Posted: 9/4/24 at 2:38pm
Like bryan32 who cherishes his Broadway CD collection, I've amassed over the years a large collection of vocal selections and vocal scores, and one of my favorite pastimes is sitting at my piano (alone or with friends who share my musical theater passion) and playing and singing through show after show. But while Hal Leonard or others used to come out with vocal selections for just about every musical that ran more than a week, it doesn't seem to be happening anymore. The most recent release I'm aware of was Some Like it Hot; nothing for Kimberly Akimbo, The Outsiders, Suffs, Shucked, The Notebook, Illinoise, Water for Elephants, or even Stereophonic. Although some individual songs have sheet music available for purchase online, they're often someone else's transcriptions, and usually three of those downloads run what an entire vocal selections book would cost.
Kimberly Akimbo particularly puzzles me, as (1) it's a Best Musical and Best Original Score winner; (2) it's now almost 3 years since its off-Broadway run and almost 2 years since it opened on Broadway; (3) Jeanine Tesori released vocal selections for Millie, Violet, Caroline, Shrek, and Fun Home; and (4) according to Theatre Circle when I visited recently, it's their single most requested item. Does anyone else miss these books? Are they just another casualty of the digital age?
Updated On: 9/4/24 at 02:38 PM
