Please review H2$ CD...
Jared B. Blaut
Anybody care to give a detailed review of the new How to Succeed...
recording?
--Jared
HEDONISM
IMHO, the Rosemary and Smitty are horribly miscast (and could have done
great jobs playing the other's parts) Broderick is passable as Finch -
I hope Peter Scholari succeeds him in the role and is recorded. The J.B.
Biggly sounds too young and the Hedy doesn't sound enough like Miss Adelaide
to satisfy me. Pit sounds pretty good. The dance music is nice. The cutting
of CIINDERELLA, DARLING is inexcusable. Walter C. sounds too subdued as the
'book.'
Stick with the original cast or the movie score.
King...@DePauw.Edu
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Sam Ross
original Broadway cast. It is perfect. Especially Morse and Rudy Vallee.
Iread somewhere that Pee Wee Herman was under consideration to replace
Broderick.
Sam
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Mark Evanier
H2$ CD, which I think is quite wonderful and deserves the right to live
on its own. One thing that I liked about the CD (and show) is that the
folks behind it obviously did NOT attempt to emulate the Robert
Morse-Rudy Vallee incarnation. To measure the new version against the
old is to say that a Broadway show can have only one possible
interpretation. Yeah, they could have found someone to do the show
just like Morse but why? (When Morse and Vallee did their farewell
tour in the show, which I caught, they did not have the original Bud
Frump, Charles Nelson Reilly, in the role. But they had some guy who
looked like Reilly and imitated him to the nth degree and I thought
that was very, very limiting.)
Matthew Broderick's interpretation is fresh and just as valid in its
own way as Morse's. Audiences seem to love him and no one burned the
George M. Cohan statue in Times Square to protest Broderick winning the
Tony. So where's the problem?
I can also defend the decision to delete "Cinderella, Darling," which
someone here felt was indefensible. One of the realities of Broadway
with which we must live is that it is ridiculously expensive. Few
enough Broadway musicals are attempted these days without further
intensifying the financial risk by insisting that a show not take
reasonable steps to appeal to a '95 audience. "H2$" in its original
incarnation had a lot of lines and situations that would likely not be
funny today; they would just lead to the belief that the show was
hopelessly out of date. I was impressed with the subtle ways in which
they toned down the '60's sexism...making the female dancers more
physically dominant in "A Secretary is not a Toy"...changing one line
in "Been A Long Day," etc.. "Cinderella, Darling" was not one of
Loesser's best and, at the La Jolla tryout I attended, one of the
producers said that it had been excised with the blessings of Loesser's
widow. The Loesser estate has been extremely diligent in protecting
the integrity of Loesser's work in other venues; I have to bow to them
in their belief that he would have approved of the change.
Also, did someone say that the actress playing Hedy LaRue didn't sound
enough like Miss Adelaide? That can't be right. She wasn't playing
Miss Adelaide. Maybe the person meant that she didn't sound enough
like past Hedy LaRues...but I'm not sure why she should have been
expected to.
Anyway, bottom line for me is that I thought the show was excellent, I
think the CD is excellent and it goes in my little car CD-holder of my
fifty favorite musicals. Can't figure out yet which one I'm going to
eliminate.
F Douglas Knight
I like this recording very much. Matthew Broderick is so much less mannered
than Morse that it hard to adjust. But he gives an excellent vocal
performance. Victoria Clark and Johnathon Freemand are absolutely great
in every way. The recording is well-paced and beautifully recorded.
A compliment and complaint: the performances on this recording would be
great ones to use in teaching a class in "hoe to perform in a musical
comedy." They are well done, but very by the book.
Rosemary is quite weak. surely someone else was available.
I think Hedy sounds as much like Adelaide as I could stand without
fleeing the room in disgust.
Biggley is too dull. He doesn;t stand out from the rest, and he should.
Doug
fdkn...@delphi.com
Mark Bernstein
: I am disappointed with the recording also. I would agree, stick to the
: Iread somewhere that Pee Wee Herman was under consideration to replace
: Broderick.
: Sam
Pardon the nit-pick, but what I read was that Paul Reubens, the actor
best known for *playing* Pee-Wee Herman, was being considered as a
replacement for Broderick. (No, we are *not* going to see Herman
singing "I Believe In You".)
--
Mark Bernstein
ma...@erim.org
Sam Ross
Succeed...if Pee Wee ...I mean Reubens takes over.
Sam
Sam Ross
Frump is a very good imitation of Reilly, the Finch tries to emulate
Morse, they just aren't as good.
