MRS. DOUBTFIRE Original Broadway Cast Recording Thread- Page 2

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 11:07pm

DiscoCrows said: "CATSNYrevival said: "Was there an Overture? I’m not a fan of the way the album abruptly begins with dialogue."

Agree. Which is weird because I definitely remember an overture?"

I vaguely remember seeing something about a new overture being implemented before the re-opening in April, but before that, the show opened with the orchestra playing Largo al Factotum, the aria from The Barber of Seville that opened the movie. In the pre-pandemic iteration, this led into Rob singing a parody of the aria about pizza rolls for a commercial and getting fired. Post-shutdown (at least as of the first preview, the last time I saw the show), the curtain came up to Natalie listening to the song in her headphones (with audio from the film of Robin Williams singing the first few lines). Then the whole family gathers in the living room to take a family picture and Daniel breaks the photographer's camera (What's Wrong With This Picture?).

Updated On: 6/24/22 at 11:07 PM

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 11:24pm

Finally got to listen to this today. I strongly agree that the choices of what to keep vs cut are bizarre. I thought that About Time (the loop song) was one of the most creative things in that show and a great showcase for Rob's talent and it's a shame it wasn't preserved. I also appreciated the effort to give context by including dialogue (something I generally wish more albums would do) but I thought it was overdone and the material they chose to include really help to give a clear picture of the plot, especially in the opening where it just brought the pacing way down.

Some other random thoughts

• I also didn't realize they had rewritten the melody of the Let Go chorus during the second preview period; the song had already changed quite a bit in terms of its staging and some of the lyrics during the shutdown. I prefer the old one but maybe I'm just used to it more. Jenn Gambatese performed the original version here: https://youtu.be/hZ4CEtR-Jgo?t=2353
• In What The Hell, they wrote a lower harmony line in the "this whole thing sucks more than a little" section for Jake Ryan Flynn post-shutdown (I heard it live and it was done at press performances too). I'm not sure why they had him sing everything as originally written for the album, since it's probably much harder for him to sing now.
• I saw the show twice and honestly do not remember She's Happy - I remember the scene after it with Wanda going into Playing With Fire (that was added during the shutdown) but I don't know if the song was added during the second preview period or if it was just that unmemorable.
• The mixing in Playing With Fire seemed off to me. Charity sounds great but her voice seems a little low in the mix compared to the rest of the album.
• The vocals in What The Hell seem off to me too - a little tinny, almost?