2004 on Disc

About two dozen cast albums were released in 2004, and outstanding among them is the one that documents an American musical that has yet to make it to New York. That would be Nonesuch's Bounce, a required purchase for musical theatre fans. Whatever one thinks of Stephen Sondheim's score for this musical about the colorful Mizner Brothers, the Bounce recording allowed the world to experience a show that didn't get beyond Chicago and D.C. It's too soon to tell whether or not Bounce will receive another major staging, but we're all likely to find ourselves revisiting the Bounce CD, if only as a relic of the only Sondheim musical to close on the road. As with everything else that our greatest musical-theatre composer does, Bounce demanded to be recorded, and we can be grateful to Nonesuch for doing such a fine job with it.

In terms of new Broadway musicals, there were only the cast albums of Caroline, or Change, Taboo, and Brooklyn. I found listening to the two CDs of Caroline something of a chore, and have not found myself playing the recording since I reviewed it. Ultimately, I felt that the Jeanine Tesori-Tony Kushner score, while boldly adventurous, was also disappointingly short on gripping music. Brooklyn made for fairly excruciating listening, and I doubt I'll be playing it much in the future. By default, Taboo probably ranks as the year's most intriguing Broadway cast recording of a new score. The DRG disc offered excellent preservation of a mixed bag of a score that's worth hearing, even if it remains more a collection of attractive pop songs than a coherent theatre score.

In terms of Broadway revival discs, there were an enjoyable Wonderful Town that in no way eclipsed the two Rosalind Russell recordings; a fine new Assassins that failed to surpass the off-Broadway recording; and a new Fiddler on the Roof that was definitive in its comprehensiveness but not in its performances.

In a class by itself was Barbara Cook's Broadway DRG, documenting the diva's sublime salute to golden-age musicals and demonstrating that Cook's interpretive gifts remain unsurpassed, while her vocals remain remarkably solid.

One of the year's best releases was Ghostlight's The New Moon, a recording of the Encores! production that provides the first comprehensive cast recording of one of the great Broadway operettas and offers a generally splendid performance.

Moving on to off-Broadway sets, I was not as taken as most people seem to have been with The Musical of Musicals' spoofing of major musical-theatre songwriters, but I did enjoy the second cast recordings of Lucky Stiff and Man with a Load of Mischief. The recordings of The Thing About Men, Johnny Guitar, and I Sing are mostly for completists. A Fine and Private Place got an original cast recording fifteen years after it was first performed at Goodspeed. Perhaps the most playable off-Broadway set was Ghostlight's Finian's Rainbow, documenting a charming production that made the great Lane-Harburg score come across even with only two pianos for accompaniment.

From London came two of the year's outstanding recordings. Although I mentioned it in my 2003 year-end piece, the first recording of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway musical The Firebrand of Florence did not become generally available here until early in the new year. Even with spoken narration that weighs down replayings of Capriccio's double-disc set, this Firebrand, preserving the cast of a London concert version, was automatically one of the year's best, simply because one never expected to have a comprehensive recording of this fascinating flop. By starring on Firebrand and The New Moon, opera baritone Rodney Gilfry managed to take the leads on two of the year's finest recordings.

The other significant London set was The Woman in White. Opinions are likely to be divided on the merits of this one, but a major new score by Andrew Lloyd Webber is always something to be reckoned with, and the show will be the subject of further debate when it arrives on Broadway in November of next year. Otherwise, London gave us a fairly unnecessary second recording of Bat Boy and yet another version, albeit pleasant, of Anything Goes.

A big event was the first recording of the '60s musical Sherry!, and while not one of the leads Nathan Lane, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune on this studio set was ideally cast or equal to the Broadway original, one had to be impressed by the lavish treatment this Broadway flop received. There were no complaints to be made about Fine and Dandy, a wholly unexpected studio recording of a forgotten Kay Swift show from the '30s. Strictly a collector's item was Bayview's odd release of a demo of Lionel Bart's Broadway disaster La Strada. Bayview continued its series documenting the Broadway Year-By-Year Town Hall concerts with releases devoted to 1953 and 1960. And the end of the year brought the soundtrack album of The Phantom of the Opera, set to coincide with the release of the screen version of the most successful musical in history.

