Applause cast recording?

[Norma D]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:09am

I just was reading about Betty Comden and got interested in the musical Applause. I can't check it out at my local library and I'm not sure I want to buy it off Amazon until I know more about it. Does anyone have any thoughts on it--did you like it etc? I'd appreicate your info--
Thanks

[jv92]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:25am

Charles Strouse and Lee Adams wrote a very good score for Applause. Lots of great songs, the best being "Welcome to the Theatre", a stunning piece written for Margo Channing. Lauren Bacall and Len Cariou are great. The featured performers are also terriffic. I think it's worth buying.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:37am

I was never impressed by the APPLAUSE Cast Recording, and was even less so after finally seeing the source film, ALL ABOUT EVE. I love Bacall and Cariou's performances, but find the material sub par.

I am also a big fan of Charles Strouse, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. I just don't think APPLAUSE is a strong work. If you are a Tony Award completist, you'll need to get it; if not, there are other shows out there that are more worthy of your hard-earned money.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:43am

We did this show in my senior year in high school and it was a lot of fun. There wasn't much for the ensemble to do, but our three big songs (But Alive, Applause, She's No Longer A Gypsy) were the highlights of the show. Lauren Bacall really can't sing, but apparently she was great in the role for those who saw her live. She did win the Tony that year against Katherine Hepburn and Dylis Watling. While it might not be Strouse's best score, the cast recording is definitely worth purchasing.

[Norma D]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:05pm

I really love All About Eve which is another reason this interests me. How much does Lauren actually sing? I wouldn't expect her to be very good--she has a distinctive voice but not exactly a pretty voice.

[sally1112]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:12pm

I was dissappointed when I bought it.
I have been down loading cds to my ipod, and I started with the A's. I just added Applause the other day and gave it another listen. I'm glad to have it in my collection, but it is not great.
Updated On: 12/29/06 at 12:12 PM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:23pm

I love it. The Tony performance was fantastic!

[FrontRowCenter2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:39pm

I agree - definitely worth the purchase if only for the Overture, Welcome to the Theater and the title song Applause.

[glimpseofstocking]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:45pm

I think it's a fantastic cast recording. No, it isn't the greatest musical out there, but it's fun and has some wonderful songs. I strongly reccomend it, especially if you like "All About Eve"

[WestVillage]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:52pm

I saw Applause, several times, with Lauren Bacall and later with Anne Baxter (who played Eve in All About Eve). Lots of fun, with lots of great numbers reflective of its era (the 70s). It probably would sound "corny" to today's generation, but its a great representation of musicals of that era, which were contemporary in their time. Chorus number (Applause, She's No Longer a Gypsy and But Alive) are lively, Bacall mainly croaks thru her numbers, but gets them across nonetheless. And for a long time, her big solo, Welcome to the Theatre, was practically an anthem of Broadway. The overture (remember those???) is exciting too. I would definately recommend buying the CD if you are interested in Broadway shows of the past.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:55pm

The film All About Eve is probably among the top 5 best pieces of American cinema featuring what I consider the best performance by an American actress on film. Having said that, I find the score for Applause far inferior to its source and far inferior to Strouse's other scores.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 1:35pm

I love Bette Davis.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 1:40pm

Every single thing written in all of the posts above is true. This is a mediocre score, but Applause is one hell of a star vehicle for stars of a certain age who can't really sing.

A few firsts: Len Cariou, Bonnie Franklin and then LeRoy Reams playing one of the first characters in a Bway show who just was gay, not special, just gay. Also I think about the first gay bar portrayed in a musical.

There is one more thing. The CD is among the best re-engineering jobs done from analog to digital. The disc sounds wonderful.

Buy it.

"Welcome to the flop you thought would run for years."

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 2:17pm

"Welcome to a world of fears and cheers and tears."

[WalkOn]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 2:26pm

If you are a real showtune maven, you've got to have it. No, it is not great, but it is good, with ONE HALLOWEEN being my favorite in the score.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 3:13pm

"One Halloween" is the only song in the score that I actually enjoy listening to, it is sort of Eve's "Rose's Turn" and Penny Fuller does wonders with it.

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 7:37pm

I always wish One Halloween was longer.

[anyanka1933]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 7:49pm

Buy, rent or steal it! But get it.

Just kidding about stealing it.

It's one of my favorite cast albums. The overture, But Alive, Who's That Girl?, Welcome To The Theatre and One Halloween are my favorite tracks. "Who's That Girl" turns me into a dancing fool! (and I know Calvin will get the "dancing fool" reference.)

[Norma D]

Posted: 2/2/07 at 9:01pm

I finally got my hands on a copy. I really like it a lot! Alive is a fabulous song. I love the overture. I think there are several other good numbers as well. Too bad this has never been revived!

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/2/07 at 9:06pm

I'm a huge fan of this score, thought it could never begin to touch the movie.

[AJ1985]

Posted: 2/3/07 at 12:40am

Its not great, but passable. But the original record was made by a small record company (ABC Paramount) and sounds very tinny. If you saw the Applause song on the Best of Broadway DVD you should know that little show parodies are not on the cat recording. And it's really short too, like about 40 minutes.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 2/3/07 at 1:20am

I saw the show about two weeks after it opened in 1970. I really think "Applause" was a perfect statement of "Big Broadway" in the late 60's-early 70's: loud, brassy, star turn from and aging movie star and one rock-solid supporting cast.

The overture is so thrilling, with one of those huge, brassy openings using the melody from the theme song and the performances were top-notch (and so many names we now know and love: Len Cariou, Lee Roy Reams, Bonnie Franklin, Robert Mandan). And of course, Lauren Bacall who illicited gasps of "wow, it's really her singing" and BTW, she didn't croak her songs, they were tailored to her range, limited as it was and she sang, full-voiced and throughout the performance hit a few impressive notes.

For those of you who want to see her performance (with Larry Hagman in Cariou's role) there is an interesting movie-for-tv that was filmed in LONDON ENGLAND! It's very hard to find BUT I was able to secure every moment of it on a site that YOU know TO BE in existance. It's worth a look.

And I love the OCR, tinny or not. I put it on and it takes me back to the days of my youth... sorry, Man In Chair moment there.....

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/3/07 at 1:35am

Grar...i am dying for a listen, and naturally it is back home with the rest of my OCRs...stupid car...

[Piercemn]

Posted: 2/3/07 at 11:14am

I agree about the source material. All About Eve is one of the greatest movies of the American Cinema, and the Best Screenplay ever written. I do, however, think Applause is a decent musical. I saw it with Gretchen Wyler and Mary Kaye Henning (the youngest daughter on Petticoat Junction) at a stock tent theatre in Milwaukee and it was terrific.
The TV production is not bad either.

Last year a local theatre revived the show during Gay Pride and maintained the 1970s style of the show. It was really a delightful show and the Margo was marvelous. The Eve, however, was not.

The cast recording for Applause is worth getting if, for no other reason, than to have in a show music collection.

[mallardo]

Posted: 2/3/07 at 12:14pm

I never saw the original but I saw the Reprise production in LA a couple of years ago. Sheryl Lee Ralph starred and was terrific - it's a great leading lady part. But the show itself is mediocre at best, especially if you know the movie. The creative team did not do justice to that wonderful material.