I was all set to rate this a two-star recording. My main qualm with the show is that after reading about the premise, I expected something like "Floyd Collins", while the show frequently rather borders on "13" territory with Kids having problems. So I doubt this would be a show that would win me over on stage. But some of the music is really infectious. There is no vocal-arrangement credit here, but whether it was composer Chris Miller or music coordinator John Miller who provided those glorious harmonies, he is definitely one to admire, easily elevating songs like "The Burnt Part". As should be expected in this kind of show, the lyrics do not strive for any intellectual grandeur but are mostly of the "tell it like it is" variety. Still lines like "Weekends workin' on a moonshine coma / Take that over some bullshit diploma" suggest that the limitation to the vernacular is not the lyricist's (Nathan Tysen) but the characters'. A song that stands out is "Dusty Plays the Saw" as it toys with a motif from "Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo". All performances are solid even though no one stands out. In the end, this is not a show that will make much of an impact but listening to it occasionally is a pleasure.

Usually when I adore a musical, it is either because of its outstanding lyrics (e.g. "Sweeney Todd") or because of its emotional urgency (e.g. "Falsettos"). But there is the occasional musical that makes its impression otherwise. Not that "See what I wanna See" has bad lyrics, they are perfectly fine, just not particularly above-average. Here, however, the music stands out. The title song is powerful, "Quartet: You'll Go away with me" is interesting, and nothing is as gorgeous as the opening number "Kesa", which starts Idina Menzel on probably her best performance on a cast recording. She gets to show quite an array of character shadings in the three characters she plays - a Japanese murderer, an innocent (or not) housewife and an obsessed actress. Mary Testa is just as good as, respectively, a medium and an atheist. Marc Kudisch, Aaron Lohr and Henry Stram also get to strut their stuff, though the women stand out a little more. What puts this show among the smarter musicals is its structure. Michael John LaChiusa juxtaposed three seemingly very different and unrelated stories to come up with a unified discussion of questions of perspective, guilt and truth. So even though this show might stir my intellect more than my heart, stir it does!

I suppose "American Idiot" wants to be a satire on the American way of life in the form of a musical. Alas, Billie Joe Armstrong, the credited lyricist, is not exactly E.Y. Harburg, probably Broadway's supreme satirist. What Harburg possessed (as did Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter), was wit. That is definitely missing on "American Idiot". Musically there certainly are some nice melodic hooks, but they tend to be drowned out a little by rock music's general tedium with nonesensical repetition and a tendency not to let the songs finish in time. As all this makes the score more accessible for singers than for actors, that is exactly what the cast seems to do: They sing - and they do that very well. However, there are some performers in the cast that have already proven that they can fill a role - among them John Gallagher Jr., Mary Faber and Tony Vincent. It might have been nice to challenge them a little. However, "American Idiot" is a show that makes even "Passing Strange" seem theatrical.

Heidi Brühl ist sicherlich nicht die beste Annie Oakley, die man auf CD finden kann - Ethel Merman hat mehr Power, Bernadette Peters mehr Nuancen - trotzdem ist Brühl äußerst unterhaltsam und dennoch liebenswert auf ihrer Aufnahme. Davon ist hier nur wenig zu spüren. Die Liedauswahl ist sehr "was würde Angelika Milster singen?". Von den 12 Liedern auf der CD sind 7 von Andrew Lloyd Webber geschrieben, nur eins davon - "Ich werd nie allein sein", die deutsche Version von "Anything but Lonely" aus "Aspects of Love" - ist kein Standardmaterial. Dazu kommen Lieder aus "A Chorus Line", "Les Misérables" und "West Side Story" sowie die andere Überraschung, "You're on your own" aus "Freudiana". Nicht eins dieser Lieder lädt zum Schmunzeln ein. Sicherlich entstand die CD zu einem Zeitpunkt, als man im Musical gern eher unglücklich war. Aber wenn man den Weg zurück zu "West Side Story" gehen kann, hätte man auch z.B. "Kampf dem Mann" aus "Kiss me Kate" ins Programm nehmen können. Auch "Frank Mills" aus "Hair" hätte gut zu Brühl passen können oder etwas aus "The Sound of Music". Brühl spricht mich prinzipiell mehr an als Milster, da sie normalerweise nicht deren distanzierenden Pathos auffährt. Dafür hat Milster allerdings stimmlich weit mehr zu bieten, sodass Brühl eher Charaktersongs hätte singen sollen. Von daher ist die CD leider äußerst verzichtbar.

For "Les Misérables" enthusiasts, this is certainly an essential recording - after all it is very close to complete (I read somewhere that here and there, a few measures are actually missing, but who's counting?). So this could very well be a definitive recording - if only the performers were better! Philip Quast is still the best Javert I have come across, so he is beyond reproach. So is Anthony Warlow - sometimes his theatricality borders on the melodramatic, but at least he makes me understand how Enjolras can be an award-winning role. Michael Ball is not too shabby either, but he does weird things to his vowels sometimes. When Marius leaves before "One Day more", Ball claims it is because "somebody's hee-aw". Vocally, however, Ball is always first-rate. Well, and that is it for well-cast performers. I am neither here nor there concerning Barry James as Thénardier but Gay Soper's take on his wife is highly unpleasant. I suppose, Kaho Shimada should be praised for singing Eponine in a language she apparently does not speak. However, that is precisely the problem. She just sings it (partly copying Frances Ruffelle's inflections) without any attempt at acting. Debbie Byrne's vocals are not very interesting as Fantine, while Tracey Shayne does not shy away from shrillness as Cosette. Yes, the role calls for a soprano, but Judy Kuhn proved that you can still sound lovely. Which leaves us with Gary Morris as Jean Valjean, the central character. To his credit: He does try to act the part. The problem is that he mostly sounds like a diva suffering from a migraine. This is certainly just mannerism, not an acting choice. There is a palpable difference between the early wild Valjean from the Prologue and the later more controlled Valjean - still his Norma Desmond-esque vibe prevents him from exuding the strength and charisma an ideal Valjean possesses. Some might find Colm Wilkinson mannered as well, but few could deny his magnetism. In the end, this is a nice project, but not a particularly successful one - especially for someone like me who just does not notice the size of the orchestra.

There are those shows that are classics in their own right and you cannot get why. For me, "Godspell" is one of those shows. It's not that it is bad, but at least scorewise I find it very uninteresting. It does not help that most of the songs do not seem to be all too character-driven but rather vaguely kaleidoscopic. There are good moments here. Morgan James delivers both the sultry and the funny on "Turn back, o Man", and Hunter Parrish makes something beautiful out of "Beautiful City". Not as wonderful is Wallace Smith's take on "On the Willows" that sounds fairly shallow, and I just do not see the appeal of "Day by Day". Looking through the booklet, everybody looks super nice and obviously they are also enjoying themselves and each other. However, this only adds to this show's (or at least this production's) coming off as rather simplistic and not too dramatically sound. That said, the finale does find some genuine emotion, and also Stephen Schwartz's way of combining several motives from earlier songs gives the score some musical intelligence at last, instead of just a hit parade of Christian pop music. Alas, this is not my sort of show.

It's always hard to find a great next project after a huge success. Lerner and Loewe chose "Gigi" as their follow-up to "My Fair Lady", which was basically the same show. Jule Styne, however, went from "Gypsy", arguably the greatest Broadway musical ever, to "Do Re Mi", a piece that is jolly and utterly forgettable. It's not that there are no good numbers here. "I Know about Love" is a smart character song, "Fireworks" accurately conjures up a sensation of flying emotions, and "What's New at the Zoo?" is a silly parody of concept pop songs (there are two additional recordings of this songs as bonus tracks - Beatrice Lilie's take is particularly noteworthy). This CD would probably fare better if there were not a superior later version with Nathan Lane, Brian Stokes Mitchell und Heather Headley. Steve Arlen does not hold a candle to Mitchell's glorious tones. Jan Waters may also be a less interesting performer than Headley, but she does manage to be genuinely enjoyable in her girl-next-door persona. She is not the superstar, Headley cannot help but be. Max Bygraves actually is a nice alternative to Lane. Bygraves dominates the recording (but then Maggie Fitzgibbon does not have much to offer as his character's wife), and he is pretty funny, especially on "The Late, Late Show". Still, this recording is for everyone who already owns the Lane et al. recording and wants to hear other takes on the score.

"Starmania" kann natürlich an theatraler Subtilität nicht mit den besten Musicals mithalten, aber gerade für ein französisches "Spektakel" hat es diverse intelligente Momente und Versuche, eine tatsächliche Aussage zu haben. Ich bin mir etwa bei Sadias "Travesti" nicht vollkommen sicher, was es zu vermitteln versucht, aber ich vermute, es geht weniger um geschlechtliche und eher um soziale Travestie konservativer Werte, dass sie also nicht ihre körperliche, sondern ihre genderbelastete Weiblichkeit negiert. Jasmine Roy ist möglicherweise etwas eindimensionaler als diese Interpretation vermuten lässt, sie ist aber immerhin mit Power dabei. Das ist auch Luce Dufault als Marie-Jeanne, womit sie weniger Verletzlichkeit ausstrahlt, als die Rolle gern hätte. Judith Bérard ist als Cristal nicht besser oder schlechter als jede andere in dieser eher uninteressanten Rolle. Zur Seite steht ihr in Bruno Pelletier als Johnny Rockfort einer der beschäftigsten Darsteller der französischsprachigen Musicalszene. Er schlägt sich ganz gut, wenn seine Kopfstimme in "Banlieue Nord" auch nicht die stärkste ist. In der Hinsicht schlagen sich Frank Sherbourne (Ziggy) und Patsy Gallant (Stella Spotlight) eindeutig besser, besonders sie unterstreicht mit ihrer Exaltiertheit den ganzen Punkt von "Ego Trip", womit sie Michel Pascal als Zéro Janvier etwas unterbuttet, der dafür aber "Le Blues du businessman" ungewohnt intim gibt. Diese Aufnahme mag nicht die beste Version von "Starmania" sein - das ist die vier Jahre später erschienene Doppel-CD, aber es gibt auch keine dramatischen Kritikpunkte.

Is this a perfect rendition of "Les Misérables"? Well, no. At times, there are some very lamentable cuts. Cosette and Marius do not get to meet, Gavroche does not get to die, Eponine does not get to recognize Cosette; most other cuts are not too severe, though. Is this still the best version of "Les Misérables"? Oh, and how! There are at least four definitive performances here. Colm Wilkinson was with the show in its London and Broadway openings as Jean Valjean, and he commands the stage with outstanding vocal chops and emotional intensity. As Javert, Philip Quast is as much Wilkinson's equal as is possible. While Valjean is defined by his desire to put behind him his past as a somewhat wrongly convicted felon as much as by his relationship to his adopted daughter Cosette, Javert only has his monomania of putting crime away, making Valjean his White Whale. However, Quast's Javert never comes across as one-dimensional. Quast seems to take in every new piece of information along with his character, giving Javert a surprising spontaneity within his highly controlled character. Ruthie Henshall's vocal technique might not be everybody's cup of tea (I do not mind listening to her), but she is an astounding actress. Her Fantine is victimized but she keeps some of her strength throughout, but she also delivers heartbreak when during her deathscene she briefly lights up and promises her absent daughter that "I will sing you lullabies and see you in the morning". Henshall knows every aspect of Fantine. Of the minor roles, the star turn is Jenny Galloway's Mme Thénardier. She is crass, shrill, loud and outstandingly entertaining in her agility (much more so than in the 25th anniversy concert). Judy Kuhn may not be precisely young enough or pretty enough to be an ideal Cosette in theory. But her soprano is lovely, and she is never in danger of being boring. It is similar with Michael Ball. He is older than Marius should be - but how do you fault his tone of voice? Lea Salonga sounds pretty, too, but her Eponine is mostly just cute and not as acted as it could be. Alun Armstrong is an entertaining Thénardier, Anthony Crivello draws a lot from the minor role of Grantaire, Hannah Chick and Adam Searles are good in the roles of Young Cosette and Gavroche. When I originally bought the videocassette in the 90s, this was marketed as the dream cast, and really the only performer who does not fit into that concept is Michael Maguire. I have no clue why he won a Tony as Enjolras. But add the gorgeous (though not always theatrically sensible) score and the fact that with this musical, a concert setting actually helps bringing out the strength of the music and the performers, and there is really not much to say against this.

Ich nehme an, es macht Sinn, mit Pop auf Musicals aufmerksam zu machen, auch wenn es schwierig ist, sich bei ""I was Born to Love you"" vorzustellen, wie dieses Lied eines Tages auf der Bühne klingen könnte. Denn in der vorliegenden Fassung kommt es über Durchschnittspop in keiner Weise hinaus. Das fängt an bei uninteressanten melodischen Wendungen und geht weiter mit platten Texten. Beispielsweise versichern sich die Liebenden, dass sie schon seit tausend Jahren zueinander gehören. Ob das im Musical selber wohl irgendwie mit einer Art Sinn gefüllt wird? Andernfalls wirkt es nach dummer Phrasenkloperei. Sicherlich muss man dieser Single zumindest zugestehen, dass Drew Sarich und Lisa Antoni gut miteinander singen. Besonders seine Stimme klingt leider sehr weitgespült – wo er im Idealfall doch interessant kantig klingen kann. Sie hat da mehr Glück und kommt recht stimmschön daher. Und sie harmonisieren miteinander – was will man also je mehr? (na ja, Sinn und Theaterflair, aber das bin vielleicht nur ich)