Search - Wonderful Town :: Broadway Original Cast Series

BUY THE 1999 RECORDING!

MOVIE MAVEN | New York, NY USA | 12/05/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I know it is heresy to admit it, but I think this original cast album of Leonard Bernstein's only Tony-Winning score. (Believe it or not, his scores for CANDIDE and WEST SIDE STORY lost the award to other musicals) is not terribly good.Ok, I'm willing to bet that if you saw this cast on stage you would find George Gaynes a proper leading man and Rosalind Russell funny, biting, charming, etc. But if all you have to go on is this recording, he sings bleatingly and she is quite underwhelming in both the singing and the comedy departments.The Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green score is, to put it mildly, super. And it deserved the super, "complete" recording it got in 1999 conducted by Simon Rattle on EMI. Rattle's cast which includes Broadway stalwarts Kim Criswell, Audra McDonald and Brent Barrett and from the opera world, Thomas Hampson, could not be bettered. The sound on this disc is far superior to the one released in 1953 and, for about the same money, you get about twice the music."

A must-have recording for REAL Broadway fans

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 12/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This marvellous new re-issue of WONDERFUL TOWN is a must-have for Broadway buffs. In fact, this is really two albums in one, as it also contains the rare 1945 studio recording of ON THE TOWN as a bonus!The story is based on the play "My Sister Eileen", written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov; as well as the stories written by Ruth McKenney. The play was later turned into a successful Columbia film starring Rosalind Russell (as Ruth Sherwood) and Janet Blair as Eileen. Several years later Columbia released a musical version (following the success of WONDERFUL TOWN) which starred Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett.WONDERFUL TOWN originally starred Rosalind Russell (repeating her film role) as Ruth and Edith 'Edie' Adams as Eileen. The cast also included George Gaynes (GIGI, 'Punky Brewster') as the romantic male lead.The score by Betty Comden and the late Adolph Green is gorgeous, and features the comical "100 Easy Ways", the lilting "A Little Bit in Love" and the showstopping "Conga!" and "Wrong-Note Rag".No Broadway-recording collection is complete without the original cast of this landmark musical.This re-issue from the superb Decca Broadway range also includes the rare 1945 set of ON THE TOWN, which featured original cast-members Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Nancy Walker singing their songs from the show, with Mary Martin singing "Lonely Town" and "Lucky to Be Me".Highly-recommended."

Quality over quantity

Alfonzo Tyson | Buffalo, NY United States | 05/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, the original 1953 cast recording of "Wonderful Town" may not be the most complete cast recording of the hit musical BUT I would wholeheartedly reccommend this CD over any other version. Why? Because of its original cast members and its original orchestrations! Rosalind Russell is peerless as Ruth Sherwood (I consider her version of "One Hundred Easy Ways" one of the funniest songs in musical theatre history) and Edie Adams shines through radiantly. Listen to her sing "A Little Bit In Love" to understand what I'm talking about. Also, the original orchestrations gtive this CD more vibrance than any of the later incarnations INCLUDING the 1999 studio recording, which to me sounds too mechanical and the British orchestrator doesn't seem to get the rhythms right. The original cast recording is A MUST for the true theatre fan, abridged score or not"