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Holiday Gift Guide - 2007
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Recordings
Jonathan Sings Larson Library of Congress Songwriters Series PS Classics PS-757	The most recent release in the Library of Congress' series of albums featuring composers of show music singing their own work either from original demo recordings or from commercial sources turns out to be the most interesting and the one most likely to have repeated visits to your CD player. Larson, who died literally on the eve of the opening of his big hit, Rent, is heard singing numbers he wrote for that show, for the show became tick, tick...Boom! and a few he wrote hoping to break into pop musical success as well. The package even includes a hand-held video on DVD of a live performance at New York's Village Gate from 1991.	Click here to buy the CD

Face the Music Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin DRG CD 94781	Not all the concert versions of great musicals in the New York series "Encores!" are preserved with a commercial recording, but when they are the recordings are well worth the collector's attention. Here, Berlin's 1932 musical revue which, of course, never had an original Broadway cast recording finally gets an issue of its own and it is a pure delight. The cast includes Judy Kaye, Lee Wilkoff, Jeffry Denman and Walter Bobbie. The orchestra under Rob Fisher is superb.	Click here to buy the CD

Curtains Original Broadway Cast Music by John Kander Lyrics by Fred Ebb Book by Rupert Holmes EMI Broadway Angel 0946 3 92212 2 6	What a thrill to have an original Broadway cast album of a new score that starts out with a big, bold, tuneful overture just like they did back in the golden age of the American musical theater! Of course, it helps that the overture is followed by a big, bold, tuneful score just like they had in the golden age of the American musical theater! The show is a tribute to that great genre and belongs in the collection of all musical theater lovers.	Click here to buy the CD

Grease Revival Cast Recording Music by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey Sony Masterworks Broadway 88697-16398-2	The latest revival of this high school sock-hop musical opened in August, 2007. The production will be remembered as the first Broadway show to have its stars selected in a reality television series! Max Crumm and Laua Osnes won the competition on last year's "Grease: You're The One That I Want" and landed the roles of Danny and and Sandy under the direction of veteran director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Crumm and Osnes are fine and the recording is bright. It includes the songs written for the movie version which have been interpolated into the show.	Click here to buy the CD

West Side Story 50th Anniversary Recording Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Decca Broadway B0009818-02	Again, we get a new recording of West Side Story with a lead voice all too formally trained in the operatic tradition. At least Vittorio Grigolo sounds almost young enough to be Tony, unlike Jose Carreras who sang the role when Leonard Bernstein himself conducted a complete recording. This time out, the part of Maria is delivered with nearly angelic grace by Hayley Westenra. Still, the Original Broadway Cast from 50 years ago remains the best available recording of the score. If your intended recipient already has that one, this new one offers digital sound.	Click here to buy the CD

Altar Boys Music and Lyrcs by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker SH-K-Boom Records 7915586050-2	The stage hands strike against the owners of most of the theaters on Broadway drove many who would be attending a Broadway show to try an Off-Broadway one and discover some of the delights to be had in those smaller but no less professional venues. One that seemed to benefit was this story of a boy band dabbling in Christian rock but with a wink. The band - Mathew, Mark, Luke and Juan ... and Abraham, cope with some of the problems of contemporary youth culture while working their way through boy-band-sounding songs such as "(God Put) The Rhythm In Me," "The Calling" with its refrain "Jesus called me on my cell phone, and the hip hop rap "The Miracle Song."	Click here to buy the CD

110 in the Shade Broadway Revival Recording Music by Harvey Schmidt Lyrics by Tom Jones PS Classics PS-754	This is the kind of cast recording that makes you proud to be a fan of musical theater and of cast recordings. It is a sonically splendid capturing of a musically marvelous, lyrical score telling a warmly human story of decent people. It features a soaring performance by Audra MacDonald, a satisfyingly personable one by John Cullum, and a refreshingly open one by Bobby Steggert.	Click here to buy the CD

