Cast recording different from the show

A recent thread about My One and Only got me thinking about cast recordings that feature major changes or differences in songs, whole or in part, from the way the songs are performed in the theatre.

My One and Only has the most differences I can think of: "High Hat" was left off the recording, while a song cut in Boston, "Little Jazz Bird," was preserved. "S'wonderful" reverses the order of the vocal and the dance break, as to how it was performed in the show. I seem to recall that "Sweet and Low Down" was not performed the way it is on the recording. And all of the Ritz Quartet songs were left off.

The Sondheim shows have different discrepancies as well, such as "Bobby is my hobby and I'm giving it up" added to the end of "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" for Company, the addition of the Judge's Johanna, and the "Now signorini" section in The Contest for Sweeney Todd, lots of small additions in Into the Woods, particularly some added sections in "A Very Nice Prince" and "Any Moment" that are not in the show score. And "There Won't Be Trumpets" was recorded for Anyone Can Whistle, even though it was cut from the Broadway show.

The Producers has a longer Overture on record than it has in the theatre. Hairspray has some additional material in "Baltimore Crabs," and "Cooties," I think.

Can anyone think of other examples?

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In your above examples, it is most likely that the recording was done before the show opened and was set.

I know that the both the original Sweeney, Company and Anyone Can Whistle were recorded prior to the New York openings. "Johanna" was cut in previews as was "Trumpets".

Sometimes, though, they will make cuts/additions to a recording to make the narrative of the recording itself more clear, or particularly in the past, to be able to fit on one LP.

Like the Drowsey recording, and the use of the Man in the Chair.

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Updated On: 8/26/06 at 04:22 PM

Spelling Bee has an entire song that's not in the show. There are a bunch of different words they use in Pandemonium. There's also a "FOOT!" added onto the very end of Magic Foot.

Thought of some other examples:

Bye Bye Birdie's recorded Overture is actually the show's Entr'acte.

There's a third chair effect in the third "Johanna" in Sweeney Todd that didn't exist in the show.

The Overture on Prettybelle was written for the album, and the show on stage opened directly with the title song.

"It's Nicer in Nice" has a prominent spot in the Overture for the original Broadway cast recording of The Boy Friend, but the actual song was evidently not recorded.

The original Broadway cast recording of Gypsy has some transitions that were written for the album, particularly the opening for "Some People".

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The recorded overture from the OBC of BYE BYE BIRDIE is indeed the overture that is heard in the theatre--it is not the entr'acte. I was there back in 1961 and I remember. I was also in the cast of Birdie back in college.

As for the introduction of "Some People" in GYPSY, there are maybe two bars of music that take the place of dialogue on the OBC recording. I assume that you are speaking of the 1959 recording which is the only original broadway cast recording, and not the Tyne Daly recording or the Bernadette Peters recording. I checked this out in my complete piano-vocal score of GYPSY from 1959.

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In Billy Elliot's OLCR they have shortened some of the dancing bits or less important dialogue bits, e.g. in Solidarity, when Mrs. Wilkinson says 'Elbow, wrist, chin' and all that, it's squashed in, in the show it's much slower because she's actually trying to move and balance him and etc.

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I stand corrected re. the overture/entr'acte of BYE BYE BIRDIE.
I guess my memory isn't what it used to be. At any rate, BIRDIE
is a great and truly witty show. I DO remember that our college cast kept each other in stitches during our six weeks of rehearsals. I played the Paul Lynde role of Mr. McAfee which has wonderful lines, second only to those of Albert's mother.

Several years ago I saw the road company of BIRDIE at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia starring Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking and with the hilarious Marilyn Cooper as Albert 's mother. A new number was written for Tommy Tune called "Take a Giant Step" (of liberation from his mother) which showed off his dancing skills. The whole production was wonderful. What is
Tommy Tune doing now? Does anyone know? Broadway needs him.

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in the record of LaChiusa's Wild Party: lyrics have been tamed, songs have been cut.

what an injustice

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The OBCR of Beauty and the Beast cuts some of the dance break in Be Our Guest, and A Change In Me isn't on the recording.

On the recording of "The Life" the last two songs are reversed from the way they are in the show, mostly because "My Friend" is a FAR better ending to the album than "We Gotta Go" would be.

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On the Thoroughly Modern Millie recording, they put a shortened version of Not for the Life of Me.

The OBC of THE WIZ is missing "Who Do You Think You Are?" and the Wiz's version of "Believe in Yourself." There is a LOT of sung material absent from the OBC of DREAMGIRLS. The Gertrude Lawrence THE KING & I omits "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" (presumably because it was not composed by Rodgers.)

A funny reversal of this musical misfortune occurred on the original vinyl Soundtrack of ANNIE. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" was on the record but not listed on the jacket! They slapped stickers onto the shrinkwrap picturing Sandy saying Also Includes, then giving credit to Peter Marshall and the number, as though it were a sort of bonus track. I can't remember if Sandy also said Arf! I wish I'd thought to preserve my copy of this oddity.

For the record, the Wiz is actually missing the Overture as the show does not begin with "Ease on Down the Road", as well as the first and second reprise of "Ease on Down the Road", "Kalidah Battle", "Lion's Dream", "Emerald City Ballet", "Funky Monkeys", "Who Do You Think You Are?", the Wiz's "Believe in Yourself" and "A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind".