Take Broadway Home! – CDs of Tony Nominated Musicals From Off-Broadway and The West End

By Ellis Nassour, Ole Miss alum and noted arts journalist and author
Last season was dominated by the landmark Pulitzer-and Tony-winning Hamilton. People were saying, “How could the 2016-2017 season top that?” There’s not another Hamilton to be sure, but there’s plenty of excitement and diversity in this season of distinguished musicals.
It’s also been a season of superstars: Glenn Close, Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole. On these new original cast CDs, you won’t hear the thunderous applause at Sunset Boulevard, and Hello, Dolly!, Where mid-show standing ovations and numerous curtain calls for Close and Midler are the norm. But listen, and you’ll know why.
The Broadway League, the national trade association for Broadway, has released end-of-2016 – 2017 season statistics. It was the highest grossing one ever. Attendance reached 13,270,343 with a gross just short of $1.5-billion. This tally is only legit box office prices, which include premium sales.
The Tony Awards are June 11 in a three-hour telecast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall, with Kevin Spacey hosting.

There were 20 musicals, which includes six revivals; 20 plays (10 original, nine revivals) – both among the highest ever in a season.

Until you can grab tickets these bargain-priced original cast albums are a perfect way to at least enjoy aspects of the in-person experience:
Amelie (Rhino Warner Classics; 26 tracks) by Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen; closed; available June 9:
Tony nominee, the luminous Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) returned to Broadway in this charming, bittersweet musical with book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony nominee Craig Lucas (The Light in the Piazza), based on the beloved Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated French film.
Highlights: “Writing on the Wall,” “Stay,” “Where Do We Go from Here?”
Anastasia (Broadway Records; 25 tracks) by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; available June 9:
Christy Altomare (a Sophie in Mamma Mia) is amnesiac orphan Anya, hoping to find family, who’s spotted by bungling conmen (Derek Klena, John Bolton (A Christmas Story; Dames at Sea) who wish to take advantage of her likeness to Russia’s Grand Duchess Anastasia, thought to be the only survivor of the execution of Czar Nicholas and family. She’s so authentic that she wins over the skeptics, including the Dowager Empress, Tony-nominated Mary Beth Piel. Based on Disney’s 1997 animated film [includes Oscar-nominated “Journey to the Past” and five other film tunes].
Highlights: Original songs “In My Dreams,” “Everything to Win,” “Journey to the Past.”
Bandstand (Broadway/Yellow Sound Records; 18 tracks) by Richard Oberacker and Rob Taylor; available June 23:

Returning WWII vet, a singer/songwriter, Corey Cott (Gigi; Newsies), forms a band with vets to seek the golden prize: Hollywood fame. But haunted by memories of his downed pal, he meets his young widow, Tony nominee Laura Osnes, who reluctantly joins the band. There’s instant attraction until a shattering secret is revealed. Pulsating Big Band-orchestrations by Tony-nominated Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen. Tony winner Beth Leavel (Drowsy Chaperone) co-stars.
Highlights: “Just Like It Was Before,” “Love Will Come and Find Me Again,” “Everything Happens,” “Welcome Home.”
A Bronx Tale (Ghostlight Records; 19 tracks) by Alan Menken and Glen Slater:
Move over Manhattan Heights, make way for the stoops of rough and tumble 60s Bronx, where crime does pay, in this adaptation of Chazz Palminteri’s 2007 streetwise one-man play (also a 1993 film) about a boys influences. It’s Dad v. Crime Boss, Richard H. Blake and DD nominee Nick Cordero (Waitress, Bullets over Broadway scene-stealer) with traces of Newsies, Wise Guys, and Jersey Boys doo-wop.
Highlights: “Belmont Avenue,” “I Like It,” “Out of Your Head.”
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Masterworks Broadway; 19 tracks) by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman:
Chocolate-covered whimsy, sadly readapted from the hit West End musical, based on Roald Dahl’s novel and featuring songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 2005 film. Christian Borle, with John Rubenstein, and Emily Padgett (Side Show revival). The spectacular aspects have been decimated, and all that’s left is a bore. But it’s a family show.

Highlights: “What Could Possibly Go Wrong,” “If Your Father Were Here,” “The View from Here.”
Come from Away (Musical Company; 25 tracks, including bonus) by David Hein and Irene Sankoff:
Tony-nominated for Best Musical. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, 38 planes en route to the U.S. with 6,579 passengers were forced to land at Gander, Newfoundland’s former military base for a week due to airspace closure. In a variety of motifs [folk reels to lush ballads], we meet unprepared locals who must rise to the occasion. Winning cast of townspeople and passengers includes Tony nominee Jenn Colella, like American Airlines’ first female pilot, Chad Kimball (Memphis), Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks, and Q Smith.
Highlights: “Lead Us Out of the Night,” “Me and the Sky,” “Stop the World.”
Dear Evan Hansen (Atlantic; 14 tracks) by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson:
Tony-nominated for Best Musical. Broadway’s always attempting to attract younger audiences, and those with good jobs or rich parents are flocking – along with adult theatergoers — to experience the devastating emotions explored in this musical about an emotionally repressed student.Tony nominee Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect films) gives a breathtakingly wrenching performance as the all but friendless teen, already hiding a dark secret, who uses a tragedy to become closer to a suicide victim’s sister and her family – and pays an anguishing price. Tony-nominated Rachel Bay Jones has big moments as his mother. Unfortunately, you won’t hear Will Roland and Kristolyn Lloyd’s scene-stealing bits. The deep empathy of the ballads will captivate and haunt.
Highlights: “For Forever,” “If I Could Tell Her,” “You Will Be Found,” “So Big/So Small,” “Words Fail.”

