For my next 3 columns, I will be concentrating on 9 releases from JAY
records. JAY records is dedicated to preserving musical theater scores
in their entirety using the latest recording technology available. Each
and every CD is recorded in full digital Dolby Surround Sound that gives
the recording more of a "live" spacious sound than ever before.
Peter Pan was a boy who dreamed of never growing up and his dream came
true. I had dreamed of a day when there would be a brand new recording
of the Broadway musical Peter Pan and the hopes of that dream
coming true seemed pretty dim; that is until now. JAY records has just
released a CD of the current U.S. tour starring Cathy Rigby as the boy
who could fly and Paul Shoeffler as the one handed Captain. Although
not a huge hit when it first opened on Broadway, Mary Martin has become
indelibly attached to the role forever as a result of an excellent cast
recording and 2 TV productions, one of which is currently available on
video. As a result it has since become somewhat of a classic, so it is
certainly nice to have a brand new recording of it. I had seen the first
Broadway revival of this show with Sandy Duncan and had prayed for a
recording then, but unfortunately it never happened. That was in the
early 80s, since then Cathy Rigby had assumed the role in the 90s and
has made the role her own, just like her predecessors. Ms. Rigby
possesses a fine theatrical voice, but is less trained than Ms. Martin.
I am going out on a limb here and say that I prefer Ms. Rigby's
performance over Ms. Martin's because she has a much less polished sound
and as a result, sounds more "boyish." For this production, "Oh, My
Mysterious Lady" has been cut, presumably because Ms. Rigby couldn't
handle the coloratura-like flourishes that Mary Martin so brilliantly
executed. It is sorely missed, but is an extraneous piece of music and
not necessary for the story. Paul Shoeffler offers a slightly different
spin on Captain Hook. He has a better singing voice than Cyril Ritchard
and sounds more powerful and less sniveling in some of his line
readings. Another plus for this CD is the addition of a narrator, played
by Jenny Agutter, for the prologue. It helps to set up the forthcoming
tale and makes it feel as if your mother is telling you a bedtime story.
There are some new orchestrations on this recording as well, most
noticeably in "I Won't Grow Up." So overall, I prefer this CD to the
original recording and cannot wait for the show to reopen on Broadway.
Till then, run out and grab this CD.
Also just released from JAY is the London cast recording of the
Chichester Festival Theatre production of Divorce Me, Darling!
This show is a sequel to the British musical The Boyfriend which
launched Julie Andrews career and eventually got her cast in the
star-making role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. In her place
this time is Ruthie Henshall who has a silvery soprano, which is similar
to Miss Andrews own and holds her own quite well in comparison. The
Boyfriend was a little confection of a musical that was a typical
"boy meets girl, boy loses girl, then boy gets girl back" story. In this
sequel, Sandy Wilson reunited the same characters 10 years later in Nice
in the 1930s after each has rushed into marriage. I truly believe no
musical should ever have a sequel (sequels only seem to be successful in
Hollywood only anyway) but when the music is as charming as this, one
cannot help but forgive one for trying. The score is a pastiche of
1930s music, mostly aping the music of Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart,
Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter. There is even one song that resembles one
of Mr. Porter's songs too closely, "You're Absolutely Me." It is a pale
carbon copy of "You're the Top." On the whole, this score is very
similar to The Boyfriend and is quite charming as is the
star-studded cast which includes Liliane Montevecchi, Linzi
(Carrie) Hateley, Tim Flavin, Kevin Colson and Marti Webb. So if
you are a fan of The Boyfriend and want to hear more of the same
then I suggest you get this CD.
Released in the fall of last year, JAY's Leading Men Don't Dance
features some of today's top leading men, who, unfortunately, are
working in other mediums, such as television. They are George Dvorsky,
currently understudying Douglas Sills as the Scarlet Pimpernel, Scott
Holmes of As the World Turns fame, Richard Muenz, Byron Nease
(Phantom of the Opera) and Ron Raines from Guiding Light.
Leading Men Don't Dance was a revue that was originally produced
at Rainbow and Stars and written by one of its leading men, Byron Nease
along with Scott Barnes. They have constructed a clever revue about how
leading men used to be, big guys with big voices. They sang loud, they
did not dance, wear masks or cat suits or sing in falsetto. Part of the
joy of this revue is that they do not take themselves very seriously and
they poke fun at themselves and at each other. These five men have a
camaraderie that is remarkable. You can tell they have great respect for
each other's talents. It is a sin that each of these men isn't currently
in a musical on Broadway. They each possess a terrific set of pipes and
for the most part it is easy to distinguish between them, with the
exception of Ron Raines and Bryon Nease who nearly sound a like. Each of
these talented men gets to sing a song they had previously sung on stage
before, which makes this CD all the more desirable for fans who have
been following the careers of these actors. They cover a wide range of
musical theater classics, such as "They Call the Wind Maria," "Stranger
in Paradise," "There But for You Go I," and "This Nearly was Mine." They
even blend their voices together for 7 of the 18 tracks and when they
do, it is thrilling. Wisely, it was decided to record this CD "live" at
Clinton studios in NYC before an invited audience which makes this
recording even more enjoyable to listen to. It is always nice to hear an
audience's reaction to a performer and there is plenty to react to; it
is filled with comedic moments that will have you laughing along. This
was one of my favorite theater recordings from last year and I highly
recommend it, it is not to be missed.
Soundbytes: Grease is still the word!
In honor of the 20th anniversary of Grease, Polydor/A & M will
release a remastered edition of the soundtrack album. Let's hope they
put the songs in the order in which they appear in the film. On May 5
Rhino will issue Grease is the Word: Boppin' Tunes from the Movie
Soundtrack, with new versions of the songs recorded by '50s
"superstars." Some of the performers on the CD will include Lou
Christie, Darlene Love, Lesley Gore, Freddy "Boom-Boom" Cannon, Big
Daddy, and Rosanne Limeres.
The release date for the newly remastered soundtrack of Funny
Lady by Arista will be May 19. It will not include additional
material as I previously mentioned. It will only contain the same tracks
as the Bay Cities release, but in film sequence.
RCA Victor seems to be very busy these days. They are recording the cast
albums of The Sound of Music and Cabaret revivals both of
which will be released on May 19th. They are also planning on doing
the cast album of High Society which will probably be released in
June or possibly July.
Although nothing is set, Sony Classical is in negotiations to record
Encores' St. Louis Woman. But now that Vanessa L. Williams has
joined the cast makes me wonder whether or not her record company,
Mercury, would want to record the event. There is also the possibility
of a video of it to be a possible PBS "special event," but this is not
confirmed.
Due in stores this Tuesday, March 24, are Varese Sarabande's cast
recordings of the '98 S.T.A.G.E. benefit, Lerner, Loewe, and Lane
and the off-Broadway revue The Irish and How They Got That Way.
Also due is MCA/Universal's remastered soundtrack of Jesus Christ
Superstar for the 25th Anniversary. A special edition of the film
has been released on video in letterbox for the first time.
Finally Tom Shepard is now in London producing the London cast album of
Chicago for BMG/UK with both Ute Lemper and Ruthie Henshall. It
still hasn't been decided if the album will be only released in the U.K.
or in the U.S. as well.
That's all for this week. Join me in 2 weeks when I will be reviewing
JAY's complete recordings of Jesus Christ Superstar, On the Town
and The Pajama Game. 'Till then, happy listening!
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