110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.48 You Save: $10.50 (53%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for 110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)
Free Music Review: It's not 110%
Hit: 3 Stars
The CD is well produced and Audra McDonald is wonderful, but most of the music sounds dated and old fashioned. Maybe that's because the show is dated and old fashioned.Free Music Review: Beautiful music
Hit: 5 Stars
I saw this recently on Broadway, and it was an incredibly compelling show. Who knew? I had never heard of it. Audra sounds absolutely magnificent on this cast recording. Her songs alone make it a worthwhile purchase. Add great supporting singers and fun orchestrations, and you have a memorable album to add to your collection. Free Music Review: Great music and cast, needs updated book
Hit: 4 Stars
I've long loved the music of this show and the cast was no disappointment. It's a hidden gem like Most Happy Fella that is often overlooked. I heard online interviews with the Director of this production who mentioned that they took liberty with the original script and revised it to reflect current times. I liked the fact that Lizzie was an independent woman and spoke her mind. I cringed throughout the play when it was constantly brought up that she could face the fate of ending up an old maid. As I explained to my 10 year old daughter years ago there was a stigma for unmarried women even more than today. And it was considerable. But this is 2007 and I would have changed this. While I loved the fact that John Cullum so ably showed his love for his daughter and concern for her as a person throughout the show, I doubt it is realistic that a father would encourage someone like Starbuck to have a one day fling with her. Or that she could be so influenced by his character even though Starbuck, a con man had redeeming qualities. I would have changed the book and story and tried to show her strength of character. Maybe she would have been better off without either of them.Free Music Review: A Gentle Musical with an Excellent Cast!
Hit: 4 Stars
"110 in the Shade" is just a sweet little musical that has been under the radar since its original Broadway debut but this beautifully designed revival has brought the show to new heights thanks to the wonderful and talented Audra McDonald. She not only holds her own but completely steals every scene when she starts to sing. The cast is strong and very talented. Steve Kazee is going to have a bright future on the New York Stage and Christopher Innvar is excellent. The songs are sweet and simple. The down fall is how dated the show feels as far as the social placement of women go. The show is sweet, and Audra McDonald is amazing. Free Music Review: Small show, big emotions
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Jones and Schmidt's music since the original cast recording of THE FANTASTICKS came out in 1960. All of their scores for the theatre are wonderful and 110 IN THE SHADE is one of their very best. The original production of 110 was before I lived in New York, but I did see the City Opera revival in the 1990s with Karen Ziemba, which I liked a lot. But the new production is far and away more moving. In the theatre there was not a dry eye in the house at intermission or at the final curtain. To my surprise this new recording had the same effect on me. In a perfect world there would have been a bigger cast. (I think there are five, count `em, five townspeople.) The only place the new recording suffers in comparison to the original is in the choral numbers. These songs demand a bigger chorus. But to my surprise, the streamlined orchestrations work just fine. I always felt that the orchestrations on the original cast recording at times overwhelmed the songs, but I think these new Jonathan Tunick orchestrations really support and emphasize the gorgeous Harvey Schmidt melodies. There have been a few minor lyric changes that I found jarring at first simply because I'm so used to the original ones. I understand that these were made in order to accommodate Political Correctness and to make certain high vowels easier to sing. Fortunately there are only a few of them. There's a song included in this version that was not on the original recording, "Evening Star," sung by Starbuck. It has the same melody as the beginning of "Another Hot Day." I like the song because it adds depth to Starbuck's character. Alas, the overture is not included in this version. (The overture was left off the original vinyl LP because there wasn't room for it, but was included on the CD reissue.) The voices on this recording are for the most part excellent. McDonald, of course, is just terrific. The men's voices took some getting-used-to for me. Christopher Innvar has the right quiet manly presence on stage for the reclusive sheriff and that quality comes across on the recording. I just wish his sense of pitch were more certain in his first song. He hits the notes, but rather tentatively, I think. As Starbuck, Steve Kazee has the show's most difficult role. His interpretation is more offbeat than the others I've seen and it works. His Starbuck faces an uncertain future; he's not a superman who's going nowhere but up. The voice is a little quavery for my taste, but, I don't mind it as much now that I've gotten used to it. 110 IN THE SHADE is a musical, but the emotions are big enough for opera. This recording gets five stars from me because it's extraordinarily affecting on a deep, emotional level. It's gorgeous. I'd recommend it without any hesitation at all.