Louisiana Purchase - The Musical Comedy Smash Hit: 1996 Original New York Cast Recording [Cast Recording]

George Irving, Judy Blazer, Tania Elg, Michael McGrath, Irving Berlin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Drg
• ASIN: B000000PL6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,852 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #58 in Music > Indie Music > Soundtracks > General
  • #86 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Traditional & Vocal Pop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Berlin's best and little-known scores., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Louisiana Purchase - The Musical Comedy Smash Hit: 1996 Original New York Cast Recording (Audio CD)

Great performances, snappy tunes and clever lyrics make this one of the best recordings of a show to come along in many a moon. Not for the A. Lloyd-Webber crowd. This is a toe-tapper in the tradition of great American musicals.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Recording of Little-Known Gem, December 7, 1999

By 

Danny Heller (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louisiana Purchase - The Musical Comedy Smash Hit: 1996 Original New York Cast Recording (Audio CD)

What a find! I had no idea, when I purchased this disc, that I held in my hands one of the rare gems of the American Musical Comedy. It's one of Berlin's best scores, right up there with "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Call Me Madam", and features such great tunes as "You're Lonely and I'm Lonely" "You Can't Brush Me Off", and "I'd Love to be Shot From a Cannon with You". And the performances, led by Debbie Shapiro Gravitte, are first-rate.

All in all, this recording is highly recommended. If you thought you knew Irving Berlin, check this out. You're in for a delight!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Louisiana Purchase, November 26, 2002

By 

William Walters (Columbus, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Louisiana Purchase - The Musical Comedy Smash Hit: 1996 Original New York Cast Recording (Audio CD)

Louisiana Purchase, which is often omitted from Berlin biographies, turns out to be a most pleasant surprise. With a musical score by Irving Berlin, Louisian Purchase provides theater-goers with delightful music. It is bouncy, often in the style of swing. There are some solid ballads with a haunting quality about them---"It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow", "Fools Fall in Love". A duo of Latin-like numbers prove to be top drawer songs as well, namely, "Wild About You" and "Latins Know How". Another fine melody shines through in "You're Lonely and I'm Lonely". "It'll Come to You" is another delightful number. This musical score ranks among the best ever by Berlin though the story line is a bit silly. However with the recent success of musical farces like "The Producers" and "Hairspray", Louisiana Purchase might just start reappearing on the American musical scene. After all it does have a lively score by the master himself. The recording has some interesting musical arrangements. Michael McGrath and Debbie Gravitte give winning renditions of the Berlin songs. Three songs cut from the show in l940 are included on the CD. They are "I'd Love to Be Shot from a Cannon with You", the aforementioned "It'll Come to You", and "Wild Bout You". Afficionados of musical comedy should enjoy this lost musical gem.