cast recordings.....I need some advice

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cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:10pm

Hey everyone! I am a huge fan of Broadway but relatively new to the scene I suppose as an "official" fan. Anyway, I only own a few cast recordings (Rent, Wicked, and Aida) and love them all but I want to expose myself to more and add to what I have. What cast recordings would you all recommend as "must have?"

"Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets." -Oscar Wilde

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:11pm

Phew..well, I recommend working from modern shows to the "Golden Age". Make it a gradual transition...

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re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:13pm

Les Miz (A classic - though its not a fav. of mine)
Tick,Tick...Boom since you already have RENT
Bright Lights, Big City (I'm more into the "rock/pop" sound
musicals, but that's just personal
tastes)

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:15pm

Rent, Wicked, and Aida? How diverse!

You'll like Hairspray. Urinetown is a must have for me. MAKE AVENUE Q THE NEXT CAST RECORDING YOU PURCHASE! Also get Spelling Bee.

And that's good for pop/rock/contemporary music.

Then also get more traditional music: The Light In The Piazza, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Hello Dolly, Mame, La Cage Aux Folles.

And make sure you get Sondheim! Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George, Passion.

MAKE RAGTIME THE SECOND CAST RECORDING YOU PURCHASE!

"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:16pm

based on what you already know and love.... id start out with more of the modern stuff....

So these are some of my modern favs:

Light in the Piazza (would be a good transition into the older and/or more complex musicals)

DRS (musical comedy)
Little Women (Really nice score)
Last 5 Years (NLB and Sherie Scott are amazing...great variety of songs, and really emotionally and musically driven..love it)
The Wild Party (Lippa)-(Really fun score)

and although its a concert recording... ud probably LOVE the HAIR concert recording!!!

My Music Classroom Giving Page: https://www.donorschoose.org/MrHMusicRoom

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:16pm

CRAP! OK, Just make these three the next you purchase before you buy any others:

1) Les Miserables
2) Avenue Q
3) Ragtime

And you'll need more ALW, so get Phantom of the Opera. Oh - and don't forget Evita and 42nd Street and A Chorus Line.

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:19pm

Sorry ya'll, I forgot about Avenue Q. I actually do have that one! I also have the movie soundtracks for Phantom and Chicago but after actually seeing Phantom on Broadway, I'm def. getting the obc recording.....the voices are SO much better!

"Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets." -Oscar Wilde

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 11:19 PM

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:37pm

I second The Light in the Piazza, Hairspray, Tick, Tick...BOOM!, Urinetown, The Last 5 Years, Hair(the new one), The Wild Party(Lippa).

And Throughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty, Pippin, Cabaret, Assassins.

It's a bit long but you gotta know!

"I'm the STAR!"--Daniel Reichard during Glory Daze sound check

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:52pm

Ragtime
Les Miserables
tick, tick... BOOM!
Sweeney Todd
Into the Woods
Gypsy
Last 5 Years
Hairspray
Urinetown
Cabaret (Revival)

"The stage is where I live and come alive and act out all the things that go on in my life. It's not just what I do for a living, it's my shrink and my love affair. No one in my life has ever or ever will kiss me on the mouth like this lover called my relationship with my performance."

#10

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 1:03am

Avenue Q
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Tick, Tick...Boom!
Last 5 Years
The Wild Party (both- so you can pick which one you prefer)
Light in the Piazza
Urinetown

Just to name a few. But I think all of the other ones listed so far are good choices.

Elyse. No day but Today. My avatar: me talking to Norbert Leo Butz.

#11

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 1:34am

Definitely "Chicago" (the revival with Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth) - this was my first cast recording I ever got. I would also definitely get "Into the Woods". Try to expand your collection by ripping as many off of friends as possible and borrowing a lot from the library.

#12

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 1:44am

okay wicked... lets not encourage the illegal copying of music

Updated On: 6/29/05 at 01:44 AM

#13

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 1:46am

oh of course not ...

I meant ripping from friends(which is only illegal if you sell it) and borrowing separately. The rest is up to you!

