My Musical Theater Voyage of Discovery; The Letter M

MUSICAL OF MUSICALS. I didn’t see this show when it was running. Too bad for me. I don’t have a lot of stuff like this in my Ipod. I’m not sure what it is called but I think it is Parody. I think that because the cd/score sends up the works of five musical theater composers – that’s parody, right? And in order to really enjoy this cd, you have to know the work of those five composers, which I do, very much. There is a system by which you can rate each song in your itunes library – one to five stars. I simply selected this entire collection of songs and gave each one five stars. It is freakin GENIUS. I love it and will listen to it over and over.

MR PRESIDENT. I am ashamed. I should have known this record. Anita Gillette is a dear friend of mine and someone I love to the depth of my being. She is on this record. So I was listening to it and with (almost) every track I would say “oh, I LOVE this!”. What a fun score. What a fun musical. What lovely performances. I’m glad I found this one.

MADWOMAN OF CENTRAL PARK WEST. Love Phyllis Newman. LOVE her. Don’t love this cd. Left about four tracks in my Ipod – ones that didn’t make me want to skip to the next track. I did this because I love her and want her in my Ipod. However.. it was just four tracks. Doesn’t say much for my estimation of this show…


[For the Record: MY ONE AND ONLY is one of my fav shows. I love those songs, those arrangements, Twiggy and I had such a good time when I saw the play. Listening to this record brings back a lot of happy memories for me. Tommy Tune is a delight. MY FAVORITE YEAR is one of those shows that people saw wasn’t good – I don’t get it. I like this cd (though I did cut the sketch numbers because, let’s face it, I won’t play them.) I like the SONGS. That’s what I want to hear. , MY FAIR LADY is a big and longtime part of my life. I have the entire original cast in my Julie Andrews section – so here, in my musicals section I have the Christine Andreas cuts from the anniversary revival (didn’t care for the rest of the cast on that recording) and I have the entire cd of the Jonathan Pryce/Martine McCutcheon cd from the West End – THAT cd is REALLY good! MUSIC MAN – now, this is the revival with Craig Bierko and Miss Rebecca Luker. Pat and I loved this show, so. I could have cut all of Craig’s tracks because he sounds SO much like Robert Preston; but out of nostalgia, I left them all in. All of Rebecca’s tracks get 5 stars from me. ME AND MY GIRL – delish. I have a combination of songs from the West End and from Broadway. I like the Jane Summerhays tracks and the Maryann Plunkett tracks but I also like the (pitchy but emotionally present) Emma Thompson cuts from the UK. Robert Lindsay is wonderful on both cds, so it’s just one or the other. MARY POPPINS, one of my favourite shows I ever saw, is represented in my Ipod by the cd they released – the West End cast. I loved Ashley Brown and the rest of the Broadway cast, but there is no cd released. However, they put out a cd to the Tony voters that year that has 8 tracks on it. Happily, I got one and IT is in my Ipod TOO. Me = HAPPY! MARLENE was a sort of flop on Broadway – but Pat and I liked it and we love Sian Phillips and LOVE the songs Marlene Dietrich sang, so I put this in my Ipod and I DO listen to it! It’s not as good as James Beaman’s Marlene but you take what you can get where you can get it. MAN OF LAMANCHA is, let’s face it, one of the best shows ever. I have both the OBC and the revival cast cds in my Ipod. Brian Stokes Mitchell singing those songs is unreal. The original cast is my fav, though, because it is what I grew up with - Richard Kiley was special. Joan Diener was special. MAMMA MIA – not great singing on the UK cast album but it is fun and so some of the songs are in my Ipod. Not all of them. I’m so angry they didn’t do a Broadway cast album – I mean, really, Karen Mason and Judy Kaye? And no album? Fooey. ]