Anything Goes - The New Broadway Cast Recording

Anything Goes – The New BroadwayCast Recording
2011, Ghostlight Records

Between the seminal performance ofEthel Merman as Reno Sweeney and the 1980's role as re-imagined by theincomparable Patti Lupone, it's hard to imagine anyone being brave enough toreincarnate the role on The Great Way, much less standing on par with those twogreat ladies of theater. Yet if you were to ponder the current andup-and-coming stars of Broadway, you'd eventually settle on the notion that ifanyone could do it, it would be SuttonFoster. This must have entered the thinking of director/choreographerKathleen Marshall. Turns out it was right thinking. Just take a listen to thenew cast recording of The Roundabout Theatre's 2011 production of AnythingGoes, and you'll wonder if anyone has ever worn Reno Sweeney so well.

This show isn't just about Foster'sperformance so well. She is surrounded with a superb cast that includesBroadway legend Joel Grey (Cabaret, Wicked) as Moonface Martin, ColinDonnell as Billy Crocker and Laura Osnes (Grease, South Pacific, Bonnie &Clyde) as Hope Harcourt. The show is based on the same book and score used inthe 1987 Broadway Production with minor changes, but sticks very close to ColePorter's original vision. Highlights include Foster's performances on "IGet A Kick Out Of You", "Anything Goes" and "Blow GabrielBlow" and Grey's "Be Like The Bluebird", but the best chemistryoccurs on songs such as "You're The Top" (Foster & Donnell);"Friendship" (Foster & Grey), and "It's De-Lovely"(Donnell & Osnes). Jessica Stone makes a nice turn on "BuddieBeware", backed by the whole ensemble. Her voice is part ingénue and partmoll, an eclectic sound that's unforgettable and perfect for the role of Erma.

For all that goes well on the castrecording of Anything Goes, it doesn't quite have the pizzazz of the1987 cast recording, but it seems attributable to the use of all digitaltechnology which is as much a bane as a boon to musical purists. The cast, as awhole, is absolutely superb, and Sutton Foster and Joel Grey are everything youcould expect and more, and Laura Osnes building on her inarguable credibilityas a Broadway leading lady. It's easy to see why Anything Goes took homethree Tony Awards this year, including Best Revival, Best Actress In A Musical(Sutton Foster), and Best Choreography (Kathleen Marshall). Ghostlight Recordsdoes it again, documenting a wonderfully vibrant revival of a classic show witha cast recording of Anything Goes that will draw you back again andagain.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Anything Goesat www.AnythingGoesBroadway.com or www.roundabouttheatre.org.  Anything Goes - The New Broadway Cast Recording is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

In case you need convincing, check out this clip from the Late Show with David Letterman:

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown - Original Broadway Cast

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown - Original Broadway Cast
2011, Ghostlight Records

The Lincoln Center's limited run of Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown ended much too soon, to judge by the original cast recording due from Ghostlight Records on May 10, 2011.  Jeffrey Lane (book) and David Yazbeck (music and lyrics) have taken the heart of Pedro Almodovar's 1988 Oscar-nominated film and infused it with their trademark wit and musical magic.  Under the direction of Bartlett Sher (South Pacific), the show received accolades from press both regional and national.  Lane and Yazback's (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) book and score set an impressive foundation set in 1980's Spain, exploring the love life menagerie of four women and the effects on those around them.

The cast alone will convince you to the buy the album:  Sherie René Scott,  Patti Lupone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Laura Benanti, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, de'Ardre Aziza, Danny Burstein and American-Idol alum Justin Guarini bring the show to delirious life on CD/MP3.  Burstein is sort of the Jiminy Cricket of the crew, providing guidance to the characters as they revel in the social and sexual freedoms of post-Franco Spain.  He gets things started with the snappy "Madrid Is My Mama", setting the stage with a mammary obsession and Stax-Style horns all dolled up with Latin rhythms.  "Lie To Me" features Sherie René Scott and Brian Stokes Mitchell in stage-setter that establishes the unstable relationship that drives the later action.  "Lovesick" is one of the brightest moments on the soundtrack, with Sherie René Scott taking the lead on a clinical dissection of romantic desperation that is both funny and endearing.

Patti Lupone is front and center on the ever-changing "Time Stood Still", reminiscence on falling in love that transforms from a 1950's-style pop number to a Broadway soliloquy before settling into an R&B mode as it closes.  Laura Benanti takes narcissism to the extreme in "Model Behavior", perhaps the most hilarious turn of the show.  The series of answering machine messages show manically borderline tendencies and play them for maximum comedic effect, while also serving to derail the ultimate reconciliation between Pepa (Sherie René Scott) and Ivan (Brian Stokes-Mitchell).  "On The Verge" closes act one with a pure dose of insanity that's catchy and perfectly sung by the ensemble.

Sherie René Scott gives a standout performance on "Mother's Day".  It's the sort of performance that could (or should) single-handedly earn her a Tony nomination; a grand soliloquy that turns the action of the show toward the eventual resolution.  Scott is in perfect voice here, and sells the song like she's lived it.  Brian Stokes Mitchell follows with a catchy exploration of the permanence of love and the impermanence of its objects.  "Yesterday, Tomorrow and Today" is amusingly bittersweet, moving from the glory of bachelorhood into the beginnings of realization of what might be lost.  "Tangled" is the pressure point of the show, with the entire ensemble feeling the pains of the messy paths they've wrought.  Burstein acts as the strong shoulder/counselor that helps them get (mostly) back on track.  Patti Lupone's performance on "Invisible" is, well, Patti Lupone.  Need we say more?  "Shoes From Heaven" seems a somewhat disconnect closing number; perhaps making more sense in context of the actual performance, but definitely a bit out of focus on the cast recording.  The cast recording includes a bonus track, "My Crazy Heart".  This was the original opening of the show.  It's a solid tune, but it's evident why the song was cut.  It would have gotten things off to a less than smashing start, and doesn't really fit into the flow of the show as presented here.

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown pleases on several fronts in spite of a somewhat weak closing number.  The entire ensemble is at the top of their game, but Sherie René Scott, Patti Lupone, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Benanti stand out even from an exceptional cast.  This is one of those shows where the soundtrack never quite fits together as well in recorded media as it does in the context of the show, but is nevertheless an amazing document of a show whose run on Broadway was much too short.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown at www.sh-k-boom.com/womenontheverge.  The original cast recording drops on May 10, 2011 on CD.  Amazon.com has Downloads available, and pre-orders for the CD.  Digital versions are also available via iTunes.

Sutton Foster – An Evening With Sutton Foster – Live At The Café Carlyle

Sutton Foster – An Evening With Sutton Foster – Live At The Café Carlyle
2011, Ghostlight Records

Good actors can bend themselves to any role.  Great actors wrap a role around themselves like a second skin, becoming both themselves and the other.   For all of the acting classes and workshops one can take, this particular quality is not one that can be learned.  It’s a quality shared by some of the greatest names to grace the stages of the Great White Way:  Patti Lupone.  Bernadette Peters.  Angela Lansbury.  Kristin Chenoweth.  Sutton Foster. 

Sutton Foster made a name for herself as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, winning the 2002 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, as well as similar awards from Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and the Fred Astaire Award for best actress in a musical.  Foster has gone on to roles such as Jo March (Little Women – Tony, Outer Desk and Drama League nominations); Janet Van De Graaf (The Drowsy Chaperone – Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Circle nominations) and Princess Fiona (Shrek The Musical – 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical).  On March 10, 2011, Foster began previews at The Roundabout Theatre for the Cole Porter classic musical Anything Goes.  As if she’s not busy enough, Foster also released her second album, An Evening With Sutton Foster – Live At The Café Carlyle, this week.

Live albums are always a risk.  Even in an era where genius and technology can make a rough performance sound great after the fact, an artist is totally exposed in a live performance, and particularly in the intimate setting of a cabaret show.  At the same time, the magic that occurs on stage is ever-so-difficult to transfer to an audio recording.  Yet it’s delightful to report that Sutton Foster pulls it all off with unabashed charm on An Evening With Sutton Foster.  Culling songs from her debut album Wish, as well as from her previous work on Broadway, Foster charms with a blend of songs and stories that will entertain you, touch your heart and make you laugh out loud.

