someone Happy," "It's Not Where You Start," "Get Happy."

Sweet Charity
(Stage Door Records - new on CD)
First time on CD reissue of SAGA Records' 1967 London studio cast recording of Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields score. Mary Preston, June Hunt, Canna Kendall, Valentine Palmer, Craig Hunter, John Parker and David Weldon Williams. Westminster Sinfonia and Theatre Chorus directed by Frank Raymond. This is the only recorded version to feature an additional cut verse in Charity's song "You Should See Yourself." Also included on the CD release is an extended version of the "Rich Man's Frug" which was recorded during the album sessions but went unreleased. Digitally remastered from the original studio master tapes. Limited edition of 500 units only. StageDoorRecords.com.


RECORDINGS newly listed:

August 6:

Edge Of The World
(Broadway Records - new digital album)
Concept album for score by Ethan Slater and Nick Blaemire. Norbert Leo Butz, Lilli Cooper, Ethan Slater and Nick Blaemire. "Edge of the World (Prelude)," "Alaska, Here We Come!," "Wolfpack," "Make a Fire," "laemire," "Every Day," "Rocks and Things," "Real and Simple," "Olivia's Song," "Alaska, Here We Come! (Flashback)," "Gripping It," "Passage," "Edge of the World," "Raised by Wolves." Produced by Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane. Mastered by Hans Dekline. Ethan Slater on guitar, Marco Paguia on piano, Michael Dobson on drums, Christian Ankrum on bass, and Ankrum, horns, strings and more.BroadwayRecords.com.

September 24:

Incidental: Music for the Stage
(new album)
From Royal & Derngate Theatre. Original compositions by 12 of the most prominent British composers working today to write original music for the stage. Inspired by some of the most famous plays and novels in the English Language, featuring spoken performances by many of the stage's most acclaimed actors. It will raise vital funds to support Royal & Derngate's reopening, helping the venue to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic and to continue to produce their ground-breaking filmtrax.bandcamp.com/album/incidental-music-for-the-stage.


BOOKS newly listed:

November 1:

When the Lights Are Bright Again: Letters and images of loss, hope, and resilience from the theater community
(Applause - Hardcover Book)
By Andrew Norlen. Photographs by Matthew Murphy. Immortalizes the stories, struggles, and successes of an industry that was the first to be shut down and one of the last to return. Weaves more than 200 letters from Broadway theater veterans, devout theatergoers, teenage dreamers aching for their day in the spotlight, long-time ushers, designers, creatives, and countless other arts workers with a brand-new, breathtaking photo series by Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy. For every copy purchased, a portion of the profits will directly benefit The Actors Fund. 240 pages.





Compiled by Talkin' Broadway Staff.

Corrections and questions may be directed to SoundAdvice@talkinbroadway.com