I hope the reports are true!!!!
http://www.playbill.com/article/broadways-on-your-feet-recording-live-cast-album
I love live recordings (for the right show), so I seriously hope this is true.
I don't know if I've ever seen so many maybes/ifs in a PBOL story before. Not that I've really been reading it all that much lately, but...
Seems pretty true:
https://www.facebook.com/eliseo.roman.5/posts/10157279777633125
I find this surprising since recording shows live has mostly been a trend for British musicals lately.
This seems to be a more popular trend for West End shows and I like that we're getting a live Broadway cast album. I tend to favor the ones that are edited to sound like one continuous performance though and not the ones like the Legally Blonde London cast album where every track just has applause that fades out to silence.
I will say that Cameron Mackintosh has had the most success with the live cast albums in my opinion. The live Oliver cast album is a favorite as well as the 2010 Les Miserables cast album. The new Miss Saigon album is also a technical marvel in terms of sound quality but I'm not a fan of the changes they made to the show. You wouldn't even know The Woman in White was recorded live if you didn't read the booklet since they edited out the applause and similarly I didn't realize the Bend it Like Beckham cast album was recorded live until a few tracks in when you can hear audience reactions as the applause is kept minimal.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
I know someone who works on the show, so unless he is lying, I believe it's true.
When was the last time a Broadway show recorded a live cast album? I wouldn't count Brooklyn since that was recorded live in studio. Is there a recent example?
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Broadway Star Joined: 11/10/15
CATSNYrevival said: "When was the last time a Broadway show recorded a live cast album? I wouldn't count Brooklyn since that was recorded live in studio. Is there a recent example?"
and Passing Strange
"I wouldn't count Brooklyn since that was recorded live in studio. "
What 'recorded live in studio' mean? Aren't all singers in a studio recording singing live in the studio as they are being recorded? Or is it a specific phrase with its own unique meaning?
It was recorded with a live audience in a studio rather than live in the theater, is what they meant.
Ah, thank you for the clarification. So i guess being in a studio rather than a theater gives more control over the sound. Is an audience then brought in just to add to the excitement by having clapping and cheering?
It's also cheaper since you don't need to rent the recording studio, isn't it?
I'd assume that the Equity rules covering payment to the cast (2 weeks pay?) for recordings would still be applied, even if there's not a separate recording session. (Especially considering that the payments are to compensate for lack of ongoing royalties, if I understand correctly)
Updated On: 3/2/16 at 05:50 PMBroadway Star Joined: 11/10/15
LizzieCurry said: "It's also cheaper since you don't need to rent the recording studio, isn't it?"
hi. every project is different so no way of knowing without access to the specifics but it's actually more expensive in many cases to record in a space or venue not already outfitted for recording. between the amount of equipment that has to be brought and the extra labor it takes to set it up, it wouldnt be out of realm of possibility that it is more expensive.
Broadway Star Joined: 11/10/15
MarkBearSF said: "I'd assume that the Equity rules covering payment to the cast (2 weeks pay?) for recordings would still be applied, even if there's not a separate recording session. (Especially considering that the payments are to compensate for lack of ongoing royalties, if I understand correctly)"
correct. they still get the Equity mandated pay for the recording. or last i checked they did. unless they changed it in the last round of negotiations but dont think so
It's intermission now and from an audience perspective there is nothing visually different tonight, not that I would have expected to see big machinery around.
I must say, Ana Villafane does sound a little under the weather today (nasally) and some of the higher notes seem difficult to reach for her. Very unfortunate timing ![]()
Will update after Act 2.
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UPDATE: overall the show was great tonight (3rd time seeing it), Villafane did sound a little nasal overall but ACT 2's songs did not suffer, so overall I don't think anyone else would have noticed. I thought Josh Segarra sounded the best I've heard him tonight. The only musical flub (other than a mic pop in Act I) was a weird out-of-sync pre-recorded audience sing a long right before the third act/bows, it was supposed to be a back and forth 'Oooeeooaa' after Anna prompts the audience but the prerecord track did not play at first and then played on top of Anna's second time saying the phrase, she covered it well by making a funny face and brushing it off but again, no one would have noticed if they weren't paying as close as attention.
In the final recording, I hope they fix the levels of Andrea Burns's "Mi Tierra" as she gets drowned by the chorus and the band every time. :/
Updated On: 3/2/16 at 09:32 PM
They're recording multiple performances and editing it together right?
Oof, I hope she was less exhausted during act 1 of the matinee.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/2/14
its a weeks salary for every day spent working on the recording, thats why Hamilton getting a full week to do their recording was such a big deal
Broadway Star Joined: 8/5/14
Well in Hamilton's case, they only spent a day on each person from what I have heard (so they never paid more than the week's salary). There is no rule that all performers have to be in the studio the same day. And I believe the orchestra was only there one day as well, so really their only extra expense was a recording studio for a week instead of a day, which they claimed was fairly minimal in a recent article (I can try to find it).
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