Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice Recap Week of 11/10/20 (updated 11/13/20)

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See the complete list of Upcoming/Recent releases.

Earlier recaps:

2020: November 3 | October 27, 20, 13, 6 | September 29, 22, 15, 8, 1, August 25, 18, 11, 4 | July 28, 21, 14, 7 | June 30, 23, 16, 9, 2 | May 26, 19, 12, 5 | April 28, 21, 14, 7 | March 31, 24, 17, 10, 3 | February 25, 18, 11, 4 | January 28, 21, 14, 7

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015


CDs Now Available:

Christmas in Hollywood
(Stage Door Records - new import 2-CD set)
"Festive songs from the silver screen and yuletide favourites as sung by iconic Hollywood stars from the golden age of cinema and television." Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Danny Kaye, Doris Day, Deanna Durbin, Shirley Temple, Dick Powell, Esther Williams, Jimmy Durante, Red Buttons, Tab Hunter, Debbie Reynolds, Rosemary Clooney, Gordon MacRae, Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald and many more. Also spotlights recordings by Hollywood's "ghost singers," with featured songs performed by Marni Nixon, Norma Zimmer and Bill Lee. Plus the complete 1959 stereo album "We Wish You a Merry Christmas - 15 Great Christmas Favorites sung by Warner Bros. Stars," with songs by stars of popular television shows including Roger Moore, Connie Stevens, Dorothy Provine, Eddie Cole and others.

Over the Moon
(Sony Music Masterworks - new on CD)
Soundtrack for new Netflix animated film. Songs by s Christopher Curtis, Marjorie Duffield and Helen Park. Original music score by Steven Price. Performing cast includes Phillipa Soo, Ruthie Ann Miles, Ken Jeong, Cathy Ang, and Robert G. Chiu. Released earlier on mp3 and at iTunes

Pentatonix: We Need a Little Christmas
(RCA - new on CD/on mp3/at iTunes)
The a cappella group's sixth holiday album. "12 Days of Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "My Favorite Things," "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)," "Thank You," "Santa Tell Me," "Jingle Bell Pop," "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Once Upon a December," "Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season," "We Need a Little Christmas," "Seasons of Love."

Petula Clark: Christmas in London
(Stage Door Records - new on CD)
All of Petula Clark's festive recordings from the 1950s - a selection of traditional carols alongside a sprinkling of original Christmas songs. Includes two previously unreleased radio performances, unheard since their original broadcast.

Vera Lynn: Keep Smiling Through
(Decca UK - on CD/on mp3/at iTunes)
Featuring never-before-heard and reorchestrated versions of classic songs performed by Dame Vera Lynn with various orchestras. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "We’ll Meet Again," "My Son, My Son," "White Cliffs Of Dover," "As Time Goes By," "Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye," "Close To You," "High Flight," "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square," "When You Wish Upon A Star," "From the Time You Say Goodbye," "White Christmas," Medley ("White Cliffs Of Dover" / "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" / "We’ll Meet Again").


DIGITAL MUSIC Now Available:

Maxine Linehan: This Time of Year
(Honeybun Records - new on mp3)
"Somewhere in My Memory / Believe," "This Time of Year," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Christmas the Way I Remember," "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," "Underneath the Tree," "Memories," "I Think of You (Holiday Edition)," "Moonlight in Vermont," "I'll Be Seeing You," "The Perfect Year," "Silent Night."


VINYL LP Now Available:

Sweeney Todd soundtrack
(Nonesuch - new vinyl LP)
2007 movie soundtrack on vinyl. Score by Stephen Sondheim. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter,Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jayne Wisener, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Ed Sanders, Anthony Head, Peter Bowles.


Books Now Available:

Jagged Little Pill: The Stories Behind the Iconic Album and Groundbreaking Musical
(Grand Central Publishing - new Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition/Audiobook)
Chronicle of the Grammy-winning 1995 Alanis Morissette album and the new Broadway musical it inspired. Photos (Matthew Murphy) and interviews from Morissette, bookwriter Diablo Cody, creative team members, and cast members, as well as a full annotated libretto and an exploration of the album's cultural significance. 224 pages.

Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway
(Simon & Schuster - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition/Audiobook on CD/Audible Edition)
By Michael Riedel. Account of recent Broadway history—spanning from the debut of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Sunset Boulevard to Disney's The Lion King. Drawing upon more than 150 insider interviews, Riedel walks us through the Broadway we know and love today: an industry awash in big hits and bigger money, while also being an industry split between its adherence to old art forms and the allure of popular culture. 352 pages.

Sweet Mystery: The Musical Works of Rida Johnson Young
(Oxford Univ Press - Hardcover Book)
By Ellen M. Peck. Part of Broadway Legacies series. Study of the musical theater works of Rida Johnson Young (ca. 1869-1926), one of the most prolific female playwrights of her time, as well as a lyricist and librettist in the musical theater. She wrote more than thirty full-length plays, operettas, and musical comedies, 500 songs, and four novels, including Naughty Marietta, Lady Luxury, The Red Petticoat, and When Love is Young. 192 pages. Using archival materials such as original typescripts, correspondence, and reviews, the book contextualizes her work in the early twentieth century professional theater and provides a window into the standard practices of writing and production of the era. Illustrated. 192 pages.


Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Beacon: Holiday Improvisations
(Mirror Finger Music - new digital album on mp3/at iTunes)
Composer/musician William TN Hall's debut album. Original instrumental piano improvisations based on traditional carols and two original, previously unrecorded holiday compositions. "Opening: I Saw Three Ships," "The First Noël," "Once in Royal David's City," "Transition: Away to a Manger," "Away in a Manger," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "Jingle Glass Bells," "God Rest Ye Merry Bootleggers," "In the Bleak Mid-Winter," "Oh N.Y.C. Christmas Tree," "Closing: Joy to the World," "My First Christmas with You," "Lullaoly," "Christmas Eve 2019," "Noel the Herald Angel Mashed It Up," "Oh Chanukah," "Gabriel's Message (Most Highly Flavoured Gravy Train)," "Auld Lang Syne," "Auld Lang Syne (Instrumental)."

Ben Bagley's Irving Berlin Revisited
(Kritzerland - new on CD)
Performers include Richard Chamberlain, Blossom Dearie, Dorothy Loudon, and Bobby Short. Limited to 500 copies. At Kritzerland.com.

The Court Jester
(Paramount - new Blu-ray)
1955 Paramount musical-comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury and Cecil Parker. Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, directors. Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Mildred Natwick, Cecil Parker, and John Carradine. Songs by Sylvia Fine, Danny Kaye, and Sammy Cahn. Remastered from a 6K film transfer of the original VistaVision negative.

Jorrocks: London Studio Cast Recording
(Stage Door Records - new import CD)
CD debut of the Saga Records London studio cast recording. Music and lyrics by David Heneker. Barry Kent, Rita Williams, Pat Whitmore, Charles Young, Charles Granville, and Andy Cole, with the Rita Williams Singers and Brian Fahey Orchestra. The musical was based on the novels of R. S. Surtees and opened at London's New Theatre on September 22nd 1966. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Includes the very first recording of the overture, which was previously unreleased on the original LP album. Special bonus: the original demo recordings from the David Heneker Archive, including several songs later cut from the production. Limited edition release of 500 units only.

Lolita, My Love
(Kritzerland - new on 2 CDs)
Live (Boston) soundboard recording of the musical, score by John Barry (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics). Orchestrations by Eddie Sauter. Mastered by James Nelson. Thirty-six tracks. At Kritzerland.com. [We trust that rights issued have been addressed by Kritzerland; further information can be provided to soundadvice@talkinbroadway.com.]