The show opens with “I’m Beginning To See The Light”, a Duke Ellington number performed by Foster with the sole accompaniment of ukulele.  It’s a brilliant opening full of showgirl zeal but with an air authenticity that simply cannot be manufactured.  Foster has one of those voices that rings in your mind for ever after hearing it, and is personality plus on stage.  Foster strings together snippets of songs from roles she’s played in a medley of “Not For The Life Of Me” (Thoroughly Modern Millie), “NYC” (Annie) and “Astonishing” (Little Women).  As medleys go this one works better than most, the transitions almost seamless, even if “Not For The Life Of Me” was cut woefully short.  “Up On The Roof” is offered in a sweet and lyric interpretation that’s full of heart and a sense of reminiscence about her early years in New York City.

Foster’s cover of Christine Lavin’s “Air Conditioner” is perhaps even funnier than the original, owing a great deal to the charm and pizzazz of the singer, qualities that wash through your speakers and bathe the listener whole.  Foster changes paces nicely with “Warm All Over”, a sultry and sweet take on the Frank Loesser tune from Most Happy Fella.  Foster rips off the roof (and a boob pad) in “Show Off”, one of the signature numbers from The Drowsy Chaperone.  The roof lands several blocks away, as Foster cranks it up with a powerful, thousand-watt performance; while the boob pad hilariously lands on her brother, Hunter Foster.  The show goes on, but the moment is timeless and thankfully not excised from the recording.

“More To The Story” is a song that was cut from Shrek: The Musical before it came to New York, and you have to wonder why.  After hearing Foster’s performance here you won’t be able to imagine the show without it.  Foster’s performance is full of heart and beauty that moves beyond music into the sublime.  “My Heart Was Set On You” is an amazing tune – a heartbreaker about forbidden love that works out the way everyone expected all along.  An inexorable tragedy in song that finds the heroine still somewhat in love even from the other side of heartbreak.  This is a pure “WOW” moment.  The transition into “Down With Love” (Hooray For What!) is classic, with Foster offering a quirky/sweet performance that is perhaps the perfect spoiler to the heartbreak that preceded it.

Foster pulls off another “WOW” moment on Duke Ellington’s “I Like The Sunshine”, offering a lyric performance full of vulnerability and hope that are palpable.  For a performer who can belt with such aplomb to be able to pull off a number like this is stunning.  A small lottery conducted by Music Director Michael Rafter leads next to a roof-raising performance of “Defying Gravity” (Wicked).  Dare it be said that Foster pulls it off as if she, herself, originated the role.  Foster puts on the faux ingénue qualities of a classic movie moll for “Late Late Show”, before moving into a sweet and lyric version of John Denver’s “Sunshine On My Shoulders”.  Foster gives up the belt here for a light and airy sound that highlights the utter beauty of her voice.  “Anyone Can Whistle/Being Alive” and “”Come The Wild Wild Weather” are both sweet numbers that serve as a bit of a respite for the singer before building to the big finale.  Foster begins the end with The Beatles’ “Here, There And Everywhere”.  Accompanied by banjo alone, Sutton Foster creates one of those pure musical moments that are steeped in an esoteric and timeless beauty that’s about as impossible to describe as it is to create in the first place.  It’s moments like this that concert goers remember all their lives.  As if that weren’t enough, Foster goes over the moon with “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” from Dreamgirls.  If Foster blew the roof off earlier in the show, this number couldn’t have left a wall standing.

Sutton Foster is what is considered a triple threat on Broadway.  She sings, she dances and she acts.  But sometimes the term triple threat doesn’t even begin to explain what an actor can do.  Foster’s sense of showmanship combines with an utter authenticity that’s built on smarts, humor, a little bit of grit, and a healthy dose of southern charm and sophistication.  Add to that a voice that can lull you into the ether and then blow you away all in the same breath and you have a singular, rare talent who will be remembered for generations.  An Evening With Sutton Foster – Live At The Café Carlyle is a document and testament to talent, charm and grace to one of the leading ladies of the stage.  Sutton Foster shines bright.  An Evening With Sutton Foster – Live At The Café Carlyle can be nothing less than a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Sutton Foster at http://www.suttonfoster.com/ or on Facebook.  An Evening With Sutton Foster - Live At The Café Carlyle is available from Amazon.com as a  CD or Download.  The album is also available from iTunes.