Customer Reviews

Bernstein: Wonderful Town (1999 Studio Cast)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Wonderful Town" is one of the frothiest, most delightful forays in the musical comedy genre ever created. This recording will certainly bring the piece to more listeners, which is good, but it isn't the best recording available. By far the most successful casting here is Audra McDonald as Eileen, her sweet, full soprano making the most out of Bernstein's marvelous music and Comden and Green's terrific lyrics. Kim Criswell trades in her usual brassiness for a more throaty and wry characterization than we are used to from her, but she makes it work well. She seems to be singing at the extreme low end of her range at times (especially in the "Ohio" duet) but this is because the role was originally written for Rosalind Russell, who had an incredibly full lower range (almost tenor-like). The rest of the casting works fairly well, but Rattle's conducting is what keeps this set from earning top honors. Parts are way too slow (the spoken section in OHIO) and others way too fast: the vamp in "Conversation Piece" needs to go at least twice as slow as Rattle takes it, or the number loses its humor. For better recordings of "Wonderful Town," I recommend either of the Ros Russell versions (the second one is slightly better) or the new, two-disc recording with Karen Mason and Rebecca Luker, which includes all the music plus several variants.

If you need one reason to buy this super cd, let it be for Leonard Bernstein's brilliant music---his only score to win a Tony Award. (That's right: neither "Candide" nor "West Side Story" won a Tony.)

The lyrics of Betty Comden and Adolph Green are some of their best. The witty duo came back to Broadway for this show, their first reunion with Bernstein since the success of "On The Town" almost 10 years before. They had very recently written the wildly successful "Singin' In The Rain" in Hollywood and with "Wonderful Town" they (& the entire creative team) conquered New York City.

This CD, to my mind, is a heck of alot better in almost every way than the original cast recording which starred Rosalind Russell. Russell, of course, could not sing and although her role is heavy on comedy and light on music, Kim Criswell comes off better: she is funny & touching as well as caustic and light-handed as well as tough. Russell sounds angry and almost sullen throughout...also quite mature. Add to this, the fact that Criswell has a sensational singing voice. As her love interest,Thomas Hampson, one of our finest operatic baritones, knows exactly how to lighten his voice to sing musical comedy and does it beautifully. On the Russell CD, George Gaines merely sounds old and terribly fancy, like a serious singer who is slumming. Although Edith Adams is fine as "Eileen," Audra McDonald (a 3-time Tony winner, herself) is even better in the role of the girl that all New York City wants to woo. Brent Barrett brings his gorgeous voice, as well as comic skills to his one song as the football-playing dunce, "Wreck."

The sound on this 1999 recording is superb. The conductor, Sir Simon Rattle, throws himself into Bernstein's score with verve and shows exactly how much he loves American jazz and Broadway.

There are many comic numbers, all of which hit the mark, but I must mention that "A Little Bit In Love" and "A Quiet Girl" and "It's Love" have got to be three of the sweetest, cleverest, most charming "love" songs in any musical. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Why? Because we LOVE it!

The music in this show is absolutely breathtaking! "Ohio" has become my new favorite song (and not because that's where I live, but because of it's haunting harmony that rips at your heart strings).

All the performances are great, but Audra's (as usual) stands out above the rest. Her "A Little Bit in Love" is so charming you can almost hear her face light up! That girl is just asking to beome another wonder of the world! Oh yah, and so is Wonderful Town.

I had the awesome good fortune to see this program performed in London last summer with all these stars and under the baton of Simon Rattle. It was a magical evening, all of which is captured on this fantastic recording. The cast does a marvelous job of passing the terrific energy of Berstein's music along to the listener. And the lyrics are a delight. Although this particular show is not as well-known as other classics by Bernstein et al, it well deserves a place among the standards. 'What a Waste' is a delightful surprise, and 'A Quiet Girl' is quite moving. Audra McDonald sings like an angel, and her rendition of 'Little Bit in Love' is simply lovely. Despite the perfection of the voices and the lyrics, one of the highlights of the recording is Bernstein's jazzy and sensual 'Ballet at the Village Vortex.' Wow! Overall, this is just a terrific recording that brings back memories of a magical night -- imagine 200 people doing a 'Conga' line through the Royal Albert Hall -- that energy comes through on this recording.

I was browsing through the cd selection at my library when I came across this one. I have always liked Leonard Bernstein but for some reason had never connected him with this musical. His name and Thomas Hampson's caught my eye and I decided to try it out. I'm so glad I did! The songs are marvelous, really bringing out the whole comical aspect of the story. I had never heard of any of the performers (with the exception of Thomas Hampson, whose voice I just love) but was so impressed with their renditions of their characters. Kim Criswell's throaty voice sounds just like you would think Ruth would feel about life in general; Audra McDonald has a sweet optimistic view in her songs; Brent Barrett is hilarious in "Pass the Football" (I laugh every time I hear it--he is so expressive); and Thomas Hampson's beautiful baritone is perfect in "What a Waste" and "A Quiet Girl". The supporting singers are great, too. I have listened to this cd over and over. I just can't seem to get enough of it! The recording itself is very good, clear and detailed, and I was delighted with the booklet with the full lyrics. Altogether very good; I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys musical theatre.

