Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
broadwayangel
Understudy Joined: 7/29/04
#0Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:03pmDoes anyone know where to get this for under $40?(and not backordered) I have been looking for it everywhere! And why didn't Martin ever make it to bw? Did something happen there? I love this show dearly...I really wish it was on tour or something, I would kill to see it live.
Ev'ry so often we long to steal to the land of what might have been but that dos'nt soften the ache we feel when reality sets back in.
#1re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:07pm
Wow, it's funny you said that because I went to Future Legend on 9th Ave two weeks ago, and I found the Martin Guerre 1996 recording for $14.00. You should check to see if they have another. It's not my favorite music though.
http://www.glamsmash.com/ - Glamsmash Productions, a video production company in the heart of New York City
Updated On: 3/17/05 at 10:07 PM
lightmycandle36
Swing Joined: 3/16/05
#2re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/16/05 at 10:41pmYeah I agree. I bought it before I went to see it in 2000 in Los Angeles, and I didn't particularly like it. That was five years ago though, so I don't really know where to look for it. eBay? Haha
broadwayangel
Understudy Joined: 7/29/04
#3re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/16/05 at 11:09pmMan I really wish I lived in NYC to buy it...but I sadly live in Ohio.
Ev'ry so often we long to steal to the land of what might have been but that dos'nt soften the ache we feel when reality sets back in.
#4re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/16/05 at 11:21pm
I have both the 1996 and 1998 cast recordings. I prefer the 1996 one. If it's hard to find in your local record stores, you can always order it online.
There were a lot of reasons why MARTIN GUERRE never made it to Broadway. In a nutshell, there just wasn't the momentum for the show: it flopped in the West End, and the American out-of-town tryout didn't receive very good reviews. By the time the show was supposed to reach Broadway, it still hadn't found an available theatre, so Cameron Mackintosh decided to just close the show when it reached its last stop in LA.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#5re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:06amI saw Martin Guerre in L.A. a few years ago (the last stop Bluewizard is talking about) and though I'm not a tough critic when it comes to musicals, this one I didn't like. It wasn't the music. I have the 99 cast and enjoy it. But the key to the movie Martin Guerre was the mystery. Was Martin really Martin, or not? As I recall, the musical gives away the answer right away and spoils any suspense and therefore any real involvement in the show. Interesting, I save my playbills and the night I saw it Martin Guerre was played by the understudy--Hunter Foster! Of course this was before either he or Sutton became famous. He was very miscast, is what I recall. Short, round-faced, not at all the dynamic leading man the part required. I'm sure he's been great in Producers and Little Shop, parts he was right for, but not as Martin Guerre. Sorry, Hunter.
eatlasagna
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#6re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:41am
i saw Martin Guerre at the Ahmanson... it was OK... not horrible... what i heard from the ushers were that the show was doing very poorly... in fact when i was at the show... lots of people walked out at intermission... and not many people clapped at the end... but moving onto the show...
i actually have both recordings and I liked both... i loved the music... but it's the original london recording that i love... and haven't seen the show... but i felt the music was so much better as well as the lyrics... and the newer version was not that good to me... the orchestra was more smaller and not as grand sounding in the new production... by all means it wasn't bad but it was OK...
as for the show....
I liked that we knew that he wasn't Martin Guerre and it became more about a story about the lies that we tell and how far we go to keep them and the ramifications it can have on our lives and the lives of people around us... it was also a good story about religion and how that affects people... i mean you have some really great stuff... but it's the book that suffered because they didn't quite know how to make this musical truly work... the first act was slow and dragged for what seemed like HOURS... i've always felt that act II was just solid and more focused as most of the time was spent on the trial of "martin guerre"... i hope they really rework this show and bring it to broadway... but they need to really rework it
#7re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:49am
I don't think they will be retooling it. From what I've heard (and this is hearsay), Alain Boublil and Claude-Michael Schonberg are no longer on speaking terms.
Which is a pity -- the two of them wrote two of the most successful and well-loved musicals in West End/Broadway history. And somewhere in all the material and rewrites of MARTIN GUERRE is a good show. I hope they collaborate again, because I find their work sublime.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#8re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:49amAlways impressed by people who can REMEMBER shows better than I can. Perhaps my having seen the movie spoiled this different interpretation for me. It was as if they decided to do The Crying Game: The Musical and started with a scene of Dil getting undressed. It might be a different way of looking at the story, but it would probably bum out anyone who'd seen the movie.
amasis
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/7/04
#9re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:56am
I never saw it, but I have the '96 recording and enjoy it. It has some great material.
BlueWizard - I didn't hear that about Boublil & Schonberg. If that's true, it's very sad.
#10re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 1:33am
I have the 1996 OCR and I find the score is not a patch on the earlier scores by the team.
