Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
ohjustjake
Leading Actor Joined: 4/18/06
#1Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 1:46pm
Lately, I've been going through iTunes discovering off broadway/lesser known musical recordings that I never knew about. I recently purchased "The Glorious Ones" and "Ordinary Days", both which I really enjoyed. I also bought "The Rink", which while older, was still unknown to me. I'm looking for even more musicals to discover, and know that there are many people here who could recommend some to me. What are some lesser known musicals or off broadway musicals that have recordings?
Updated On: 10/26/10 at 01:46 PM
Leading Actor Joined: 12/31/69
WOSQ
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/03
#2Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 2:31pm
With this crowd there are no lesser known cast recordings.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
#3Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 2:55pmYes, it would be helpful if you could give hints about recordings/shows that you DO know. "Lesser known" is such a relative term.
#4Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 2:56pmSherry! based on the play, 'The Man Who Came To Dinner.'
<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.
-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
There's a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world full of dreams. Sometimes we're not too certain what's false and what's real. But we're seldom in doubt about what we feel.
~Curtains~
It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known.
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
#5Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 3:08pm
Man of No Importance, Musical Chairs, Personnels, Olympus on my Mind, Forbidden Broadway series, Closer Than Ever, Starting Here Starting Now, Baby, Doonsbury, I Love My Wife, Seesaw, Pump Boys and Dinettes, One Mo time, Three, Scrambled Feet, Upstairs at O'Neils, On the 20th Century, The Magic Show, King of Hearts, Robber Bridegroom, Raisin, Leader of the Pack, Big, Ellegies, Anyone Can Whistle, LoveMusik, A Catered Affair, Shockheaded Peter, Bombay Dreams, Naked Boys Singing, Amour, A Class Act, Sweet Smell of Success, Jane Eyre, Sideshow, Blood Brothers, Falsettos, Starmites, Nunsense are a few that have cast albums.
Updated On: 10/26/10 at 03:08 PM
#6Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 3:54pm
Some interesting older (pre-1990) scores that I feel are well worth investigating. Most of these are in print, or fairly easy to find...
Irving Berlin: MISS LIBERTY & MR. PRESIDENT
Noel Coward: SAIL AWAY & GIRL WHO CAME TO SUPPER
Sammy Fain & EY Harburg: FLAHOOLEY
Cole Porter: OUT OF THIS WORLD and SILK STOCKINGS
Rodgers & Hammerstein: ALLEGRO & PIPE DREAM
Arthur Schwartz: A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN & THE GAY LIFE
Lerner & Loewe: PAINT YOUR WAGON
Harold Arlen: ST LOUIS WOMAN & HOUSE OF FLOWERS
Dubey & Karr: HAPPY HUNTING
Bob Merrill: TAKE ME ALONG & HENRY SWEET HENRY
Hugh Martin: BEST FOOT FORWARD & HIGH SPIRITS
Bock & Harnick: FIORELLO & THE APPLE TREE
Kander & Ebb: WOMAN OF THE YEAR & STEEL PIER
Jerry Herman: DEAR WORLD & MACK AND MABEL
Jule Styne: SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING & DO RE MI
Shire & Maltby: BABY & CLOSER THAN EVER (revue)
Sherman Bros: OVER HERE
Krieger & Lorick: THE TAP DANCE KID
Stephen Schwarts: THE BAKER'S WIFE
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#7Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 4:16pm
Anything written by Harold Arlen (House of Flowers), Jerome Kern (Sitting Pretty), Larry Grossman (Grind), Galt MacDermot (The Human Comedy), Stephen Schwartz (The Baker's Wife), Arthur Schwartz (The Gay Life), Burton Lane (Carmelina), Jule Styne (Um, you need everything here), Cole Porter (Out of this World), Wright & Forrest (Kean), and Sammy Fain (Flahooley!).
Find the composers you love and follow their work and see how they connect with other composers you will love. Seems like you're going down a path with Kander & Ebb. Bock & Harnick are vital as well, and She Loves Me is amazing.
But, I'd also recommend, for a laugh, the cast recording of the notorious bomb Legs Diamond. It's out of print but is available surprisingly cheaply. Linkage below.
Mega-cheap used copies of Legs Diamond on RCA Victor
With Irma you gotta do something!
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#9Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/26/10 at 4:25pmKWAMINA. The cast recording is a real treat. I showed my CD of it to Sally Ann Howes when she was in Milwaukee with the recent tour of MY FAIR LADY. She seemed surprised to see it; most of her fans brought the soundtrack of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG! KWAMINA is full of glorius music, and it's a nice mixture of Broadway ballads and African rhythms. Look for it on eBay; it's easy to find!
chewy5000
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/09
#11Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 9:48am
Track down "The Nervous Set" from 1959 by Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf. Someone else I cannot think of is also credited with authorship. The cast included a very young Larry Hagman. Anyway, it has a fun, late 50s, beatnik Village score and tucked inside is "The Ballad Of Sad Young Men". one of the most exquisite songs ever written for the theatre.
ohjustjake
Leading Actor Joined: 4/18/06
#12Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 3:06pm
Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions! I'm looking into all of them now, they all sound so interesting.
How about some cast recordings that are more recent? Maybe some shows within the last 15 years that sort of went unnoticed to the mainstream crowd? I guess an example of this would be shows like "The Glorious Ones" or "Dessa Rose", which were unfamiliar to me but I found through iTunes. I'm really intrigued with the music from "Anna Karenina".
another sloe eyed vamp
Stand-by Joined: 8/18/04
#13Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 3:49pmViolet, by Jeanine Tesori, but it's not on iTunes. You can get the CD from Amazon, though, and it's well worth it.
philly03
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/07
#14Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 3:59pm
"Jane Eyre" - Paul Gordon & John Caird's version starring Marla Schaffel & James Barbour. Very good score, very enjoyable, and a good story. Nominated for a few Tony's back in 2001, was endorsed by Alanis Morissette, and many felt Marla was robbed when Christine Ebersole I believe won. James Barbour's got a voice to die for!
"Tale of Two Cities" - Also starring Barbour. The show got a lot of hack on here, but it's a very moving piece and pretty good. Don't know if it's on iTunes yet.
"Anna Karenina" - As a fan of Melissa Errico, I got it, but it's just OK. There's some nice songs in there, but none that make me say you should buy it. Errico & Kerry Butler have a nice duet, and Errico has some great parts. Ironically, Errico starred in the original production in Butler's role on the recording. The lyrics can be bad, some of melodies unmemorable as well. I've never read the novel, and after listening to the recording have no idea what it's about either!
lotiloti
Broadway Star Joined: 1/23/06
#15Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:55pm
'Moby Dick' London cast recording.
Ballroom
Updated On: 10/27/10 at 05:55 PM
dex
Swing Joined: 10/25/10
bk
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/03
#17Lesser Known Musical Cast Recordings
Posted: 10/27/10 at 8:59pmOh, c'mon, you want LESSER known, let's talk Bed and Sofa. You people.
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