Cole Porter - Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast)
Free Music Review: Classic Broadway Lives On ! ! !
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchel ever since I saw them in RAGTIME, so to me, this cast recording is THE Broadway Dream Team. - - Both of these individuals are commanding performers and have a strong stage presence. You know who are the stars when they're on stage, and both have unforgettable voices that not only hit the right notes, but really convey the emotions of the words they sing and drive them home. If you don't find the performance and orchestration of SO IN LOVE alone to be a haunting and memorable listen, its time for the Prozac me-thinks. Performers aside, this is a play that has the audience in its grips from the opening scene, and much of it is due to the witty dialogue and Cole Porter's tongue twisting and outrageous lyrics. This is definitely not the type of CD that you'll buy and listen to one time because you have tickets to or saw the musical, I guarentee you, it'll be in the player for a long time to come and keep coming back.
Viva Classic Broadway ! ! !
Free Music Review: A Wonderful Revival of a Great Show!
Hit: 5 Stars
Before this CD, I must confess, I have not seen or heard much or any of the music from Kiss Me, Kate; and the only other Cole Poter show that I had seen was Anything Goes! My friend saw the show and loved it, and that was when I decided to get this recording!It is a very worthwhile recording and the music is top notch! Cole Porter's original score along with Don Sebesky's new orchestrations make a perfect match and are wonderful! There are many 'feels' for the music...such as Elizabethan and swing, and others!
Marin Mazzie is great as Lili/Kate, but I must say that even though Brian Stokes Mitchell was good in this show, he had much more depth and energy in Ragtime, which I also recommend strongly!
Overall, though, this recording of Porter's Kiss Me, Kate is very worthwhile and just a great Broadway CD to listen to! Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Not Just Another Show...
Hit: 5 Stars
This revival cast is better than the original! Mitchell & Mazzie are the greatest leading characters! If you miss this album you are really missing a great pice of theatre work!Free Music Review: A great--if slightly problematic--recording of a great show.
Hit: 4 Stars
When a show opens on Broadway with its original lead players being Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Harold Lang, and Lisa Kirk, how can any subsequent cast compare? Unfortunately, they can't. This cast comes extremely close however. Marin Mazzie sounds ideal as Lilli Vanessi, bringing a wonderful range and adaptability to her character. Brian Stokes Mitchell also comes across extremely well on this recording--much better than he was onstage, as a matter of fact. It's impossible not to notice some of the note and key changes that were made to accomodate his voice. (He's good, but no Alfred Drake.) The rest of the cast is more than adequate for the roles, but none of them have quite the spark of life or the personality that the original leads had. Despite a few strange (and mostly inexplicable) changes to the score, the quality of the recording is great, and it preserves most of the material from the show in a memorable and extremely listenable fashion. If you only get one recording of Kiss Me, Kate, get the original. But if you want two, this should definitely be the other one.Free Music Review: Brushing Up On Shakespeare
Hit: 4 Stars
Until I purchased this cast recording, I had never experienced the effect of a "play within a play" cast recording. I was charmed by the creative irony of using Shakespeare's own device in order to create this entirely new production entitled Kiss Me, Kate. Because I have only heard the revival cast recording, I have nothing to compare it to. I can only recommend this cast recording, as well as this production in general, based on the merits of its performers as well as Porter's innovativeness. First let me say that Marin Mazzie's "So In Love" is beautifully performed. I found I preferred the way she used her voice in this selection. Brian Stokes Mitchell was adequate in his performance but again, I found myself enjoying his performance in the reprise of "So In Love". Both Mazzie and Mitchell use their voices best when they are not acting out the roles of Pertruchio and Kate though they are undeniably entertaining in those roles, lyrically speaking.
The true delight of this recording was Spanger's Lois Lane/Bianca. I found her performance of "Tom, Dick, or Harry" as well as "Always True To You (In My Fashion)" to be two of my favorite selections. And of course, I thoroughly enjoyed "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" and admired Porter's lyrical creativity in that specific selection.
Altogether, this is a fantastic production which I really enjoyed. It has opened me up to Porter's work, which I had never experienced before. And it leaves me curious as to the quality of the other performances of this particular production.