Lady In The Dark (1997 Original London Cast)
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Kurt WeillConductor: Kurt Weill
Performer: Steven Edward Moore
Performer: Hugh Ross
Performer: Charlotte Collingwood
Performer: Jill Cooper
Performer: Peter Cormican
Performer: Charlotte Cornwell
Performer: Louise Davidson
Performer: Emma Deigman
Edition: Music CD
Format: Cast Recording
CD Release Date: 1998-05-05
Music Label: Jay Records
Soundtracks:
- Oh, Fabulous One
- Huxley
- One Life to Live
- Girl of the Moment
- Liza, Liza
- Mapleton High Chorale
- This Is New
- Princess of Pure Delight
- Woman at the Altar
- Overture
- Greatest Show on Earth
- Dance of the Tumblers
- Best Years of His Life
- Tschaikowsky
- Saga of Jenny
- My Ship
- Exit Music
Free Music Notes for Lady In The Dark (1997 Original London Cast)
Free Music Review: A forgotten gem of vast historical importance
Hit: 5 Stars
Many people cite OKLAHOMA! for re-inventing the Broadway musical in 1943. Those who praise it repeatedly cite three revolutionary concepts: three-dimensional characters, a quiet opening, and a choreographed dream sequence revealing the heroine's inner desires. How does LADY IN THE DARK (premiered in 1941) stack up? The characters are three-dimensional, and the show opens with one man on stage in an office. Dream sequences? There are three multi-song technicolor dreams, plus an extensive flashback sequence.
Even though it's rarely staged today and many avid fans of Broadway musicals are unfamiliar with it, LADY IN THE DARK was a hit back when it was first staged in 1941. Look at the talents who collaborated on it: Moss Hart wrote the book, Kurt Weill wrote the music, Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics, Gertrude Lawrence and Danny Kaye originated two of the lead roles.
THE STORY:
Liza Elliot, a successful editor of a women's fashion magazine, has been feeling uneasy and she can't figure out why. As a last-ditch attempt to get a grip, she goes for psychoanalysis. As we watch Liza interact with her coworkers, her lover, and a movie star, we also view the issues with which she's struggling through her dreams. And what dreams they are! In the first, she's the epitome of glamour and popularity, in the second, she imagines her wedding going terribly awry, and in the third - one of Broadway's most incredible musical sequences - she is the defendant in one of the most bizarre courtroom dramas ever witnessed. It isn't until Liza has talked through these dreams that she finally recalls some childhood incidents that she has repressed - related in surprising ways to the dreams - that free her to move onward.
THE MUSIC:
Wow! Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin have created some amazing stuff! Almost all of the music occurs in the three dream sequences. Three of the four songs in the first dream, "Oh Fabulous One," "One Life to Live," and "The Girl of the Moment," are great. The second dream features the romantic ballad, "This Is New." All five songs in the third dream are wonderful, especially the two consecutive showstoppers, the Ringmaster's comic diversion, "Tchaikowsky," and Liza's defense of the virtue of indecision, "The Saga of Jenny." The only real clunker in the show is one number from the second dream, "The Princess of Pure Delight." Ira Gershwin said that LADY was his best work, and he's right. There's only a few of those forced rhymes that abound in his earlier work.
THE RECORDING:
This is a JAY Records recording, so I can't say I was surprised at the weirdness of the liner notes. There's lots of interesting historical information on the creation of the show and of the recording, pictures from the production, and complete lyrics, but there's no cast listing! There's no plot synopsis either, but the music is so essential to the show that you'll have a good idea what the show is about after listening. Don't worry, there'll still be enough surprises left for you to discover if you have the opportunity to see the show performed live later. The casting choices are good: these people (whoever they are) are actors first and singers second, which is the correct emphasis needed to pull off such plot-drenched music.
SUMMARY:
If you're a musical theater fan, you need to add this to your collection!
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