What favourite or notable shows went by without getting recorded?
Not a fav really, but a notable one was the OBC of Carrie.
Lestat!
1988's "The Phantom of The Opera" and 1991's "Miss Saigon" did not get a cast recording as both shows retained the principals when they both came from London, and the cast recording was done with the London cast.
1994 "Sunset Blvd" did not get a cast recording from Broadway as one was done the year earlier from the LA company. Neither did the 2017 revival.
2004 revival of "La Cage" didn't get a cast recording. The list goes on and on...
Mamma Mia!
The 2006 and 2014 revivals of Les Miserables
The most recent Dames at Sea revival
King Kong
Broadway Star Joined: 1/29/16
Smile is a big one for me, luckily there's an audio, but no proper cast album. Having music by Marvin Hamlisch, it's the only show Howard Ashman did without Alan Menken.
With God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater now having a recording, I'd love to have the complete Ashman trilogy of stage musicals recorded.
Broadway Star Joined: 1/29/16
Double
Updated On: 3/1/21 at 03:58 PMBroadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
The original Broadway cast of MAMMA MIA!
The Broadway production of Sister Act.
Understudy Joined: 3/19/06
DRACULA: THE MUSICAL - instead, we got a studio recording with completely different orchestrations than the Broadway production.
I truly wish we'd gotten a cast recording (and a film!) for the 2017 revival of SUNSET BOULEVARD, mainly to capture Andrew Lloyd Webber's new orchestrations.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/10/08
American Psycho I may be in the minority, but I loved that show.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
ArtMan said: "American Psycho I may be in the minority, but I loved that show."
Me too.
Broadway cast of Billy Elliot.
theatreguy12 said: "ArtMan said: "American Psycho I may be in the minority, but I loved that show."
Me too."
I will third the appreciation for American Psycho.
“James Joyce’s The Dead”. Gorgeous production, lovely score. And what a cast — Christopher Walken, Alice Ripley, Sally Ann Howes, Daisy Eagan, Stephen Spinella, Marni Nixon (!) and others really brought it. And Blair Brown was riveting and heartbreaking. What I wouldn’t do to hear them all again!
BrodyFosse123 said: "The original Broadway cast of MAMMA MIA!"
always thought that was weird as well... god knows I would have bought it! along with having 2 options for a CD when it toured... it seemed like a no brainer... anyone know if there is a story there?
theatreguy12 said: "Shuffle Along"
This will forever be a crime and Scott rudin should face the consequences for it...
Probably too early to call, but the 2019 revival of West Side Story didn’t get one and probably won’t.
Neither of the Broadway production of Miss Saigon never received a cast recording.
Mary Poppins on Broadway was never recorded and technically the Spongebob recording is of the Chicago production and not the Broadway cast.
A lot of people in this thread are naming revivals, and productions that transferred from the West End. It's not so unusual or surprising when there's no cast recording in those circumstances. I do agree that it's a shame when the score changes a lot, and doesn't get re-recorded - particularly with something like American Psycho. But for things like Miss Saigon, Les Mis, West Side Story, Mamma Mia, etc. I feel like it's kind of "whatever" when they don't get re-recorded.
It's certainly more rare, and more egregious, when an original Broadway production doesn't get recorded. Especially when it's an original score, and not a jukebox musical.
Personally, I think I've only seen 3 new Broadway musicals (not revivals) that didn't get cast recordings: King Kong, Shuffle Along, and Soul Doctor. And for me, none of those are major tragedies - believe it or not, Soul Doctor is the one I would've listened to the most. Say what you will about that show, the music and arrangements were quite beautiful.
The biggest disappointments for me are the Off-Broadway and out-of-town musicals that still haven't gotten recorded. Invisible Thread, Brooklynite, The Lucky Ones, Secret Life of Bees, Unknown Soldier, Moby Dick, Tales of the City, and so on. Some of those may still happen, but who knows what the next few years will bring.
Not Broadway but I would have loved a cast album of A Bed and A Chair. I can't believe PS Classics didn't record it.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
Call_me_jorge said: "theatreguy12 said: "Shuffle Along"
This will forever be a crime and Scott rudin should face the consequences for it...
Probably too early to call, but the 2019 revival of West Side Story didn’t get one and probably won’t.
Neither of the Broadway production of Miss Saigon never received a cast recording.
Mary Poppins on Broadway was never recorded andtechnically the Spongebob recording is of the Chicago production and not the Broadway cast."
I agree. While Shuffle Along may not have been everyone’s cup of tea because of its book, second act, whatever, it deserved to be preserved.
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/15
copskid949 said: "theatreguy12 said: "ArtMan said: "American Psycho I may be in the minority, but I loved that show."
Me too."
I will third the appreciation for American Psycho."
I remember when the show opened it got largely mixed, at best, reviews. And I know “at best” is being generous.
I also remember though those on the board here largely liking it. Myself included. I’m glad we at least have the London recording, even though it was a little different. I found it an extremely provocative musical.
And having the window card displayed along with numerous other Broadway show cards here in my home, it is always the one that pulls the focus and becomes the topic of discussion with friends wanting to know what it was like. A definite conversation piece.
Dance of the Vampires: I really don't know if it's a blessing or a curse this didn't get a recording. One one hand, the music on it's own is pretty good. You can find some of the English demos and there are a few jams. But on the other hand... Michael Crawford *shutters*
Three Penny Opera (2006 Revival): With all the names in that production even though it only ran for jut over 100 performances, I'm a bit shocked we didn't see a recording. I mean Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper, Ana Gasteyer, Jim Dale. A new translation by Wallace Shawn. It was a flop but it had names for days.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the biggest crimes imho. The live recording is thrilling, but what I wouldn't give for a proper double-disc album of that cast, and really all of those numbers, including the ones that were cut out of the Cantata version ("Rehearse" in particular). It was such a bold, energetic set of songs.
theatreguy12 said: "
I remember when the show opened it got largely mixed, at best, reviews. And I know “at best” is being generous.
I also remember though those on the board here largely liking it. Myself included. I’m glad we at least have the London recording,even though itwas a little different. I found it an extremely provocative musical.
And having the window card displayed along with numerous other Broadway show cards here in my home, it is always the one that pulls the focus and becomes the topic of discussionwith friends wanting to know what it was like. A definite conversation piece."
IMHO, American Psycho was just a few years ahead of its time.
Add me to the chorus of American Psycho. The Broadway cast sang that score 20x better than what is preserved. Ben Walker crushed that score. It's still amazes me that he did not receive a Tony nod for his Bateman. He was fully committed on every level and firing on all cylinders. I saw the show four times including closing night. It was stunning.
I know this will be a controversial ask, but I would have loved The Roundabout production of Pal Joey to be preserved. I thought the cast was exceptional, including Risch, who so many maligned. I thought Stockard's song styling was emotional and effective. Martha Plimpton was a revelation. I saw that show 3 times.
Videos