This is gonna be really obscure, that I’ll be surprised if anyone has any sort of comment to make at all.
Anyway, I’ve been collecting cast albums of all the shows that were nominated for Tony Awards. In some cases, I had to go with a London version, when there was no Broadway recording, but all in all, I’ve managed to buy every musical CD with the exception of 16 shows which either haven’t been released on CD yet, or were never recorded. Just thought I’d share…
1959 - La Plume De Ma Tante
1965 - Oh, What A Lovely War!
1968 - Illya, Darling
1972 - Ain’t Supposed To Die A Natural Death
1973 - Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope
1975 - The Lieutenant
1977 - Happy End
1978 - Dancin’
1981 - Sophisticated Ladies
1983 - Merlin
1985 - Quilters
1985 - Leader of the Pack
1986 - Big Deal
1994 - Cyrano: The Musical
1996 - Chronical of a Death Foretold
2000 - James Joyce’s The Dead
(Told ya it’d be obscure…)
Alzarain, check out the sites of Fynsworth Alley and DRG, two NY-based record companies that specialize in the less commercial musicals.
Unfortunately, I know for a fact that THE DEAD, which I adored, was not recorded.
How about the most current Broadway season- is there a cast CD for “A Year With Frog and Toad”? I looked for one for my nieces a while back, and couldn’t find one.
Frog & Toad is out.
One of the best sites for cast CDS is www.eur.com/musicals
NYC’s Footlight Records is great for finding cast CDS. They know everything and their service is really, really good. www.footlight.com
Wow, I’m glad I’m not the only fan of original cast albums!
By the way, does anyone know of a message board that is devoted to fans of musicals? I’d love to find others to chat with.
I was a little worried about whether “Amour” or “Year with Frog and Toad” would be released, but I happily have both now! It’s a shame the Tonys showed that ballad for F&T, as there were songs that were more fun on the CD. And I’m floored by how much I love “Amour”. This is a real find!
Thanks, Annie-Xmas. This site is incredible: www.eur.com/musicals
So, now I’ve discovered that of the 16 CDs I didn’t have:
3 Released on CD:
Happy End (There is an old German version from 1929? Still, I’m thinking the 1977 version on Broadway was the original Weill opera in German as well and nominated that year cause it had never been seen in New York, and 1977 was a bad year for new musicals)
Sophisticated Ladies (back in 1981, out of print and yet to be rereleased)
Cyrano (There is a Dutch recording from the early 90’s, sounds like it may be the one that eventually went to Broadway. Looks like it may have English lyrics too.)
6 Released on LP (so, chance of CD release one day):
La Plume de ma Tante
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Illya, Darling
Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death
Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope
Leader of the Pack
7 Never Released (Maybe a studio recording someday?)
The Lieutenant
Dancin’
Merlin
Quilters
Big Deal
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
James Joyce’s The Dead
Ask (me about musicals) and ye shall receive:
www.talkingbroadway.com
THE best site for musicals. Their All That Chat forum is for discussion of musicals only.