It was a fairly abundant year for reissues. Decca Broadway led the way with Song of Norway, Mexican Hayride, Texas, Li'l Darlin', and Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'!. All of these were welcome, but Decca Broadway topped itself with Ankles Aweigh, the trash classic so dear to the hearts of fans. DRG kept busy with Flahooley, Archy and Mehitabel, and the essential Broadway cast recording of No Strings. Bayview provided even more obscure titles with the London cast recordings of Ace of Clubs and Gay's the Word.

Every bit as noteworthy were a number of U.K. reissues, including Sandy Wilson's delicious sequel to The Boy Friend, Divorce Me, Darling!; the failed but fascinating concept musical Belle, about the Dr. Crippen murder case; and compilation discs that included the London cast recordings of The King and I, Wish You Were Here, Paint Your Wagon, Bet Your Life, Love from Judy, Kiss Me, Kate, and Golden City. Collectors were especially obliged to seek out the U.K. CD premieres on the Sepia label of two RCA Victor titles, both enjoyable golden-age flops, Make a Wish and Hazel Flagg.

There were charming reissues of recordings from the 1947 Broadway version of Alice in Wonderland and from various stage versions of Peter Pan. Also making reappearances were the London casts of Billy and Pacific Overtures. While the latter features an English National Opera performance replete with clipped accents and plummy tones, it includes music not to be found on the Broadway set, and at least offers an alternative to the Broadway recording. One doubts that the current revival of Pacific Overtures will merit a second Broadway recording.

The best solo recital I heard this year was Kim Criswell's salute to Irving Berlin, a JAY release called Something to Dance About. Also notable, in addition, of course, to Barbara Cook's Broadway, were new recordings from John Barrowman singing Cole Porter, Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch, Jessica Molaskey, and Barry Manilow, the latter performing songs from two of his stage musicals, Copacabana and the long-aborning Harmony. Among the year's best vocal reissues were From the Heart, Barbara Cook's Rodgers and Hart tribute, and Ethel Merman's Merman Sings Merman and Ethel's Ridin' High.

There's no question in my mind about the year's outstanding DVD release. This was the miraculous discovery of a 1960, black-and-white videotape of Gian Carlo Menotti's Broadway opera The Consul, preserving the harrowing performance of its original star, Patricia Neway. I had no idea this even existed, and, as I'm a huge fan of Menotti's theatre pieces, this tape was an unexpected thrill.

Otherwise, the outstanding releases were the kinescopes of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and Mary Martin and Ethel Merman on the Ford 50th Anniversary program. In terms of films, the year's most important release was Call Me Madam, never before available in any home-video format and a grand representation of Merman in one of her best roles. The runner-up film might be Damn Yankees, another title long awaited on DVD.

We finally got a DVD of the indispensable first video version of Sweeney Todd. Other worthy theatre-related titles: Broadway's Lost Treasures: Volume Two; Broadway: The Golden Age; and the three-disc Broadway: The American Musical. Along with Cinderella and the Ford 50th, there were other signs that companies are beginning to pursue rare musical-theatre television material, with releases like a "Bell Telephone Hour" Cole Porter salute with Merman.

Beyond Call Me Madam and Damn Yankees, the most enjoyable and unexpected release was the film version of New Faces of 1952. One was also grateful to get the DVDs of Half a Sixpence, Star!, The Little Prince, and even the dismal Man of La Mancha. There were spanking new versions of My Fair Lady, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Mary Poppins, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Broadway drama was represented by the DVD releases of the film versions of The Bad Seed a gripping camp classic, Torch Song Trilogy, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Noises Off, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Come Back, Little Sheba, The Country Girl, Desire Under the Elms, and The Rose Tatoo.

Sondheim fans will be interested in checking out the film thriller he co-authored, The Last of Sheila. Also noteworthy: Herbert Ross's Pennies from Heaven and the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely.