Album Review: HAWKSLEY WORKMAN - SONGS FROM THE GOD THAT COMES

If you're in touch with the indie music scene in Canada, you're probably familiar with Hawksley Workman. He's an artist that's strangely hard to classify; a glance at his albums will show what an eclectic array of genres he's tackled. From glam rock, to heavy pop, to hip hop, to traditional folk, you'll be left almost wondering if a different person was behind each album.

Not so. And now, we can add musical theatre to that list with Songs from The God That Comes, an album that accompanies Workman's solo rock opera that is currently touring all over the place.

Album Review: 21 CHUMP STREET (ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING)

Have you heard of this musical? I know I hadn't... but with good reason.

Tony Award winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a short 'mini musical' for a radio podcast titled 'This American Life'. Based on a news article about a high school boy falling in love with a transfer student who turned out to be an undercover cop investigating the school for drugs, 21 Chump Street is shorter than a one-act show, with the score clocking in at under 15 minutes in length.

This EP of the show's score appeared on iTunes without warning. And it couldn't be a more welcomed surprise.

Album Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (BROADWAY CAST RECORDING)

Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig. It couldn't be better casting.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a hugely popular cult musical created by John Cameron Mitchell and composer Stephen Trask. The show, about a down-and-out transgendered rock star named Hedwig, is a blend of musical theatre and a rock concert. The results are powerful.

The original cast, however, is iconic. For most fans, John Cameron Mitchell is, and always will be, the definitive Hedwig. Given this, how does the immensely talented Neil Patrick Harris measure up?

Well, he's no John Cameron Mitchell. But, luckily for us, he's not trying to be.

Album Review: HEATHERS (WORLD PREMIERE CAST RECORDING)

Laurence O'Keefe is no stranger to musicalizing campy subject matter. He had a hit on Broadway with the guilty pleasure musical Legally Blonde and his musical Bat Boy is an Off-Broadway cult favourite.

Fitting, then, that he should have tackled Heathers, based on the 1988 movie of the same name. The movie has attained large cult status despite early box office failure, and it spawned a lot of similarly campy high school movies, primarily the immensely popular Mean Girls.

But how does it work as a musical?

With lyricist Kevin Murphy, O'Keefe has crafted a bouncy and fun pop-rock score that lends itself beautifully to the subject matter.

Album Review: IF/THEN (ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING)

What if you did this instead of that? If you could go back and do something differently, would you? Can the smallest things have a huge impact on the course of your life?

These questions are asked in If/Then, the new original musical by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, the same team that brought us the emotionally devastating Next to Normal. In fact, such questions are the obsession of Elizabeth, a woman who moves to New York after a messy divorce in order to start her life fresh. The 'what ifs' become her driving force in life, with every decision carefully considered.

For the audience, we are shown two parallel universes, where we see for ourselves just how Elizabeth's decisions affect her life. In one reality, she's called Liz... in another, Beth. And everything is significantly different.

Album Review: HERE LIES LOVE (ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING)

David Byrne? Fatboy Slim? Musical theatre? No way.

Yes, way.

Here Lies Love, the delicious musical with songs by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) and beats by Fatboy Slim, was released as a concept album years ago featuring big-name musicians. Just last year, it was picked up in an acclaimed production at The Public Theatre. Directed by Alex Timbers, the show was staged in a dance club of sorts, with the cast performing on moving elevated platforms while the audience gets to stand and dance for the entirety of the 90 minute show.

It's a good thing the audience gets to dance, because with what David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have created, I'd find it damn near impossible not to.

Album Review: ROCKY (ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING)

Skepticism. How else can you approach a musical based on such unlikely subject matter? Rocky, the famous 1976 movie starring Sylvester Stallone as the Italian Stallion himself, isn't exactly material that sings. However, it was intriguing to discover that the wonderfully talented Tony winning Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty would be composing the show's score. After their stunning work on shows such as Ragtime and Once On This Island, I await everything they produce with anticipation. As unusual it was for Rocky to be used as material for a musical, it felt like the fantastic creative team would be up to the ambitious challenge.

But all considered, does Rocky actually work as a musical?

Yes. And no. Read on.