IMHO
Sam
Tony Anderson
Having enjoyed both the film version and the previous cast album,
I must say I enjoyed this new version quite a bit.
I think Broderick, although doesn't posess an astounding vocal
range is used very effectively in this role. I've mentioned to a few
people I know that he was doing it in New York, and they thought, Mathew
Broderick, perfect casting. If you listen to his voice and comedic style,
he is a good choice and does at times remind me of Robert Morse (which I
seem to think that was the point).
A bit of fine casting is Jonathan Freeman as Mr. Bratt. Once I
heard his voice I instantly thought....JAFAR! The very best part of
ALADDIN's score!
The dialogue on the CD is just enough to give you an idea where
the songs fit into the story, and Walter Cronkite is great as the Narrator.
I thought Rosemary was almost a little too airhead in this
version though. At least Michelle Lee gave her some sophistication in the
film version.
I would be hard pressed if I had to choose between the original
and this. I love Morse's performance yet the score has been given an
excellent refreshing update in this new release. I say buy them both! :-)
I hear that when the show goes on tour next summer that it's
first stop is going to be right here in good ol' Seattle WA!
ToNy
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Jack Pinson
planning on seeing while in NYC, I had looked forward to this production
the most. I was somewhat dissapointed when I saw this show. I did not
like Rosemary that much. I felt that there must have been someone better
out of all the people who auditioned.
I also felt that Hedy was too smart! She was too 90's. I much prefer
the "I know what I want and how I know how to get it" attitude without
showing her to be a tough broad. Cute is better in this instance.
Matthew is much better on this CD than he was in person. He was too
nerdy and way over the top. I found the sets & lighting to be the
biggest asset to this show. Very high tech and 90's, yet still
maintaining a 60's attitude.
This CD is far superior to the 60's version as it has more of the
incidental music and the narration of the book as performed by Walter
Cronkite.
Tex Tile
Jack Pinson
actually being. Rosemary is weak, but Bud Frump was wonderful! Matthew
sounds much better on the CD than he did in person. I also like this
recording because it gives more of the incidental music along with Walter
Cronkite as the narrator or books voice.
john in dallas
J Banning Jasiunas
a lot of stuff missing from the OBCR - the instrumentals: "Hedy's Entrance",
"Saturday Morning Ballet", and the Entr'acte; the reprises of "Happy to
Keep His Dinner Warm" and "It's Been a Long Day"; the full dance music for
"Coffee Break" and the Wickets dance, and, of course, the new reprise of
How to Succeed that replaces Cinderella Darling. The replacement of Cinderella
Darling is questionable, to say the least, but reflects on the production,
not the recording. As for the new orchestrations - thy're actually pretty
damn good; they're by Danny Troob... The cast is a mixed bag - I love
Broderick, delivering a performance that is more reminiscent of Morse on the
album that it is on stage, but delightful nonetheless; Victoria Clark (Smitty)
and Jonathan Freeman (Bratt) are excellent as always...; Lillias White
has an incredible gospel voice and the new arrangement really livens up
Brotherhood of Man (Ruth Kobart's version sounds anemic in comparison); Gerry
Vichi is great in his two parts.... Ronn Carroll comes across flatly on the
recording (while I liked him on stage); Luba Mason was good, but lacked a
little (as I felt her performance as a whole did) something, and I alternately
like and hate the work of Megan Mullaly (sometimes I think she's wonderful;
sometimes I think if I hear her whine once more I'll scream!). The
sound quality is good; I think I'll be listening to this one a lot - a nice
alternative to (though definitely not a replacement for) the OBCR.
Niklnu
almost enough to send me home happy. ALMOST. The thing that drives me up
a wall about the production is that it sits the fence. They made such a
big deal about '90-cising it - with the deletion of Cinderella Darling,
and the change of a line here or there, but Rosemary acts like a complete
idgit throughout the whole SHOW!!!!!!!!!! Between that whiney voice, and
the direction, I think it's worse than the '60's version and personally I
have nothing wrong with that. And there was also a big deal made about
how Broderick wasn't immitating Morse, but that's completely how it came
across to me. I wanted to see Matthew Broderick and it seemed like he was
holding back or calculatiung every move or SOMETHING. And he does sound
much better on the CD because you don't have to watch him look like he's
placing every note. I too love all the incidental music that was
included, but I wish that I could hear the REAL incidental music. I was
sad that they re-did the Wickette dance and the new Secretary and Coffee
break music was okay, but it added to that whole '90's discrepency - AND
THE OVERTURE!!!!!! I'm so upset about the overture. I like the new one,
but I love the old one. I really like Danny Troob's orchestrations. Does
anyone know what instruments he plays? There some AMAZING brass parts in
both H2$ and B&B that rock.
