Her First Roman (1993 Studio Cast) [Cast Recording, Import, Original recording reissued]

Ervin Drake (Composer), Bryan Miller (Performer), Mark Miller (Performer), Rod Raines (Performer), Roberta Wall (Performer), Leslie Uggams (Performer), Priscilla Lopez (Performer), Richard Kiley (Performer), Ervin M. Drake (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Bryan Miller, Mark Miller, Rod Raines, Roberta Wall, Leslie Uggams, et al.
• Composer: Ervin Drake
• Audio CD (May 29, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Import, Original recording reissued
• Label: Ducy Lee Recordings
• ASIN: B00000C2LN
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,489 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Opening/What Are We Doing In Egypt? - Mark Miller

2. Song To The Sphinx - Richard Kiley

3. Save Me From Caesar! - Leslie Uggams

4. Many Young Men From Now - Leslie Uggams

5. When My Back Is To The Wall - Leslie Uggams

6. Pleasure Him - Leslie Uggams

7. Her First Roman - Chorus

8. Magic Carpet - Leslie Uggams

9. Rome - Mark Miller

10. The Dangerous Age - Ron Raines

11. The Things We Think We Are - Ron Raines

12. Her First Roman: Reprise - Ron Raines

13. Parable Of The Monkey - Maureen Davis

14. I Cannot Make Him Jealous / I Can't Help Feeling Jealous - Leslie Uggams

15. The Wrong Man - Leslie Uggams

16. Let Me Lead The Way - Brenda Silas-Moore

17. In Vino Veritas - Ron Raines

18. I Fell In With Evil Companions - Ron Raines

19. Just For Today - Leslie Uggams

20. Finale Ultimo - Ensemble

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Failed Broadway musical revived 25 years later., June 4, 1999

By 

A. Andersen (Bellows Falls, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Her First Roman (1993 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

This is a true oddity. HER FIRST ROMAN with book, music and lyrics by Ervin Drake is a show with some promise. The rhyming in some of the lyrics is clever, the premise of adapting Shaw's CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA to the musical stage a beguiling one. But this is amateurish from beginning to end. Not able to make up its mind whether it is drama, comedy or low comedy, it is none of these. Uggams is woefully miscast but Kiley does a wonderful job as Caesar. There are only two songs of merit - MANY YOUNG MEN FROM NOW (which should be in every gay cabaret singer's repertoire) and the rollicking I FELL IN WITH EVIL COMPANIONS. The rest range from mediocre to downright boring. Amazing that the original cast members and the producers liked it well enough to mount a cast album 25 years after the closing. Valuable to Broadway composers/lyricists in showing how NOT to write a show. This would have been ideal material for Lerner and Loewe, but sadly not for Mr. Drake.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What A Delightful Surprise !, November 5, 2008

By 

Frank Guerrasio "stynemaniac" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Her First Roman (1993 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

I just finished listening to this CD, and I've seldom heard so many good songs in a virtually unknown score. Having loved Mr. Drake's "What Makes Sammy Run", I wasn't too surprised. There are some really interesting, compelling songs here, and the 2 leads are wonderful. It just goes to show: always take a chance ! True, some songs are so-so, but "Rome" is downright haunting. I was happy to discover another good 60's score. Go ahead ! Enjoy !

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a chance on this incredible score!, July 21, 2004

By 

R. Lucas "Weight Watcher" (Laurel, Deleware USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Her First Roman (1993 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

I'm glad I did, as it definitely now resides in my top ten favorite Broadway scores. It's an extremely variable score, from wildly comic to powerfully beautiful, and that may have affected the show's run, but it works great on your CD player.
Don't be afraid to change the order of the songs either. I start off with 2,3, then 1, etc. In fact, the only song I didn't end up liking on the entire CD was "Many Young Men From Now".
When I read a review by someone, I'm always curious about other shows they've liked, or didn't like, to see how similar (or dissimilar!) our tastes are. Some scores I've enjoyed include: House of Flowers, Grass Harp, Saratoga, Camelot, Purlie, Dear World, Mata Hari, The Life, Avenue Q and Wicked.
Some I didn't like include Bajour, Subways Are For Sleeping, The Seussical, St. Louie Woman, Applause, Urinetown, Greenwillow, Big River, Sweet Charity and The Golden Apple.