Search - Tim Acito, Jai Rodriguez :: Zanna, Don't! - A Musical Fairy Tale (2003 Original Off-Broadway Cast)

The Most Fun You Can Have For Less Than $20

G. Paula | Clifton, NJ United States | 10/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you didn't get to see "Zanna, Don't!" in its all-too-brief off-Broadway run, you missed out on something very special. It was a wonderful show: It was funny, it was fun, and it had a lot of heart. Naturally, at the heart of it all was the music. Tim Acito, the songwriter, is extremely talented, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from him in the future. The cast was also wonderful. Obviously Jai Rodriguez rose to prominence very shortly after the show closed with "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy." However, every other cast member was just as talented. I look forward to following their careers in the future; I have no doubt they will all go on to big things. Although "Zanna, Don't!" did have some serious monents, on the whole, the music rivals that of "Hairspray" for pure fun. After just one or two listens, you'll find that you won't be able to get the songs out of your head, but that's OK because you won't want to. Oh, and if you didn't see the show, don't let that keep you from giving the cast album a try. There are some cast albums, such as the one for "Urinetown," where I feel like if I didn't know the story, the songs don't make any sense. Most if not all songs on the "Zanna, Don't!" CD work just fine out of context. Enjoy!"

Poor recording (literally) of a wonderful score. :(

MCB | West Hollywood, CA United States | 12/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Like the reviewers below, I came out of the Off-Broadway production of "Zanna, Don't!" floating on a cloud. Twice, in fact. The energy and talent of the young cast, the simple but incredibly inventive staging, and the truly wonderful Tim Acito score impressed me like no other new musical had all season. But I'm reviewing the CD here, and not the show, and I have to say I'm extremely disappointed in the technical aspects of this recording. The sound mix is, in a word, dreadful. There's an art to adapting stage performances to CD, and whoever was in charge here needs to go back to the drawing board. The vocals are grating and oversung (which they weren't onstage); anytime more than one performer is singing simultaneously (which is often), Acinto's lyrics become completely indecipherable; and the excellent band is pushed so far to the back as to be almost unhearable ("Blow Winds," a faux-disco highlight on stage, is a true disaster here). For now, this is our only recording of this wonderful show, so it will have to do. But everyone involved - creators and listeners both - deserved better."

Worth the While

Jessica K. | California | 09/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So Zanna,Don't! will never be a "great" musical. It probably shouldnt be considered one either. Nonetheless, its a great listen. After the first month or two, it didnt inspire the same excitement as it used to but I would be lying if I said that I didn't fall utterly in "love" with it. As a matter of fact, I couldn't stop listening to it and even recommended it to several friends (despite their lack of interest in musicals). Almost half a year later, I still find myself listening to it when I'm in the mood. So don't be too bothered by the excessive use of the word love in this show because whats wrong with a little "extra love"? Buy it! It's worth the while."