Search - Tom Jones :: Colette Collage (1994 Studio Cast)

Inspiring and Thought provoking music for the theater

Melissa | Syracuse, NY United States | 02/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't had the pleasure of seeing "Colette Collage", but i have listened to the CD cast recording. The music alone served to transport me through emotions and character development to get an idea of where the story, in a compelling and entertaining way, takes the audience . To me, that alone is a good start for good theater music. i'll admit that i would have preferred a few more character songs that express how Colette feels, what she learns and how she sees the world --especially in the beginning when she comes to Paris as a young woman married to a man who uses and abuses her. Still, i find the musical score inspiring and thoughtprovoking. As a CD of musical theater music, i thought it was easy to enjoy. Just clear your mind of what you think a Schmidt-Jones musical should be based on what you've heard before. This is something different! Serious, not pompous; emotional, not corny; complex, perhaps like Madame Colette herself was."

It's not The Fantasticks, but then, what is?

jhcmusic | Sleepy Hollow, NY United States | 01/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a score! Finally, a mature work from the team that wrote the longest running musical in world history. It's in Harvey Schmidt's distinctive style, with jagged melodies and piano/harp-based orchestrations, yet it still displays its own unique, moody flavor. Judy Kaye (THE ANASTASIA AFFAIR, RAGTIME) is perfectly cast as the pensive yet finally optimistic Colette, Jason Graae (LUCKY STIFF) does justice to the show's best material as Colette's September romance Maurice, and the rest of the cast is uniformly wonderful. Schmidt and Jones have given this score a little bit of everything: a tone-setting opening ("Joy"), fascinating character songs ("La Vagabonde"), comedy numbers ("Decorate The Human Face"), powerful ballads ("Why Can't I Walk Through That Door"), love songs ("Be My Lady"), and even reveal a latent flair for pastiche ("Ooh-La-La"). Most importantly, though, this is a mature, well-thought out work. It is tightly constructed, and Jones commits none of the lyrical gaffs for the sake of a rhyme that marred his earlier work. COLETTE is far more thought-provoking and subtle than the inane 110 IN THE SHADE, the trite I DO! I DO! or the self-derivative CELEBRATION, and if it lacks the irrestible charm of THE FANTASTICKS, it has a sophistication in both attitude and presentation that the authors' early masterpiece sometimes misses. All in all, while the general public might get lost in this show's complex melodies and characters, this recording is a must for any musical theater afficianado."