Falsettos (Ghostlight; two discs, 36 tracks; with a 60-page color booklet with lyrics and photos) by William Finn and James Levine; closed:

Tony-nominated for Best Revival. A neurotic gay man, his wife, lover, son, their psychiatrist, and lesbian friends explore changing relationships in the make-up of modern families. Tony-nominated Christian Borle (Tony winner, Something Rotten), Stephanie J. Block Andrew Rannells (Tony nominated, Book of Mormon), and Brandon Uranowitz (Tony nominee, An American in Paris) captivate.
Highlights: “Love is Blind,” “This Had Better Come to a Stop,” “Making a Home,” “What More Can I Say,” “Unlikely Lovers.”

Groundhog Day (Masterworks Broadway; 19 tracks) by Tim Minchin:
Tony-nominated, Best Musical. Tony nominee and Olivier-winning Andy Karl (Rocky, Mystery of Edwin Drood revival) in a Groundhog Day |Catch-22, based on the 1993 film, as arrogant TV weather caster who finds himself in a time warp – repeating the same day over and over. Clever staging adds a lot to the thin plot.

Highlights: “There Will Be Sun,” “Hope,” “Everything About You,” “Night Will Come.”
Hello, Dolly! (Masterworks Broadway; 16 tracks; 42-page booklet with lyrics and color shot of Midler) by Jerry Herman:
Tony-nominated, Best Musical, Revival. Colorful revival starring the divine Bette Midler gives razzle dazzle new definition. In the showstopping moment after another – singing, doing fancy footwork or eating. She’s well-accompanied to Yonkers, the 14th Street Parade, and Harmonia Gardens by Tony nominees David Hyde Pierce, Gavin Creel, and Kate Baldwin. At 53 minutes, the cd doesn’t give the scope of being there. The disc has an 80-minute capacity, but cuts have been made. “The Waiter’s Gallop,” at 2:51, and the Finale, at 1:43, are shorter than onstage. You won’t feel shortchanged on the Overture, “Dancing” or title song.
Highlights: “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “Ribbons Down My Back,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment.”
Beginning June 13, Tony winner Donna Murphy (Passion) will play the lead on Tuesday evenings; and, at the end of June through year end, additional performances.

In Transit (Hollywood Records; 18 tracks) by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth; closed:

Broadway’s first a cappella score, by vets of Frozen and Pitch Perfect, told of New Yorkers facing the challenges of city life as MTA trains pass them by.
Highlights: “Deep Beneath the City,” “Choosing Not to Know,” “Not There Yet.”
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Reprise; two discs; 27 tracks) by Dave Malloy:
Tony-nominated, Best Musical. The complicated story, adapted from 70-pages of War and Peace, has been turned into a mesmerizing spectacle. Tony-nominated Denée Benton (Natasha, betrothed to Andrei) and Lucas Steele (arrogant, wicked Anatole) are ravenous lovers; Josh Groban (Pierre), the brooding misfit son of a royal who returns to Russia and an inheritance and attempts to untangle the romantic triangle. Brittain Ashford is stunning as the lovelorn Sonya.
Highlights: “No One Else,” “Dust and Ashes,” “Sonya & Natasha,” “Sonya Alone.”
War Paint (Ghostlight; 21 tracks) by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie:
Tony, DD nominated Best Musical. Pioneering cosmetic entrepreneurs Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, portrayed by stage favs Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, engage in fierce rivalry for dominance from the 30s to 60s as they change the face of American women.
Highlights: “If I’d Been a Man,” “Pink,” “Forever Beautiful,” “Beauty in the World.”
There’s more: one from Off Broadway and one from London’s West End:
Spamilton (DRG; 25 tracks) by Gerard Alessandrini:

This musical parody of guess what landmark musical is in love with what it mocks. It spins the difficulty of getting tickets, speculation about the film version, and most of all, the revolution — not the 18th-century political one, but the showbiz one. Alessandrini is the creator of 25 riotously hilarious Forbidden Broadway editions. He has a way with words, but this spoof is more affectionate tribute than one dripping with scathing humor.
Dreamgirls (Sony Music; 28 tracks, two discs) by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger:
U.K. premiere of iconic 1982 Tony-nominated musical of Chicago R&B female trio vying for the big time during the 60s and learning hard lessons about show business and romance. Olivier-winning Amber Riley (Glee) is The Dreams’, Effie White.
Box office prices at around $189 and more for musicals can be daunting. Since you have to pay rent or monthly fees and also eat, you might consider the numerous promotions for shows in previews, Broadway League promotions for Kid’s Night, NYC & Company’s bi-annual Broadway Week [usually two weeks] 2-for 1 ticket offers (www.nycgo.com), and take advantage of the fact that 85% of shows are available for 40-50% off [plus $4.50 service fee] at the TDF booths.
Avoid purchasing price-gouging “resale tickets” from those sites engaging in this sort of consumer rip-off.
Keep in mind newer shows such as School of Rock and the return of Cats, Miss Saigon, and Sunset Boulevard [closing June 25]; and hot shows from previous seasons – Aladdin, Beautiful, Book of Mormon, Kinky Boots, On Your Feet, and Waitress — all still going strong but with available seats. Then, they’re the long-running champs: Chicago, Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked. Hamilton is still hot, hot, and hot.
You can also still get original cast recordings of the original Miss Saigon; Cats; and Sunset Boulevard [Los Angeles, pre-Broadway cast].

Ellis Nassour is an Ole Miss alum and noted arts journalist and author who recently donated an ever-growing exhibition of performing arts history to the University of Mississippi. He is the author of the best-selling Patsy Cline biography, Honky Tonk Angel, as well as the hit musical revue, Always, Patsy Cline. He can be reached at ENassour@aol.com.
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Take Broadway Home! – CDs of Tony Nominated Musicals From Off-Broadway and The West End

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