There is another musical of the same story that premiered in Toronto as a workshop production in 1992 and was given a full stage production by the Canstage company in 1997. THE HOUSE OF MARTIN GUERRE has a score by Leslie Arden and it is truly outstanding. Sadly no recording was made (although one song can be found on Charlotte Moore's CD of songs from Canadian musicals) but I saw the productiuon a couple of times and still vividly recall many of the songs. This musical was done in a few regional theatres in the U.S. but was never taken to Broadway. Has anyone else seen it?
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
#11re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 2:06am
I have the 1996 CD. I love it. I dunno. lol. I just do. 
leomaxfrank
Broadway Star Joined: 3/19/04
#12re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 2:16am
I have both recordings also. I remember first hearing the 96 recording directly after it was released in London - my uncle brought home the CD and I was quickly smitten by the story and the music. I heard about how poorly it was doing and that they were gonna tool with the show. 2 years later an apparently better show was in the making - but the reviews in the US led us all to believe otherwise. The newer MG garnered at least some positive reviews, but not nearly the push they were hoping for, thus giving Mr. Mackintosh no real reason to give the NY reviewers a field day.
I assume when you ask about the recordings, you wanna know about the songs themselves. I believe the songs are superior in the original: Louison, Someone, I Will Make You Proud, Bethlehem, etc. Many of the songs are the same musically but with different lyrics. In those cases, I usually prefer the lyrics the' first time. I do like Live With Somebody You Love as far as the 99 recording goes, but that's about it. Arnaud's voice in the '96 recording is also rather irritating, but I think his material is better.
If you can get a copy of the '96 one, I would say do it. If you like the '99 a lot, you will get your money's worth in the '96 - 40 bucks or not.
But I won't live alone in a house of regret.
Sant
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/12/04
#13re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 7:10amI saw the show in London in 1997 and I liked it. It was a re-worked version of it. The show wasn't a big hit when it opened in London and they ended up re-working it about 9 months or so after the opening night. The changes were not that big but the later version (uk-tour ) which the US-version was based on was significantly different: the part of Martin was much bigger, they focused on Martin and Arnaud's friendship more, the role of Benoit was almost totally cut, the villagers' attitude towards Bertrande was re-written, songs were cut and added etc.
Urban
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/05
#14re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 7:50amIf anything about the show, the song "Bethlehem" is the should've been Christmas Carol of the 90s.
leeinlondon
Leading Actor Joined: 5/22/03
#15re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 8:26am
I love the original recording.. in fact it is the cast album I play most on my Ipod.
The show went through so many major revisions in London, the first didn't flow very well, the second (when they introduced Working on the Land as the first big number) was much better, the third major rewrite got it completely right I thought. It became such a fantastic piece of theatre by turns thrilling, funny and sad and I loved the songs... It was supposed to be a mystery piece but a touching love story and it certainly worked for me !!
I didn't like the completely rewritten show that toured the UK and went to the USA... they lost the spectacular dancing, the beautiful Overture, the moving lyrics and the whole show didn't work quite as well in my opinion
#16re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 10:09amThere is also a CD available for Schoenberg's music for the ballet of Wuthering Heights. I recently read somewhere that Boublil and Schoenberg were indeed working on a new musical, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#17re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 10:47am
Something about a Pirate Queen . . .
Try here
#18re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:29pm
Thanks Eastwickian for advertising my Pirate Queen thread. :)
I also have both copies of MG. Love it. Not as good as Miz or Siagon but it is a hell of a lot better than a lot of other musicals that are more popular.
#19re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:32pm
Hey:) I don't want to sound dumb, but I have a Martin Guerre recording and have no idea which one it is. It's the one where Bertrand is played by the understudy...? I actually really love the recording, especially "I will make you proud."
"Look, its Martin Guerre
Look what they did
They've gotten rid
of what made you care..." - Forbidden Broadway.
I majorly love that parody, also.
There's always room for pathos - and jazz hands.
#20re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:33pmI really liked the original recording, then found I preferred the newer one. When I saw the show in L.A., and really realized exactly what kind of show they were doing (orchestrations, intimacy, etc.), I totally fell in love with it. It's a shame the American cast didn't get recorded. Stephen Buntrock and Hugh Panaro were fantastic.
#21re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:34pmHugh Panaro would be excellent singing a grocery list:)
There's always room for pathos - and jazz hands.
#22re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:36pm
The red & black cover is the 96 recording, the black cover is the 99 recording.
Ironically, the show (after its second or third West End rewrite, as Lee described) did win the Olivier Award for Best Musical that year.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#23re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 12:41pmOK, I have the 96 recording. Sweet, thanks!
There's always room for pathos - and jazz hands.
eatlasagna
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/04
#24re: Martin Guerre 96 cast recording
Posted: 3/17/05 at 2:48pm
yeah you do have the original... and Bertrande is played by Rebecca Locke... the alternate Bertrande... they thought she had a better voice then the original... forgot her name
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