Updated On: 6/29/05 at 01:46 AM

#14

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 1:49am

Dont be so uptight half of my collection (100 +) of cds are burned. You cant expect someone to pay 20 bucks for that many CDs.

buy as many Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim Recordings as you can.

#15

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 2:01am

elegies: a song cycle from william finn
joseph and the technocolor dreamcoat original cast no osmond
jesus christ superstar
a year with frog and toad(something about it is addicting)
reefer madness (go online and buy it, it is one of the funniest shows ever)
thrill me the leopold and loeb musical is good if your into sondheim
finally even though it isnt a musical persay,
bernsteins mass(it was written by leonard bernstein, has lyrics contributed by Schwartz and paul simon, it is beautifully done and has some powerful lyrics

#16

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 2:06am

as far as the classics go you need to get "Kiss Me, Kate"... the 2000 Broadway revival CD is more accessible to the modern listener but the OBC is just as great. also get "My Fair Lady". again, the 2001 London revival CD is more "modern" but the OBC is obviously a classic...

#17

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 2:07am

If you like Boq in Wicked then Saturday Night(with people dancing on the cover) and Babes in Arms(Encores! production both quite good).

Most of mine have already been said.

Into the Woods(OBC)

"The weight of this sad time we must obey, Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most; we that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long"-Edgar in King Lear

#18

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 9:11am

Into the Woods
Bat Boy: the musical
Assassins
Chicago
Beauty and the Beast (You probably know the music, but I think the Broadway cast album of this is excellent)
Company
A Chorus Line
The Secret Garden
A Year With Frog and Toad
Damn Yankees
Jesus Christ Superstar
Les Miserables
She Loves Me
Sweeney Todd
Tommy
Cabaret
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Those are all good shows that are pretty accessible.

#19

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 9:26am

what do you mean? I could have burned my cds? I have bought every single one of my cds. Ebay is a wonderful place to get them cheap and sometimes you can find some obscure stuff there too.....

#20

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 9:43am

As someone who was (and kinda still is) in this position roughly 2 months ago, I suggest:

Les Miserables
Into the Woods
The Last 5 Years
Cabaret (revival with Alan Cumming and Natasha Richards)
Oklahoma
Wonderful Town
Bombay Dreams
Miss Saigon
A Chorus Line
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (the revival has Anthony Rapp and Kristen Chenoweth, amongst others equally as talented)
Tick, Tick...BOOM!
Gypsy

1. Ted Allen: Everyone has an interesting life if you ask the right questions.
2. Great buckets of Spoffnor, they're going to sing!
3. "I love shrubs that are historical." -Johnny and The Sprites
4. "We're not singing it to you, we're singing it for us." -Rosario Dawson, about La Vie Boheme
5. "The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." -The History Boys
6. "Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That's the game I want you to learn. Pass it on." -The History Boys

Updated On: 6/29/05 at 09:43 AM

#21

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 9:58pm

Definately The Light In The Piazza, Spamalot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is hillarious! Thouroughly Modern Millie is a good one too, Sutton rocks lets see hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm if you want an older one West Side Story has good music. :) but definately the above mentioned.

I'm kind of a sweat pant, t-shirt, no make-up type of girl. So once a year, I can get spiffy. Sutton Foster :)

#22

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 10:12pm

Sweet Charity
Chicago
The Light In The Piazza
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

#23

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 11:26pm

I agree that you have to get some sondheim. I would suggest Into the Woods,Sweeney Todd, or Assassins (revival). Sweeney and Assassins finally made me appreciate sondheim, and the rest of his work. (Into the woods never got me all the way into it, but it has for alot of people so I threw that in too.)

#24

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/29/05 at 11:29pm

I'd have to say Dreamgirls and A Chorus Line

#25

re: cast recordings.....I need some advice

Posted: 6/30/05 at 12:05am

Thanks everyone for responding to my question! I've been tallying up what everyone's said and it seems that Into the Woods is the most popular one ut should I buy the obc version or the revival? Thanks!

"Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets." -Oscar Wilde

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