Tuesday, November 15, 2016

SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY

Original Broadway Cast – 1963 / Songs by Naomi Caryl Hirshhorn & Charles Aidman
Starring: Betty Garrett, Joyce Van Patten, Robert Elston, Charles Aidman, Hal Lynch
Rate: ? (from 1 to 10)

Review: This play with music based on Edgar Lee Master’s “collection of short free-form poems” isn’t a musical. So the original cast recording has more talk than music, something that never appeals to me. I know many theater fans like to listen to recorded plays, but I’m not one of them. So, although I listened to this one, I guess that to be fair to it I shouldn’t review it. I’m not the right person to do it.

The songs, practically all sung by Naomi Caryl Hirshhorn, sound too much alike and I guess it has to do with the spirit of the play. I confess I was expecting to hear the great Betty Garret belt a number or two, but this isn’t that kind of show. Some of the songs sound kind of sad and I never cared much for folk music, and I think that’s what these songs are, but it’s possible I’m terribly wrong.

I believe there are other theatre aficionados and collectors who will love to add this recording to their library.

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