What is your favorite cast recording? — Page 3

Gypsy with Merman -- I would actually like to take elements of the different recordings and combine them into a "super-Gypsy," but this show is amazing. The overture is one of the best ever written. The entire book of songs is unforgettable. Whether or not you are a Merman fan, she has put such a stamp on one of the best written female lead roles in a musical, that it's impossible to imagine hearing the songs any other way. The lyrics are just a glimpse of what's to come from Stephen Sondheim.

City of Angels -- great mixture of jazz and broadway. Once again, amazing lyrics and performances from the entire cast. The sound of the entire piece (even if you didn't see the show) captures the film noir feel.

Kiss of the Spiderwoman -- I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this cast recording SO MUCH that I was initially disappointed when I actually saw the show. Most of my disappointment was due to the fact that the score was able to evoke such vivid images of what should be taking place on stage that the actual show didn't SEEM to live up to my mental images. However, on 2nd viewing, I realized how amazing the show was. I feel it's one of Kander and Ebb's best scores.

West Side Story -- Leonard Bernstein at his best (also with incredible lyrics by Stephen Sondheim). The "Tonight Quintet" is an amazing composition by itself, but the entire score lives up to what is put out there with that one number. Song after song in this score is unforgettable.

I could go on, but ultimately I love BROADWAY. Virtually every recording that's listed in this thread is something that I have enjoyed, but I feel these 4 really stand out as special to me.

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Concerning Funny Girl. I just can't believe that there was ever a time when Barbara was actually on stage in a broadway show. I'm sure a playbill from that time is probably worth a lot of money.

Favorite Cast Recording-My Fair Lady. 2nd choice-Company

I was a huge AIDA fan for a while i would listen to that everyday. it was my first theatre obsession lol.

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Brooklyn. It was the first cast recording I got in New York. It was right after the show...I sat in my seat and was just so amazed....then I RAN to the lady selling them.

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Rent, The Last Five Years, Avenue Q, Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza

Each of these recordings spent at least 6 months each in my CD player.

I can listen to Wicked when I'm in the mood for some mindless show tunes.

i would say FUNNY GIRL because it is the first record i remember hearing in my life....my mom would play it over & over again & she, my sister & i would act it all out...when our mom was sad, we knew that we could get her back on her feet again by singing "WHO TAUGHT HER EVERYTHING?" or a super hammy version of "I'M THE GREATEST STAR!".

i think it taught me about how powerful humor can be, & that, even though i would never be "pretty", i could still be somebody special.
i think the album cover design had a huge influence on me & my art as well.

i still get totally hyper excited when i hear the overture...& oh the atmospheric horns on "CORNET MAN"!!!

AIDA and Funny Girl are at the top of my list as well.

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RENT -- Every single person has a song that they can relate to. Plus, it's fun to sing along with Idina in my car. :)

Last 5 Years -- It's an amazing recording. It never gets old and I can listen to it and notice new things each time.

Altar Boyz -- This one is just fun. Everytime I listen to it I get a huge smile on my face. :)

Other notables -- Aida, DRS, TTB, Piazza, and Wicked. Ok. I'll admit it, I like pretty much all show tunes! :)

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Cabaret. Any recording. But my Wedding Singer and Reefer Madness CDs already have scratches on them. Those three are my favorites by far.

MY FAIR LADY - Original London Cast - because it's perfection, and it's the production I saw.

MAME - Original Broadway Cast - exciting and perfect renditions of each and every song. Also, it's the production I saw.

RGATIME - same as above.

There are too many favorites, really.

It's a mix of all-time favorite and currently played very often favorites, in order:

1.Into the Woods (OBC) My all-time favorite, need to have all the time. The PBS broadcast is the reason I became so interested in theater, and I couldn't love Bernadette Peters and Joanna Gleason more in this. My iPod currently has the OBC, OLC, 2002 Revival, and PBS DVD audio. In all honesty, this slot is really for the OBC and a few extra tracks pulled together from the other recordings

2.City of Angels (OBC) This is one of the two recordings that was in our family car growing up. Listened to it constantly, and was probably one of the few 7 year old boys out there able to sing Oolie's What You Don't Know About Woman and You Can Always Count On Me by heart...

3.The Secret Garden (OBC) The other cast recording in the car. Like this even more now. Great cast, beautiful music, funny accents. Love it.

4.Sunday in the Park With George (OBC) Have loved Bernadette's Witch since I was 6 or 7, but I didn't get ahold of the Sunday video until years later. Beautiful. First and second acts. Funny and touching.

5.Company (OBC) I don't understand how anyone couldn't love Elaine Stritch. Beth Howland's Getting Married Today and Pamela Myers' Another Hundred People get a lot of play.

6.The Last 5 Years - Maybe it's a college thing (everyone in my college's theater department loves it) but this gets played often. Sherie Rene Scott's songs get playedmore often on iPod playlists, but the entire recording is great and fun to sing along with.

7.Sweeney Todd - Great show, but I realize now I can't pick justone recording of it. Like Into the Woods, I need various tracks from the OBC, NY Philharmonic, Revival, and Concert DVD audio. And Harolyn Blackwell's Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sondheim: A Celebration At Carnegie Hall...

8.The Light in the Piazza - Listened to this pretty much constantly since the Live From Lincoln Center broadcast on Thursday. Gorgeous. Love Victoria Clark. Love Dividing Day and Fable...now if I can just get around to putting some Aaron Lazar from the PBS broadcast on the iPod...

9.A Chorus Line (OBC) Funny and touching (a theme with a lot of my favorite cast recordings) I adore At the Ballet. And I am not ashamed to admit that the iPod also has Let Me Dance For You and Surprise, Surprise added to that playlist...

10.Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More With Feeling (Soundtrack) Guilty pleasure? Perhaps. Reluctant to put this on this board? A little. Listen to this more often than a lot of other more "legit" cast recordings? Absolutely. Sure, it's not the best written or best sung, and it cannot really be appreciated by anyone who doesn't meet the previsou 100+ episodes of Buffy watched prereq. But for those of us who had been watching all along, this was just perfect. So fun, so easy to sing along to, so endearing. Just make sure you get a hold of Anya's song (I'll Be) Mrs. from the next season to add to the playlist. For completist's sake.

Updated On: 6/20/06 at 08:43 AM

Concerning Funny Girl. I just can't believe that there was ever a time when Barbara was actually on stage in a broadway show.

I saw her in FUNNY GIRL, and believe me, it really wasn't that unforgettable. Yes, when she opened her mouth to sing, you woke up, but otherwise, it was a fairly dull affair. Had I known she would become this (inexplicable to me) major star, I would have paid better attention.

Updated On: 6/20/06 at 10:58 AM