This is one of the better cast albums of WONDERFUL TOWN, though nothing tops the original '53 recording with Rosalind Russell. Still, time marches on and there have been several superb Ruth's in recent years, including the fabulous Kim Criswell.

Criswell has the perfect brassy voice to sing the scores of Broadway's golden classics (she's also luminous on the '91 studio album of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN), and she fits the material of TOWN to a tee. Her spin on Ruth is well worth your time and money, especially her fetching "100 Easy Ways" and showstopping "Conga!". And, as with the ANNIE GET YOUR GUN album, she's once again paired with Thomas Hampson, who plays Ruth's love interest Bob Baker (he played Frank opposite her Annie Oakley).

Audra McDonald is likewise the perfect Eileen, perhaps offering up the definitive "A Little Bit in Love", and proves she's a comical cutup with "My Darlin' Eileen" as well as "Wrong-Note Rag". Brent Barrett is sadly under-used in the role of football-mad Wreck.

Conductor Simon Rattle gives the album a cracking pace which never slackens or drags. A top studio album which is enlivened no end by its perfectly-realised cast.

Having now immersed myself in this obnoxiously catchy score for about a week, I think I can safely say that "Wonderful Town" is the most spectacularly amusing and endearing venture into Broadway that Leonard Bernstein and friends made. This ensemble does them great justice, with fine orchestral playing and conducting from (Sir) Simon Rattle, and glorious singing from the London Voices and the soloists. At times the music is stereotypically Broadway-esque: it's got more vamps than "West Side Story" or "On the Town" and on some numbers there's an obvious build-up to a big "drag" ending. But therein lies both it's charm and the remarkable signature of its composer: no matter how "musical-ish" the piece may sound, it can only be the music of Leonard Bernstein. He is totally in his element here: the songs are fantastically melodic and memorable. The lyrics of Betty Comden and Adolph Green are top notch, and everything seems very well inspired. The "Ohio" duet (which I had never heard in its entirety until I got this CD) is satirical yet beautiful, and the "Conga" that ends the first act is terrific fun. The two (well really three) tracks that deserve special mention, though, are "Pass the Football" (sung with splendid precision by Brent Barrett), "Wrong Note Rag" (which doesn't sound half as "corny" as the score indicates or a few other recordings make it sound), and "Swing" (which has to be one of the sweetest tracks anyone has ever written for any Broadway spiel). The accompanying program booklet contains the entire libretto along with four fascinating different articles (if I may call them that) about the making of the show, the history of the story, and the synopsis (it even includes excerpts from an opening night review), and is well worth the price of admission by itself. It's somewhat hard to believe after listening to this excellent show that Broadway has survived how it has through so much vapid and really inconsequential music and writing. Comden, Green, and Bernstein were a treat and an honor, and this recording pays them a great tribute.

"Wonderful Town," was one of Leonard Bernstein's earliest successes, but unfairly it has tended to be eclipsed by the later success of "West Side Story." Here, in a fizzing performance, starrily cast, Rattle rights the balance in a performance at once vigorously idiomatic and also refined in the many lyrical moments. The two characterful sisters finding their feet in the big city are brilliantly played here by Criswell and McDonald, not just charismatic as actreses, but singing superbly. Hampson as Robert just as commandingly bestrides the conflicting problem of Broadway and the classical tradition, and Brent in the cabaret tradition. Such numbers as "Ohio," 'A little bit in love,' 'Conversation piece' and 'Wrong note rag,' rounded off with the big tune of 'It's love,' can be appreciated for their full musical quality, with Rattle and his talented Birmingham group relishing the jazzy idiom. Bright, forward sound to match, and a nice little booklet which gives the full text.

If you think Leonard Bernstein's only musicals are WEST SIDE STORY and CANDIDE, this recording will make you think again!! It's an amazing, fun score, with great ballads and comedy numbers. This recording has a terrific cast and orchestra giving their all, and great sound too. Buy it now

I will make this short. If you are more interested in the theatrical aspects of musical theatre and seek that verve and spunk, those dramatic and exaggerated characterizations, then you will probably prefer the original 1953 and TV 1958 recordings with Rosalind Russell. If, on the other hand, you are more keen to hear contemporary sound quality with focus on Bernstein's music, then this 1999 album with Sir Simon Rattle, conductor, would be the better choice. Moreover, Kim Criswell, Audra McDonald, and the great Thomas Hampson are first rate vocalists and seem to be having fun. Bernstein wrote this music after that other Town show, On The Town, and this recording not only does justice to it but can serve to refresh the public's mind on how splendid was his Broadway writing before that blockbuster, West Side Story. The enclosed booklet with historical commentaries, photographs, and lyrics is also very worthwhile.