Although I love Madeline
Kahn, I’ve to confess that I was never a big fan of the original Broadway cast
of this musical. So I approached this new recording with some doubts and I was
surprised by how entertaining it is.
For the first time, I found
myself humming songs from the score, so I returned to the original recording
and I guess that it has something to do with the new orchestrations by Larry
Hochman. The score seems livelier and more theatrical; usually, I don’t like
when they record parts of the dialogue, but here it makes perfect sense and it
doesn’t stop me of playing the score over and over.
Of course, the choice of
Kristin Chenoweth to play Lily Garland was an inspired one. She sounds absolutely
perfect in the role; it’s like it was written specially for her and she has the
time of her life living it. The big productions numbers, “Veronique” and “Babette”,
are terrific and she is hilarious in both. But she’s also great with “Never”, “Sign,
Lilly, Sign/Together” and in her duets with Peter Gallagher, “Our Private
World” and “I’ve Got it All”. I also love her, and Paula Leggett Chase, in the
delicious “Indian Maiden’s Lament”.
Gallagher is at his best as
the hopeless and deceiving Oscar, great in “Because of Her”, “Lily/Oscar” and
“I Rise Again”, plus the already mentioned duets with Chenoweth. As the crazy
Letitia Primrose, Mary Louise Wilson delivers an amusing “Repent”; as Oscar’s
associates, Michael McGrath and Mark Linn Baker give the cast a strong support.
This is probably Cy Coleman’s
more classical score and he found in the lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph a
match made in heaven for this funny “madcap” operetta. This new Broadway cast,
less operatic than the original, deserves a place in all musical fans music
library!
Rate: 8 (from 1 to 10) / Photos by Joan Marcus
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