Album Review: THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

If you've read my review of the original cast recording for Floyd Collins, it'll come as no surprise to you that I'm a huge fan of Adam Guettel. I firmly believe he's one of the greatest post-Sondheim composers. But something else inspired me to write a review of The Light in the Piazza. I just came back from a production at the world famous Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario and it simply left me speechless. Never has a musical moved me so deeply and purely. I've owned and listened to the cast album for a long time, but that was my first live encounter with the show. Hence why I feel compelled to review this recording.

Album Review: FEBRUARY HOUSE

What a pleasant surprise.

How do I find so many obscure musicals? I go to the iTunes Store and type in 'cast' to the search bar... 90% of the albums are musical cast recordings. I then browse through and pay attention to albums that catch my eye. That's how I discovered February House, a new musical with a score by Gabriel Kahane.

Who is Gabriel Kahane, you may ask? Don't worry, I had no idea either. It turns out that February House is one of Kahane's first forays into musical theatre. He's a young up and coming composer... further inspection found that much of his music is an appealing and quite beautiful combination of contemporary pop and classical sensibilities. You might almost classify his work as 'art songs'.

Album Review: PIPPIN

One of my earliest exposures to musical theatre was Pippin. When I was just a little kid, and my obsession with musicals was just beginning, I'd ransack my local library to find cast recordings of musicals I'd never heard of before. Some of them went over my head... such as Stephen Sondheim's Assassins and the original recording of Night of the Hunter. But one day, I discovered a VHS tape of the filmed production of Pippin starring William Katt, Chita Rivera, and the incomparable Ben Vereen (It also just so happened to be filmed in my hometown of Hamilton, at the theatre in which I now work). I watched it, and fell in love.

Album Review: KINKY BOOTS

I thought I was going to hate this album. Granted, I know next to nothing about the show, but so many factors made it seem like it wouldn't be my thing. Sure, Kinky Boots has been receiving rave reviews on Broadway and has the most nominations of any show at this year's Tony Awards... but I don't usually go for the big, flashy commercial shows (Which Kinky Boots totally is). Also, I was, admittedly ignorantly, turned off by the fact that Cyndi Lauper wrote the score. I've never been a fan of Lauper's work, and rock artists don't generally have a good track record of producing great scores for the theatre. So really, everything was in place for me to hate this cast recording.

I don't think I've ever been so wrong.

Album Review: FLOYD COLLINS

As I've stated, this blog isn't just for reviews of the latest cast albums... I'm also going to be reaching back into the realm of the old and/or obscure. And thus, I bring you Floyd Collins. Floyd Collins, based on the true story of a Kentucky caver who became trapped in a sand cave for weeks and was turned into a media sensation, is one of those "how the hell could that possibly work as a musical?" musicals. But composer/lyricist Adam Guettel and librettist Tina Landau found a way. In fact, they created one of the single greatest contemporary musicals of the past 20 years.

Album Review: GIANT



 

 

 

I've heard it said that Michael John LaChiusa is one of those composers you either love or hate. I have to disagree, simply because I confess that while I don't hate LaChiusa's work, I'm not enamoured with it either... I fall on this weird middle ground. Having heard Little Fish, Bernarda Alba, and See What I Wanna See, the main feeling I've emerged with is appreciation. They've never moved me, nor had me reaching for the replay button, but I simply couldn't deny their general excellence.

 

 

LaChiusa's work is not for the faint of heart. If you're a fan of composers like Andrew Lloyd Webber, you're probably not going to like LaChiusa's work. It's rich, complex, smart music to be sure, but often arrhythmic and written in unconventional structure. Hardly a verse-chorus type song in sight and many tunes aren't what you'd call catchy (though they are very memorable). His latest musical Giant, based on the Edna Ferber novel, follows Bick and Leslie, a newly married couple and one in which Bick must decide between his love for Leslie and his love for his 'country' of Texas. It's difficult to summarize the story as it is, true to the title, quite giant. Luckily, not only is this score excellent, but I do believe LaChiusa has found the hit he's been working ever so hard for.

Album Review: DOGFIGHT

I can't think of a better way to kick off this blog than by reviewing Dogfight, the new cast album featuring the original Second Stage cast. Dogfight, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and book by Peter Duchan, is the new chamber musical based on the 1991 film of the same name starring River Phoenix and Lilli Taylor... and knowing what the film is about makes you wonder how the hell it could possibly work as a musical.

It's 1963, the day before The Kennedy Assassination and the day before a bunch of Marines get shipped off. A particular group of Marines, featuring 'The Three Bees' (Birdlace, Bernstein, and Boland), decide to let loose for their final night in the country by hosting an unspeakably cruel contest called the "dogfight", in which each Marine bets on who can find the ugliest possible woman to bring to a party as their date... and the guy with the ugliest date wins the pot. The thing is, none of these girls know what the true nature of the party is, and hopefully never will. Eddie Birdlace, one of the Three Bees, finds Rose Fenny working in a diner in town. Rose, a sensitive and awkward introvert, falls for Birdlace's charm and she eventually gets coaxed into attending the party. But when Rose finds out what's really going on and leaves the party heartbroken and humiliated, Birdlace soon chases her down and an unlikely love story evolves.