Fame Becomes Me [Original Broadway Cast Recording] [Soundtrack]

Marc Shaiman (Composer), Charlie Alterman (Conductor), Marc Shaiman (Performer), Capathia Jenkins (Performer), Brooks Ashmanskas (Performer), Martin Short (Performer), Mary Birdsong (Performer), Nicole Parker (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marc Shaiman, Capathia Jenkins, Brooks Ashmanskas, Martin Short, Mary Birdsong, et al.
• Conductor: Charlie Alterman
• Composer: Marc Shaiman
• Audio CD (April 10, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Ghostlight
• ASIN: B000NJXGB8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,047 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Martin Short's 2006 Broadway show Fame Becomes Me is a love letter to old-school showbiz doubling as a send-up of self-serving celebrity memoirs. This "comedy musical" is obviously the work of someone who adores not only the golden age of Broadway but also that of a certain style of entertainment you may call vaudeville variety. The idea is that Short is looking back at his own life (with some liberties—if a celeb out there is not known for outrageous behavior, it's gotta be him) through songs and skits, and with the help of his own TV personae, such as Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. It helps that said songs were written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman: The cocreators of Hairspray can zippily pastiche everything from The Wizard of Oz to Wicked. For this supposed ego trip, Short has also surrounded himself with a crackerjack cast that includes MAD TV's chameleonic Nicole Parker, versatile funsters Brooks Ashmanskas and Mary Birdsong, and Carpathia Jenkins, who blows the roof off the joint with the self-explanatory "A Big Black Lady Stops the Show"-—a number that mocks the Broadway habit of hiring African-American belters for to deliver one song. In an ironic twist, Jenkins herself is woefully underutilized in Fame Becomes Me but at least she gets one of the two bonus tracks, "Frieda May's Lament," to herself. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

In the grand American traditions of musical theater, sketch comedy and shameless self-promotion comes Fame Becomes Me, Martin Short's uproarious new comedy musical that has critics in hysterics! In Fame Becomes Me, the "phenomenally gifted" Martin Short (New York Post) and his "superb" cast (USA Today) sing, dance and mercilessly mock others as they race through a whirlwind revue that's part variety show, part celebrity send-up and "the best time on Broadway!" (WNBC-TV). Featuring original music from the composer and lyricist of Hairspray and South Park, Fame Becomes Me is Broadway's most riotous party and you're invited!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny!, June 12, 2007

By 

terroh "terroh" (OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fame Becomes Me [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (Audio CD)

I admit I didnt know much about this show, and was under the impression it was a one man show of sorts and just comedy, but its not at all. The songs are quite amusing and witty and the cast and Short are in top form. Capathia Jenkins is especially hilarious in her musical turns. Definitely a keeper for Broadway musical fans. If you enjoyed the score of Hairspray, you should enjoy this too. (same people). Why am I the only person reviewing this?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for one song alone, January 19, 2009

By 

John Towler (Outer Banks, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fame Becomes Me [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (Audio CD)

If you get this CD for "Big Black Lady" alone, it is worth it. That is one of the perkiest, foot-stomping, laugh out loud songs ever.

The rest of it is okay to good, if a touch of crass (now there's a name for an album) doesn't bother you. I've liked him since SNL days and he's one of those stars that I'll go out of my way to watch if he appears on a talk show because he's quite off-the-cuff funny.

He's got a great voice and is a funny songwriter who doesn't mind poking fun at himself.




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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Its Better to Have Loved A Short, Than To Have Never Loved A Tall..., July 31, 2007

By 

rog4823 (Wooster, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fame Becomes Me [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (Audio CD)

This musical is still growing on me, and in another week I'd probably have it at five stars. This, of course, with a first listen putting it probably at two stars. However, the more I listen to it, the more jokes you pick up on, and the funnier and better it becomes.

This soundtrack has a little bit of everything, and while others say that, this really isn't that much of an exaggeration. Impersonations (Joan Rivers, Jodie Foster, Judy Garland, Ellen DeGeneres, to name a few), a career review (basically any Martin Short character you can remember), and parodies of other musicals (Wicked, Dreamgirls, Company, and Jesus Christ Superstar I remember mentions of off the top of my head), and jokes galore (puns to celebrity jokes to an inappropriate, but hilarious, Noah joke).

Now, this soundtrack isn't perfect. Its very choppy and frankly after the portions involving his wife it goes downhill and gets a little wacky, even more so than in the beginning.

Still, its worth listening to. Its got a lot of witty exchanges and will be very enjoyable for a while. I'm a little worried as to how this will age (Britney Spears jokes, Fidel Castro on his deathbed, and a few others), but rather than worry about what I'm going to think about it in five or ten years, I'm simply going to enjoy it now.