Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown cast recording
From the reviews and internet chatter I’d read, I’d gathered Women on the Verge was a very disappointing musical adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar’s 1988 international hit film of the same name. The musical, produced by Lincoln Center, was one of the most anticipated shows of the year for 2010, mostly due to the powerhouse female cast, which included Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott and Laura Benanti (not to mention de’Adre Aziza, who’s currently giving a sassy performance in Steppenwolf’s The Hot L Baltimore).

I can’t say much about the show, since I didn’t see it, but the cast recording is delightful — maybe one of the most entertaining cast recordings I’ve heard in years. Composer and lyricist David Yazbek, whom I’ve been a fan of since I saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Broadway in 2005, brings his fresh, contemporary sound to the material and keeps it totally in the spirit of the thing with a driving latin beat. True, some of the numbers fall flat (essentially anything sung by the terribly miscast Brian Stokes Mitchell), but most of it is total ear candy.

The album comes with a lyric booklet, and I must note that this album provides a classic mushed up LuPone lyric I’d been mishearing for months via YouTube: In “Invisible” when she sings “I feel like supergirl,” I’d been hearing, “I realized: oh my god!” I seriously thought the lyric booklet was wrong.

To hear what I’m talking about, play this clip and skip to 4:24:

Do you hear it, too? To me, this is almost as grand as “I love fla-na-na-na-na!” (Only hardcore LuPone fans will get that reference.)

Anyway. Get this album.

“Songs of Innocence and Experience: The Music of William Finn”
Lisa Howard is best known for creating the role of Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — a quirky musical composed by William Finn about misfits, competition and growing up. I was lucky enough to see Lisa in this role back in 2005, and was immediately drawn to her warmth, sly humor and clarion voice. She showcases all that and more in her new solo album, which features the music of Finn.

What makes this album is the excellent pairing of performer to material. You get the sense that Howard completely connects with the idiosyncratic charms of Finn’s music, and simply delivers the material with ease and earnestness — avoiding layering it with unnecessary irony, as performers tend to do with Finn’s music. In addition, the album arrangements are wonderful, full of spirit and personality. If you’re a fan of Finn’s, then songs like “Sailing” and “Infinite Joy” may seem like overdone choices — however, the arrangements combined with Howard’s interpretations make them sound completely fresh. The album also contains several little-known gems, including a surprisingly subversive character song I’d never heard before, “How to Make Delicious Chocolate Pudding,” which is like a one-act tragicomedy. It’s probably the best track in this fantastic debut solo album.

“Songs of Innocence and Experience” ranks right up there with some of the best theatre-related solo albums I’ve heard. I highly recommend it. Get it.

Any Broadway fan has known of Sherie Rene Scott since her breakout role as Sally Simpson in the 1993 Broadway production of “The Who’s Tommy.” From there, she’s gone on to play some high-profile roles on the Great White Way, including, most recently, Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.”

And now, in a surprise twist, it recently opened on Broadway to rave reviews as a last minute fill-in for another high-profile show that cancelled at the eleventh hour. (That show was “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” which cancelled over a casting dispute.)

Read the full review on EDGE >

CD IS OFFICIALLY DONE!
….and i’m about to puke.

But i dropped it off at Play-It Direct Productions today where they’ll reproduce it, package it, and everything.

Ok.

First off, in my humblest of opinions-
for a budget of $1000?
on a $90 mike?
recorded in my bathroom?
and mixed on garage band?

with all that considered…..

THIS CD KICKS SOME SERIOUS MUSICAL BALLS, MAN!

- Donna Lynne Champlin, 11.3.09

I’ve been a fan of Broadway singer and actress Donna Lynne Champlin for a number of years — ever since I heard her sing “The Air is Free” on the cast album of 3hree.

And then she played the accordion-wielding Pirelli in the John Doyle revisionment of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

She’s also done a ton of other shit.

And now? Donna Lynne’s in the process of releasing her solo album, which she’s recorded (in her bathroom), mixed and produced all on her own — with a budget of a cool grand and a timeline of six weeks. A sort of experiment, if you will, which lends nicely to her wonderfully candid blog where she provides regular updates on on the CD’s progress and what’s she’s learned along the way.

Her CD, entitled “Old Friends,” drops December 1, but you can pre-order here for $15. I know I will, as I love ingenuity, sticktoitiveness and the belty vocals of Donna Lynne.

Barbara Cook is a national treasure, a legend, a mentor, a master interpreter, a world-class artist, the eighth wonder of the world.

If you’re reading this, you are most likely familiar with her career – which spans five decades and ranges from originating leading ingénue roles in classic musicals such as The Music Man and Candide to full-blown concert diva. And, like any true wonder, her voice seems immune to the forces of age — at 82 her voice only deepens in its expressiveness without losing any of the youthful joy that made her a composer’s muse during the golden age of Broadway.

DRG has assembled a lovely boxed set celebrating her career from the early 1990s to current day. Specifically, it includes four CDs: “Close As Pages in a Book” (newly remixed and remastered), “Live from London,” “All I Ask of You” and “Live From The Met.” The set also includes the DVD of “Mostly Sondheim” and a four-track bonus CD titled “Give Me the Simple Life” from her latest studio album, due for release in early 2010.

Read the full review on EDGE >>

And now: Ms. Cook in her element:

As many reviews have already noted, the new musical 9 to 5 is a fun, yet ultimately disappointing, effort. While I haven’t seen the show, based on the new Broadway cast recording, I can understand why.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy listening to this cast recording – I did. However, I don’t think I’ll ever need to listen to it again, as there are far better scores to listen to during those precious moments in my day to enjoy music.

This doesn’t mean I only enjoy Stephen Sondheim, Rogers and Hammerstein, Adam Guettel and the like. I love the scores to Legally Blonde, the Musical and Hairspray, for example. My tastes, as far as musicals go, are pretty eclectic. I wanted to like 9 to 5 more than I did.

Full review here.

But, as with most things, I lost interest shortly thereafter. Lots of screaming, stretch pants, metallic tube dresses and Baby Phat shoes. It didn’t help that we arrived at 7pm, and she didn’t perform until after 8:30 (Opening act was some anonymous Pussycat-Dolls-meets-En-Vogue group called “Richgirl”). I was already drunk and over it by Ms. Knowles’ first number.

During “Single Ladies,” a cat fight broke out below us, complete with weave pulling and shirt ripping. If anything, I know my cue when to leave.

That’s one ugly costume, isn’t it?

As is this dress:

A bow? On her ass? WTF!

Obama would be pleased to know that he’s featured heavily in her concert — in nearly every video montage.

I’ve always loved that she sings live, but I think she sang only half the show live on Friday. Pity. However, she’s a knockout performer. Lots of energy. I think I’m just too old for this shit.