Jersey Boys Broadway Cast Recording Music by Bob Gaudio Lyrics by Bob Crewe Rhino Records R273271	Sometimes an original Broadway cast album will give a false impression of just how good a show was in the theater because it preserves the best material - the songs. Not here. Oh, the songs are very good and are performed with tremendous verve, energy, skill and pizzazz. It is just that, in this case, the show was very much as good as the musical material. As a result, this recording of the score preserves a memory for those who experienced the theatrically induced high of seeing the show itself, while, at the same time, surveying the output of the group that was the subject of the show, the Four Seasons and its lead falsettoist, Frankie Valli.	Click here to buy the CD

Irving Berlin's White Christmas Cast Recording Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin Book by David Ives and Paul Blake Ghostlight Records 7915581225-2	If you need a holiday gift with a holiday theme, what could be better than this new recording of the stage version of this movie of the season? The movie's story was streamlined and concentrated, but it revolves around two song and dance men who put on a show at a Vermont ski lodge suffering from a lack of both business and snow in order to attract crowds to the lodge which is now operated by their old commanding officer from their World War II. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the CD

The Light in the Piazza Original Broadway Cast Recording Music and lyrics by Adam Guettel Book by Craig Lucas Nonesuch 79829-1	The most gorgeous score for a musical in recent years. It is by Adam Guettel for this out-and-out romance. The recording sounds like the work of love that it is. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the CD

The Drowsy Chaperone Original cast recording Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar Ghostlight Records 7915584411-2	The brightest, funniest and most fun musical of the Broadway 2006 season produced the brightest, funniest and most fun original Broadway cast record of the year. This confection captures the tone of the show in both its packaging and the recording itself. The show is built on one singularly comic concept - a show music maven sharing his favorite recording with the audience - so the recording is the essence of the experience of having that theater fan play his favorite record for you, a 1928 doozy. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the CD

The Fantasticks New Off-Broadway Cast Recording Music by Harvey Schmidt Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones Ghostlight Records 8-4415	The longest running musical ever in New York finally closed in 2002 after 17,162 performances at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. Its original cast recording was a staple of musical lovers collections for years. Now, the show has been revived at a new theater further uptown in the theater district (on 50th Street) and a new recording of the score with this new cast has been released. It is as enjoyable as the original and it includes as a bonus a 1959 recording by composer Harvey Schmidt of a song written for the slot in the show that eventually was filled by "Round and Round."	Click here to buy the CD

Hugh Sings Martin Library of Congress Songwriter Series PS Classics PS-9535	The Library of Congress continues its series of albums featuring composers of show music singing their own work either from original demo recordings or from commercial sources. Here Hugh Martin sings songs he wrote for Meet Me in St. Louis, Best Foot Forward, Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! and Good News. (PS Classics 9535)	Click here to buy the CD
Charles Sings Strouse Library of Congress Songwriter Series PS Classics	The composer of such shows as Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Rags and Nick & Nora sings his own compositions in historic demo recordings and newly recorded tracks as part of the Library of Congress' Songwriter Series. (PS Classics PS-646)	Click here to buy the CD

See What I Wanna See Original cast recording Music and lrics by Michael John LaChiusa Ghostlight Records 7915584408-2	The newest score from Michael John LaChiusa (whose The Highest Yellow premiered at Signature Theatre) is this dark, complex but lyrical musical built on the structure of Japanese stories including the well known Roshomon). The cast of the off-broadway premiere inludes Marc Kudisch, Idina Menzel, Henry Stram and Mary Testa. (Ghostlight Records 7915584408-2)	Click here to buy the CD

Eartha Kitt Live from the Café Carlyle	The literally inimitable songstress, Eartha Kitt, recorded her nightclub act at age 79 and it reveals more energy, style and sexiness than most of the big name stars one third her age. (DRG Records 91499)	Click here to buy the CD

Masterworks Broadway Reissues: The King and I - 1964 Revival Broadway Masterworks 82876-88400-2 South Pacific - 1967 Revival Broadway Masterworks 82876-88393-2 My Fair Lady - 1976 Revival Broadway Masterworks 82876-88392-2	Columbia records, the label that did the most to establish the tradition of capturing the performances of the original casts of Broadway musicals, also recorded a number of revivals. Now that Columbia' vault has become the property of the combined Sony/BMG corporate giant, it is a delightful development that a number of the less well known but beautiful recordings of revivals are being re-released in carefully re-packaged versions. Three of the offerings have recently been released and each is a worthy addition to a large theater music collection. None replaces the recording of the original cast, but each has elements that a theater music fan will treasure. Two are of revivals mounted by the Music Theater of Lincoln Center which Richard Rodgers established to sustain the legacy of the American Musical - and they are both of musicals Rodgers composed. These are recreations of South Pacific and The King and I with the previously unreleased "Western People Funny" and the eight and a half minute "The Small House of Uncle Thomas." They have notable casts including the likes of Florence Henderson and Giorgio Tozzi (in South Pacific) and Rise Stevens, Darren McGavin and Patricia Neway (in The King and I). The full-on Broadway revival of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, which took the stage at the St. Games Theater in 1976, had Christine Andreas as Eliza and Ian Richardson as Henry Higgins along with Robert Coote reprising the role of Colonel Pickering from the original production. Each release is illustrated with original cover art, photos from the recording sessions and a synopsis of the show. None offer copious notes, but they do have the essential items. It is worth noting that this recording of South Pacific was originally produced by Ed Kleban some eight years before he wrote the lyrics for A Chorus Line.	Click here to buy the CD Click here to buy the CD Click here to buy the CD

Capitol Records Reissues Three Wishes for Jamie Original Broadway Cast DRG Records DRG-CD-19086 Salvation Original Off-Broadway Cast DRG Records DRG-CD-19087 Kismet Studio Cast Recreation DRG Records DRG-CD-19094	The DRG record label has a long and distinguished track record producing new albums of contemporary productions as well as digging up old albums from the vaults of other companies who are uninterested in the limited market for the oddities that so fascinate the core collectors of musical theater gems. Three new re-releases from the archives of Capitol Records, once a major player in the capturing of stage music, have illustrated the range their operations. One, Three Wishes for Jamie preserves a main line Broadway show from the early 1950s, a vehicle for John Raitt along with Anne Jeffreys that ran for a brief run, just 92 performances. Another, Salvation, captures an Off-Broadway effort to build on the excitement that Hair had caused. It is a rock-fusion score that shows influences not only of Galt MacDermot but of jazz/rock groups like Blood Sweat and Tears. The third is an example of the sometimes misguided efforts to recreate scores in studios by casts that haven't actually played the roles before audiences. It's Kismet, the Robert Wright, George Forrest lush and lovely score based on themes by Russian composer Alexander Borodin that was a big hit on Broadway from 1953 to 1955. The score has many CDs available, many superior to this one. The original cast recording had the irreplaceable services of Alfred Drake but was not recorded in stereo. There was a movie which resulted in a soundtrack album with Howard Keel. A cross-over attempt using opera stars on Sony Records didn't work very well at all and JAY records provided a note-complete recording of the score on two discs with a fine cast. The Capitol album used Gordon MacRea and Dorothy Kirsten for a studio recording and it sounds like a studio performance, not a theatrical one.	Click here to buy the CD Click here to buy the CD Click here to buy the CD

Books
Broadway Musicals - The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik Forward by Jerry Orbach	The best theater lover's coffee table book of the year offers three and four page, copiously illustrated spreads on the authors' choices for the best musicals ever to take the Broadway stage. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the book

American Presidents Attend the Theatre The Playgoing Experiences of Each Chief Executive Thomas A. Bogar	The most fascinating read of any theater book to cross our desks this year, and the first to be designated a Potomac Stages Pick, is this volume which details the theater going habits of everyone who ever served as President of the United States. It includes the shows they attended before, during and after their Presidencies, the theaters they frequented and their attitudes toward the experience, all blended with a general history of the country and of the Presidency itself. In the process, it presents an enlightening history of the development of the American theater. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the book

Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004 John Stewart	The most impressive new reference work on Broadway musicals is John Stewart's expensive ($195) volume with entries for every Broadway musical since Oklahoma! providing a synopsis of the plot, the scenes and songs (in the order performed on opening night), a discussion of how the show got to Broadway, its Broadway run and important productions subsequent to its closing on Broadway. Complete cast (including replacements) and creative team credits are listed as well. This amounts to 772 shows. For another two thousand shows, that for one reason or another didn't meet the author's criteria for being a bona fide "Broadway Musical" but which the author believes constitute a significant part of the heritage of the musical theater, an appendix offers abbreviated entries. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the book

The Back Stage Guide to Broadway by Robert Viagas	The most useful guide for those who travel north to sample the delights of "The Great White Way" - and for those who would like to. Click here to read our review.	Click here to buy the book

Jerome Kern by Stephen Banfield	The most welcome addition to the literature on individual composers for the musical stage has to be Stephen Banfield's volume on the music of Jerome Kern - if only because Kern's place in the evolution of the American musical is so important. Banfield takes a fairly technical approach to his analysis, accompanying his discussion with dozens of illustrations only understandable for those who read music. But he places it all in historical perspective as he traces the output of the man who moved the American musical stage from operetta to what today we simply call musicals.	Click here to buy the book

Broadway North The Dream of a Canadian Musical Theatre by Mel Atkey Natural Heritage Books 1-897045-08-5	A most intriguing new book written by a Canadian now working in London takes a look at the history of the development of musical theater in the nation to our north. Those who think the development of Ragtime and Kiss of the Spider Woman by Garth Drabinsky's Canadian company, Livent, or the arrival of The Drowsy Chaperone from our northern neighbor are aberrations will be fascinated to learn just how much musical theater there is in the big cities and picturesque festival sites in the federation that spans our continent from St. Johns and Halifax to Dawson and Vancouver. The stories of the creation of Anne of Green Gables and Billy Bishop Goes to War are well told as is the story of some of the venues that have hosted Canada's musical output - most notably Toronto's restored Elgin and the incredible theater that sits directly above it, The Winter Garden. A word of warning, however. Author Mel Atkey includes a ten-page appendix listing cast recordings of many of the musicals discussed in the text which may stimulate a good deal more spending by the interested reader than the (US) $23.95 price tag. The book is not currently being distributed in the US but it can be ordered through the publishers website at www.naturalheritagebooks.com.

The Alchemy of Theatre - The Divine Science Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration Edited by Robert Viagas Applause Theatre & Cinema Books	Theater maven Robert Viagas has produced another fascinating volume, one that might be of interest to theater lovers who will have some free time to sit and read in the slow period between Christmas and New Years. He asked some of the most famous collaborators in the American professional theater to write about just that -- collaboration. He has essays from famous playwrights like Edward Albee. He has contributions from director/producer Harold Prince and director/choreographer Susan Stroman. There are essays by performer Brian Stokes Mitchell and the team that wrote the songs he sang in Ragtime, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. There are contributions from some with names somewhat less well known to the general public such as theater owner Gerald Schoenfeld, stage manager Peter Lawrence, casting director Jay Binder and dance captain Cynthia Onrubia. He even has the thoughts of those in between, like set designer Robin Wagner, costume designer William Ivey Long, sound designer Tony Meola, orchestrator William David Brohn and publicity man Adrian Bryan-Brown. Viagas may not have brought gold out of dross, but he certainly has brought order to what might have been a messy hodge-podge of a collection - and the pages are packed with pithy observations that would be as applicable to collaboration in any endeavor as they are to the art of theater.	Click here to buy the book

Miscellaneous

On Broadway! Theater Posters 2008 Calendar Library of Congress	Again this year, the Library of Congress compiled a collection of vintage show posters for a wall calendar. This year's calendar includes artwork from such shows as Auntie Mame, The Night of the Iguana and Beyond the Fringe.	Click here to buy the calendar

TixCertificates Offered by the Helen Hayes Awards Organization	As any regular reader of Potomac Stages knows, there are more productions offered by theaters in the Potomac Region than any one theater lover can attend. Tickets to a specific up-coming production or even a season subscription to a particular theater can be a great gift, but there are times when you don't know when the recipient might be able to go or what shows a theater lover has already purchased seats for. The answer? The Helen Hayes Awards organization sponsors a program called TixCertificates that lets you purchase certificates in $20 denominations that are good at any one of 40 participating professional theaters. Order at www.helenhayes.org.