Road show cast album — Page 5

Are they gonna take the Bounce cast recording out of circulation?

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Good to know. Thanks!

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I like the sampler. I'm not understanding what's taking so long to release the actual album.

Me too. I am impatient.

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thanks!

It really has been. Thank god for the sampler.

There are a lot of differences. One completely brand new song. There is material from Wise Guys that wasn't in Bounce. And as you said many new lyrics. I'm pretty sure only 2 songs remain untouched from BOUNCE, and those are "Talent" and "Isn't He Something!"

Updated On: 6/10/09 at 10:28 PM

Am I alone in being completely uninterested but knowing I will dutifully add it to my collection because it's Sondheim's last (I should say "most recent") work?

WISE GUYS was the best this material ever was and everything else has just seemed to turn WISE GUYS into a "Sondheim" show which has made it into some hodgepodge of elements reminiscent of MERILLY, INTO THE WOODS and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE but generally coming off as dull and stale and boring (and uninvolving) and losing the essence of what made it appealing (or at least palatable as entertainment) in the first place.

Yes, it's Sondheim so it's automatically the top tier of writing, as expected, but there's just not enough THERE there for me, at least.

I hope I like the rewrites as they come across on the recording. I certainly did NOT like BOUNCE, but this is even worse (to me).

Btw, THE FROGS had more new material (by FAR) than ROAD SHOW has to BOUNCE, score-wise.

There was more unreleased "new" material on THE STORY SO FAR... boxset than here, also released this year, so its not as though there has been a dearth of Sondheim.

I really hope "Brotherly Love" isn't the last "new" song Sondheim writes for a show, considering the first song of his to be performed on Broadway was "Something's Coming", or "Comedy Tonight" if we wanna talk music & lyrics (tho we all know the rumors about "Something's Coming" and its authorship, which he even aludes to in the Secrest book).

Then again, ROAD SHOW never even made it to broadway in its "finalized" form and whether that is an indictment of Broadway or (this) Sondheim (show) I'm not sure, but I really hope he gets his next show on Broadway in less time than it took between PASSION and this (15 years...).

P

Updated On: 6/10/09 at 10:57 PM

Thanks!

Is there anyway to select the 'full tracks' or is it just luck whether it is playing at a certain time?

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Two of these tracks are identical to the same numbers on BOUNCE (Isn't he Something & Talent) right down to the dialogue in the middle of each. This is just an observation, not a criticism.

Having seen both BOUNCE and ROAD SHOW, I am a little surprised at all the negativity towards both. Whatever problems there were with these productions had to do with the book(s) and direction. Neither of which has much to do with the CD's which preserve the best parts of both: The Songs.

I do wish I had gotten in to see WISE GUYS. PGenre apparently saw it and feels it was the best of the three. (PGenre: Did you see BOUNCE? Or ROAD SHOW?)

BOUNCE had an overlong and unfocused first act which lost a lot of people. I am shocked at how many people claim -rather proudly too - to have left at intermission. They missed a much tighter and more satisfying second act. Any show that contains such brilliantly written AND staged sequences such as Addison's Trip Around teh World, The New York Sequence and Boca Raton should not be written off.

ROAD SHOW was ultimately a much more satisfying show, with "It's In Your hands" a decided improvement over "Opportunity", and several other changes all for the immensely better. On balance some of the material was weakened by change. I didn't think the new Boca Raton was as effective as the first. Still a flawed piece, but far more interesting and rewarding than much of what makes it to Broadway these days.

So I wonder what is it that people hate about this show? When answering tell me if you saw it and which version you saw, or if you only know it from reputation.

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