Search - Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Debbie Gravitte :: The Boys From Syracuse (1997 Studio Cast)

When musicals were musical

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 01/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the three versions of that have appeared on CD, the one from DRG (94767) is by far the best. For years I had to be content with the 41-minute recording on EMI, which is very well done but finds itself lacking some 28 minutes of music available on the DRG set. A good deal of the extra material consists of reprises and the dance music for "Sing For Your Supper" and the Twins Ballet; but we also now have the Act I finale and "Big Brother." Another terrific advantage of his 1997 set is that it uses a restoration of the original orchestrations, a fact that gives it instant priority over any other set. On top of all that, the performers are up to snuff and do full justice to a score that reminds us of a time when musicals had melodies (as I keep lamenting) and we left the theater whistling more than the scenery."

A slightly dissenting opinion

Tommy Peter | Baltimore, MD United States | 06/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What is right about this album is almost enough to make me understand why everyone on this page so unreservedly raves about it. The performers are great, the women more so than the men, both seperately (Rebecca Luker in "Falling In Love WIth Love" and the reprise of "The Shortest Day of the Year," Sarah Uriate Berry in her duet and reprise of "This Can't Be Love," and Debbie Gravitte in "What Can You Do With a Man?" "He and She," and especially "Oh, Diogenes!") and together in the showstopping trio "Sing For YOur Supper". The completeness of the recording and the restored original orchestrations are a great bonus. And there is plenty of energy and fun to be found. But there isn't quite enough to disguise the fact that this score doesn't quite approach the greatness of the Rodgers and Hart scores for such shows as Pal Joey, On Your Toes, and Babes In Arms. Those shows had one great song after another, or at the very least great tunes supplemented by ones that weren't on their level but were perfectly pleasent and agreeable in their own right. This show's score has plenty of great songs, including the above mentioned as well as "Dear Old Syracuse," "You Have Cast YOur Shadow On the Sea," and the touching "Big Brother," but there are a few noticeable misses, made all the more dissapointing when one considers Rodgers and Hart's reputation and repertoire. The opening shows the pitfalls that can be encountered in the attempts to integrate a musical; is is dull exposition instead of a great song that also eases the audience into the story. "Ladies of the Evening" and "Come With Me" are one-joke songs, and Hart doesn't seem to try too hard to come up with enough of his trademark quick and clever rhymes to allow us to forgive that. And the Act I finale, "Let Antipholus In," must be extremely funny in the context of what's going on in the show (A synopsis in the liner notes would have been helpful) because just listening to the title being repeated over and over and over again drove me to distraction. It is great that Encores! is producing concert versions of vintage, rarely performed musicals such as these to allow their scores to be heard and appreciated by a new generation. Much of what is here makes for a great recording, but when one considers that we are dealing with Rodgers and Hart, the odd misfire in the score is enough to make for a less than completely wonderful experience."

Beautiful new recording of the Rodgers and Hart smash-hit!

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 10/27/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE is one of the more delighful offerings in the Rodgers and Hart canon. It features some of the most beloved songs ever written for the Broadway stage. This recording is from the acclaimed 1997 concert-reading from the Encores! series.Rebecca Luker (THE SECRET GARDEN, THE MUSIC MAN), Davis Gaines (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, SWEENEY TODD), Sarah Uriarte Berry, Julie Halston (GYPSY), Debbie Gravitte and Malcolm Gets, all superb Broadway talents, lead the strong cast.The musical, based on Shakespeare's COMEDY OF ERRORS, originally opened on Broadway in 1938. This is the first time since then that the show has featured the original orchestrations, restored and played to perfection by the Coffee Club Orchestra, led by Rob Fisher.Rebecca Luker dazzles and scintillates with "Falling in Love with Love"; Debbie Gravitte belts out "Oh, Diogenes" in her own grand style, whilst Davis Gaines and Sarah Uriarte Berry sing the ballad "This Can't Be Love" (later added to the film score of Rodgers and Hart's JUMBO). Luker, Gravitte and Berry also sing a dizzying rendition of "Sing For Your Supper", arguably one of the score's high-points.This album is a must-own for fans of this gorgeous show and its candy-box score. Highly-recommended."