Thankful: A Benefit Album For Jerad Bortz
(Rock-It Science Records - new digital album on mp3)
Twenty-two original songs written by Steven Skeels. Annaleigh Ashford, Shoshana Bean, Stephanie J. Block, Jerad Bortz, Alex Brightman, Breedlove, Lisa Brescia, Norbert Leo Butz, Liz Callaway, Gaelen Gilliland, Jin Ha, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Christopher Jackson, Andy Karl, Beth Leavel, Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, Q. Smith, Ali Stroker, Steven Skeels, Marty Thomas, Katie Thompson, Ryan Vasquez, Ann VanCleave and Ben Vereen with Jerad Bortz Jared Bradshaw, Kathy Coppolino, Michael Di Liberto, Olivia Donalson, Hannah Dowdy, Stacia Fernandez, David Gilleo, Gaelen Gilliland, Courtney Iventosch, Craig Jessup, Eddie Marco, Samuel Moffatt, Brian Munn, Lindsay Northen, Tori Palazola O’Rourke, Andy Redeker, Jonathan Ritter, Mesghan Sands, Steven Skeels, Ann Van Cleave, and Laura Woyasz. Arrangers and orchestrators include Martyn Axe, Simon Beck, Ben Cohn, Carmel Dean, Ray Fellman, Josh Harris, Alex Lacamoire, Daniel Lincoln, Bryan Perri, Will Reynolds, Richard Rockage, James Sampliner, Brian Usifer and Scott Wasserman. Produced by Lynn Pinto and Steven Skeels. Funds to benefit Jerad Bortz (Wicked), who was seriously injured in a 2018 car accident. Pre-ordering to begin 10/23/20.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Christmas Trilogy
(Atlantic - new on CD/DVD)
Deluxe three CD + DVD edition. Unclear how this differs from previous releases.


Books/Plays RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Cast of Mentors
(new book)
By Ken Davenport. Pieces of advice from high-achievers—including Terrence McNally, Dominique Morisseau, David Henry Hwang, Daryl Roth, Kathleen Marshall, Stephen C. Byrd, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Mandy Gonzalez, Kenny Leon, Charlotte St. Martin, Sergio Trujillo and more. At CastofMentors.com.

Cicely Tyson Just as I Am: A Memoir
(Harper Collins - Hardcover Book/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
Cicely Tyson's memoir. 432 pages.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play
(Plume - Paperback Book)
Movie tie-in version of August Wilson's play, to be presented on Netflix beginning 12/4/20. 112 pages.

Mike Nichols: A Life
(Penguin Press - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition/Audible Audiobook)
Biography by Mark Harris, "an intimate and evenhanded accounting of success and failure alike; the portrait is not always flattering, but its ultimate impact is to present the full story of one of the most richly interesting, complicated, and consequential figures the worlds of theater and motion pictures have ever seen. " Audiobook narrated by George Newbern.

Moulin Rouge! songbook
(Hal Leonard - Paperback Book)
Vocal selections from Moulin Rouge! the musical. Includes "Backstage Romance," "Chandelier," "Come What May," "Crazy Rolling," "Elephant Love Medley," "Firework," "Nature Boy," "Only Girl in a Material World," "Shut Up and Raise Your Glass," "The Sparkling Diamond," "Sympathy for the Duke," "El Tango de Roxanne," "Your Song." 120 pages.

Staging America: Twenty-First-Century Dramatists
(Methuen Drama - Paperback Book)
Paperback version of Christopher Bigsby's 2019 book. Explores the lives and works of eight award-winning playwrights—including Ayad Akhtar, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Young Jean Lee and Quiara Allegría Hudes—whose backgrounds reflect the social, religious, sexual and national diversity of American society. Each chapter is devoted to a single playwright and provides an overview of their career, a description and critical evaluation of their work, as well as a sense of their reception. Draws on primary sources, including the playwrights' own commentaries and notes, and contemporary reviews. 248 pages. Hardcover and Kindle versions released in December 2019.

The Theatre of Rupert Goold: Radical approaches to adaptation and new writing
(Methuen Drama - new Hardcover Book/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
By Sarah Grochala. Surveys and analyzes the range of British stage director Rupert Goold's work to date. Based on extensive interviews with Goold and some of the playwrights, designers, actors and other creatives who have collaborated with him. 192 pages.


OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Added to December 1:

Linda Eder: Retro Volume 2
(new on CD)
Eder's 19th album. Broadway songs and standards. Songs written by Frank Wildhorn, Jake Wildhorn, and others. 17 tracks. Expected at LindaEder.com.

Added to December:

Marty Thomas and Marissa Rosen
(new album)
Holiday duet album. Expected in December 2020.





Compiled by Talkin' Broadway Staff.

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