Anyway, I saw it twice, and I really have fun when I see it, but there are
a few annoying things - aren't there always? I can't wait to see it with
a new Finch and Rosemary to see if it's the actors or the direction.
my .02
nicole
Larry Martell
>Sam Ross (sr...@eagle.ibc.edu) wrote:
>: I am disappointed with the recording also. I would agree, stick to the
>: original Broadway cast. It is perfect. Especially Morse and Rudy Vallee.
>: Iread somewhere that Pee Wee Herman was under consideration to replace
>: Broderick.
>: Sam
>
>Pardon the nit-pick, but what I read was that Paul Reubens, the actor
>best known for *playing* Pee-Wee Herman, was being considered as a
>replacement for Broderick. (No, we are *not* going to see Herman
>singing "I Believe In You".)
I read that Paul Reubens was considered but has since been removed from
consideration. The current leading canditate to replace Broderick is
Ralph Macchio (sp?) (of Karate Kid fame).
--
Larry Martell
lar...@imsi.com I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right.
Howie Goldblatt
I absolutely HATED the production of H2$ when i saw it in DC. I really
was ready to leave at intermission. I found it overproduced, sexist,
lacking life, blah, blah, blah.
But, in some really weird "gee I've gotta have it" moment, I bought the
new recording. And, wouldn't you know it -- i have found it incredibly
delightful. And highly recommend it.
Guess it was the production concept/direction. Just listening to the
recording makes me want to mount a de-constructed version. If only it
were in public domain. Bummer...
Bob
--
* "Well, I'm not just a wicked stepmother. I'm also a wicked Avon lady. *
* And Avon has a new conditioner that'll do wonders for your hair." *
* *
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HEDONISM
>I actually enjoy the H2$ revival cast recording. First of all, it contains
>a lot of stuff missing from the OBCR - the instrumentals: "Hedy's Entrance",
>"Saturday Morning Ballet", and the Entr'acte; the reprises of "Happy to
>Keep His Dinner Warm" and "It's Been a Long Day"; the full dance music for
>"Coffee Break" and the Wickets dance, and, of course, the new reprise of
>How to Succeed that replaces Cinderella Darling. The replacement of Cinderella
>Darling is questionable, to say the least, but reflects on the production,
>not the recording. As for the new orchestrations - thy're actually pretty
>damn good; they're by Danny Troob... The cast is a mixed bag - I love
1. I agree that it's nice to hear the incidental music, but I don't know that
I really like some of the new orchestrations (especially the overture)
[aside, for the best reorchestration of a Loesser overture, listen
to the all-black cast recording of Guys and Dolls]
The new version of Brotherhood of MAn is great though.
2. Where did the lyrics for the girls' reprise of HOW TO come from? Were they
written by Loesser and cut or added by the new production staff?
Matt
King...@DePauw.Edu
SS+ / F+3, MWRA++2, PO+++2 / R30, Babs+!
J Banning Jasiunas
were written by Des McAnuff (the director)...
PS - with the blessing of the Loesser estate...
Timothy S. Warren
I found Broderick's voice to be down right offensice. To the point that,
although I am anxious to see the show, I'm waiting until he leaves!
Victor Lirio
: Matthew Broderick's interpretation is fresh and just as valid in its
: own way as Morse's.
I agree 100%! Matthew Broderick's performance surpassed my expectations
of him playing the part. Although I think that the recording sounded
better than the show, which is quite understandable.
Overall, the show was good...the recording was good.
--
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SParker999
singing in the finale, where they sing "though (something) be
(something...president?), but there's one thing clear, whoever the company
fires...etc"?
I've never been able to figure that line out and it's really bugging me.
Re the new cast, I'd say that it's not bad, but Matthew Brodrick is trying
WAY too hard. He's got a nice voice, but it doesn't seem that he's having
fun.
Rosemary and Smitty should have had their casting swapped.
I can forgive them cutting "Cinderella, Darling"(but isn't "Happy to keep
His Dinner Warm" more "sexist"?) but can't forgive them for cutting a
verse from "Paris Original" ("tres sexy, 'nes pa'? Goddammit, volia!") and
I think that Frump steals the show.
Steve Parker
SPark...@aol.com
Fredda
I know I'll never be president but there's one thing clear,
Whoever the company fires, I will still be here!!
Fredda