Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast) [Cast Recording]

Marin Mazzie, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lee Wilkof, Michael Berresse, Ron Holgate, Amy Spanger, Kiss Me Kate (Related Recordings), Cole Porter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: January 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Drg
• ASIN: B00003OP0U
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,898 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals > Revivals

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suffers only by comparison, January 25, 2000

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

There are now three recordings of <Kiss Me Kate> that are worth considering. The original cast has the advantage of having the three lead voices for which Cole Porter composed his score and they are all very good indeed: Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison and Phyllis Kirk. Then there is the absolutely musically complete studio version on EMI with Josephine Barstow, Thomas Hampson and Kim Criswell. And now we have the revival-cast recording of the highly praised production of 1999 out on DRG 12988.

Not having seen it, I cannot vouch for how well this cast acquits itself on stage; but I cannot give the highest marks for what I hear on this CD. Brian Stokes Mitchell has a voice close to Drake's but more lightweight and more comical. For me, he ruins "Were Thine That Special Face" by treating it less musically than did Drake and fairly shouting the "You'll be mine all mine" at the end. Marin Mazzie is also less musical and more screechy than Morison ever was in "I Hate Men" though she is fine in "Wunderbar" and "So in Love." Finally, Amy Spangler has a somewhat colorless voice and lacks the spark Kirk gave the role back then.

Note: This is not to say that the original way is the only way in which these roles can be sung! I am saying that in this particular case, the original singers are far more effective to me than are the recent ones.

Yet this DRG offering has the advantage of far better sound than that of the original Columbia LP and a good deal more music: the Act I finale, "Cantiamo d'amore," Pavane, and a lot of dance music, all of which are not in the original recording. (Of course the 2-CD EMI set has every note and even appends some songs dropped before opening night.) Also the numbers involving the chorus are far livelier than on either of the rival sets, with the "ad libs" and chorus noises as they sound in the stage production.

So as momento of the revival, this is a very good purchase indeed. And while it will not replace the original cast set, it certainly complements it nicely.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AN ENTERTAINING, MISGUIDED REVIVAL . . . . ., January 3, 2007

By 

J. T Waldmann "yaakov98" (Carmel, IN, home to the fabulous new Regional Performing Arts Center.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

When KISS ME, KATE opened in Philadelphia on December 2, 1948, "the show and its dazzling cast . . . elicited an avalanche of critical praise. Not one song was added, dropped, or shifted in position from that moment until the Broadway opening, nor was the book altered significantly." (from Miles Kruger's notes for the 1990 EMI recording) Therefore, if something is so perfect, why mess with it? Why try to update it? Why attempt to ". . . [invigorate] the material with a contemporary sensibility that permeates everything: the way it looks, the way it plays, the way it sounds." (from Sheryl Flatow's note to the 1999 DRG recording) Would anyone even consider putting a blond wig and a push-up bra on the Mona Lisa?

Not that "the classics" should be never be fiddled with. It happens all the time with Shakespeare and Verdi and Puccini - sometimes with pleasing results. Sometimes not. The 2005 rethinking of SWEENEY TODD works admirably well (although I still prefer the original, more operatic version) and I understand so does the new revival of COMPANY. Both can be understood as reinventions that clarify and enhance character and motive. But this KATE doesn't work, because it's just Mona Lisa in a push-up bra.

The fault doesn't lie so much with the singers as it does with the concept. Perhaps KATE played differently on stage, but recording producer Hugh Fordin is quoted in the liner notes as saying, "I want a cast album to sound as if the performers are doing the show for you in your living room." How preposterous! Has he seen the size of my living room? Musical director Paul Gemignani says, "I pick up the pace, so the music is faster on the recording. I do that because the listener doesn't have visuals, and because it energizes the performers." Really, but at what cost. Brian Stokes Mitchell is forced to sing "Where Is the Life That Late I Led" at such a pace that it loses all nuance. Compare it to Alfred Drake on the original or to Thomas Hampson's on the EMI recording and you'll understand. Marin Mazzie has the most pleasing voice of all the Lili Vanessi/Kate's on record. Her "I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple" is lovely, but someone unwisely encouraged her to do some extremely ugly vocalizing during "I Hate Men." I see visions of nodes growing on her vocal chords as she growls through this number. Mazzie could take a lesson from Patricia Morrison on how to sing angrily without abusing the voice. Michael Berresse is a fine Bill/Lucentio, but Amy Spanger is too much of an air-head, dumb blonde (see Adelaide in GUYS AND DOLLS) for me. I prefer the 1948 (also 1959) original Lois Lane (Lisa Kirk), a fully mature and confident woman who definitely knows her way around men.

But most irritating of all, this KISS ME KATE, like many other recent revivals, does NOT SOUND LIKE BROADWAY! Robert Russell Bennett's marvelous orchestrations have been discarded and replaced by Don Sebesky's wimpy Las Vegas-style arrangements. Even though "So in Love" is beautifully sung by both stars, it sounds more lke "Sinatra at the Sands" than Broadway. And what's with the "Steam Heat"/"Cool" intro to "Too Darn Hot." This is Cole Porter, not Leonard Bernstein or Adler & Ross.

All carping aside, there is much to recommend this recording. But for authentic Broadway, you're better off with the original 1948 Broadway cast recording, even with its dated sound. The 1959 Angel "Reassembled Original Cast" benefits from better sound, but the performances aren't as fresh as they were 11 years earlier. John McGlinn's 1990 EMI "complete" recording offers excellent sound, an outstanding orchestra & chorus, every note & every lyric written for the show, a rather stiff-sounding Thomas Hampson, a Lois Lane/Bianca (Kim Criswell) almost as good as Lisa Kirk, and the strangest-sounding Kate you'll ever hear (Dame Josephine Barstow). An essential recording, it is now out of print.

The choice? Simple, you must have one of each.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Broadway Lives On ! ! !, July 23, 2000

By 

Eddie Landsberg "My 10th year as a reviewer !... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Kiss Me, Kate (1999 Broadway Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

I've been a fan of Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchel ever since I saw them in RAGTIME, so to me, this cast recording is THE Broadway Dream Team. - - Both of these individuals are commanding performers and have a strong stage presence. You know who are the stars when they're on stage, and both have unforgettable voices that not only hit the right notes, but really convey the emotions of the words they sing and drive them home. If you don't find the performance and orchestration of SO IN LOVE alone to be a haunting and memorable listen, its time for the Prozac me-thinks.

Performers aside, this is a play that has the audience in its grips from the opening scene, and much of it is due to the witty dialogue and Cole Porter's tongue twisting and outrageous lyrics. This is definitely not the type of CD that you'll buy and listen to one time because you have tickets to or saw the musical, I guarentee you, it'll be in the player for a long time to come and keep coming back.

Viva Classic Broadway ! ! !