Does it ever happen: an OBC recording available during previews?

[bwaybri2]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 9:50pm

Thinking of Addams Family and wondering if Decca would ever produce this before it opens.

Do labels ever record a 'sure thing'?

just wondering -
Updated On: 11/18/09 at 09:50 PM

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 9:59pm

13 did it. It was far from a sure shot though.

I doubt Addams will be recorded in previews.

[bwaybri2]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:01pm

Agreed - 13 far from a sure thing -

at Tale they had a concept CD for sale -

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:07pm

The concept CD had quite a different cast on it & recorded like a year before the show opened.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:09pm

La Bohème recorded its OBC during the SF pre-Broadway production. I believe CDs were available during previews.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:52am

Hairspray was recorded after the out of town tryout, hence why there is song differences on the recording.

[binau]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:52am

Didn't next to normal record early? Not sure if it was actually available during previews, though.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 1:37am

What are the song differences in Hairspray...?

[AvenueQResident]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:25am

At the end of 'You Can't Stop The Beat', they include 'Blood On The Pavement', some sort of drink-driving campaign commercial.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:30am

N2N recorded right after they closed in DC. I think it was recorded before they even officially announced the NY opening...but I could be wrong.

I think SA was recorded early as well....but only because the order of songs is different than the production order. (No idea when it was available though.)

[philly03]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:31am

"The concept CD had quite a different cast on it & recorded like a year before the show opened."

Tale's waa from .. 6 years before the Broadway opening.

Not positive but I believe Jekyll & HYDE's Broadway album was recorded before it's opening. Some of the songs were slightly different / like they were in previews!

[B3TA07]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 3:42am

"At the end of 'You Can't Stop The Beat', they include 'Blood On The Pavement', some sort of drink-driving campaign commercial."

I always assumed that was a hidden track, or whatever it's called. When I saw the national tour, they sang it after the bows.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 4:43am

Not positive but I believe Jekyll & HYDE's Broadway album was recorded before it's opening. Some of the songs were slightly different / like they were in previews!

Is that why the OBC of Jekyll & Hyde is so ridiculously under tempo compared to the DVD or was the tempo change something that just happened gradually over the years?

Posted: 11/19/09 at 6:05am

Chorus Line Revival recorded during previews for whatever reason (technically the original Chorus Line recorded before its Broadway opening too but the Broadway opening was quite late).

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 7:48am

I believe both "Oliver" and "Lorelei" were recorded before opening on Broadway. "Lorelei" was reissued with new songs after it opened.

[trombonist]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 7:55am

dramamama is correct about next to normal. It was recorded before the Broadway run was announced. I think the pre-orders on sh-k-boom and from the theater (and thereby at the theater also) were out before Opening. The only "problem" that caused is that there were some changes made during previews that are not on the cast recording. They did get Jennifer's verse in "Just Another Day" changed, but the now-cut verse in "Maybe (Next to Normal)" is in there as is

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

The wrong age for Gabe when he died.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 8:36am

I was at the first preview for Beauty & the Beast back in the 90's and the Cast Album was available at the theatre (but not the stores). Spent some of my last money so I'd have it before anyone else back in Indiana. :)

[Jeremy Roberts]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 10:33am

Not positive but I believe Jekyll & HYDE's Broadway album was recorded before it's opening. Some of the songs were slightly different / like they were in previews!

Is that why the OBC of Jekyll & Hyde is so ridiculously under tempo compared to the DVD or was the tempo change something that just happened gradually over the years?

We started recording the OBC about 6 weeks after opening.

The tempos on the OBC are very close to what we opened the show with. There was significant tempo creep over the run. And compare the tempi of the OBC vs. what we did on Resurrection or even the bootlegs of the tour(s)... different performers, etc... and never forget that a recording is not the show. Unless it's a live recording - the OBC is the opinion of the creators on the day of the recording, out of context of the stage. What makes for a good listening experience is not always what's best for the stage, so using the OBC as a barometer of what the show was at any point in time is not entirely fair.

Jekyll dropped about 11 minutes from opening to closing. But that's not unusual for a long running show.

I doubt there are any statistics on this, but I would make a wager that if you pick any long running show (more than a few years) and compare running times from opening night to the closing, it will be shorter. Human nature, I guess. Any stage managers with stats to back this up?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 10:58am

Regarding the "Blood on the Pavement" track on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of HAIRSPRAY:

The song originally appeared in the first Corny Collins Show scene. It was a PSA commercial done by Link, Amber and Velma. I believe it was cut from the show by the time the cast recording was made and the creative team chose to include it anyways as a 'hidden track' (after "You Can't Stop the Beat").

You'll notice a few lyric changes in the "Miss Baltimore Crabs" song/number. The song on the recording showcases the lyrics heard out-of-town. New lyrics were implemented during Broadway previews.

Also, Disney's BEAUTY & THE BEAST began its Broadway previews with the Original Broadway Cast Recording already available in the Palace Theatre's lobby.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:06am

Spring Awakening's recording was definitely made before Broadway, but I don't know when it was actually released. Aside from the switching of the order of two songs at the top of act 2, there were also some lyric changes made, most notably to Song of Purple of Summer.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:06am

It sticks in the craw of my mind that both The Sound of Music and Camelot were recorded way before the official opening of either. As I recall, you could order them from a record store (remember them?). This accounts for OBR of Camelot having a number or two that didn't make it to the final cut, but they'd already been recorded so there was nothing they could do about it at that time.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 11:56am

What did they change Jennifer's verse to in Just Another Day?

[philly03]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:05pm

"Not positive but I believe Jekyll & HYDE's Broadway album was recorded before it's opening. Some of the songs were slightly different / like they were in previews!

Is that why the OBC of Jekyll & Hyde is so ridiculously under tempo compared to the DVD or was the tempo change something that just happened gradually over the years?"

On top of what Jeremy said (THANKS for responding once again!!), I also think the tempo for certain songs (ie: A New Life) was sped up perhaps because Coleen Sexton wasn't able to hold the notes for as long as Linda Eder. ..it is very hard to top Linda I'm sure. I know Luba Mason couldn't hold it as long either.... That's always been my opinion on that.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:14pm

Also, Jane Eyre was recorded before the show actually opened, wasn't it?

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 11/19/09 at 12:42pm

Wasn't the Evita cast recording done before the show opened on Broadway?