Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Gary Geld (Composer), Shenandoah Pit Orchestra (Orchestra), Stephen Dubov (Performer), Robert Rosen (Performer), Robert Johnson (Performer), Joel Higgins (Performer), Brian d'Arcy James (Performer), Casper Roos (Performer), Craig Lucas (Performer), Ted Agress (Performer), Betsy Beard (Performer), Tedd Carrere (Performer), John Cullem (Performer), E. Allan Stevens (Performer), Chip Ford (Performer), Matt Gavin (Performer), Gordon Halliday (Performer), Gary Harger (Performer), J. Kevin Scannell (Performer), Sherry Lambert (Performer), Peter Udell (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Stephen Dubov, Robert Rosen, Robert Johnson, Joel Higgins, Brian d'Arcy James, et al.
• Orchestra: Shenandoah Pit Orchestra
• Composer: Gary Geld
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA Victor
• ASIN: B000002W5I
• Also Available in: Paperback  |  Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,892 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Cullum won his first Tony Award for this performance., April 29, 2000

By 

Rosanna L. Bencoach (VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite show albums (and I have some 500). The show played three years on Broadway, despite, or maybe because of its wholesome, old-fashioned values. Based on the James Stewart film of the same name, "Shenandoah" begins on a farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, in the early days of the Civil War, where the Anderson boys are itchin' to get into the fight. Their father Charlie (John Cullum, who won a Tony as best actor in a musical for this role), won't hear of it. He's heard it all before. But circumstances will bring the family into the conflict, cause pain and heartache, and change them all.

The two 'Meditation' numbers are among my favorite cuts. They are far-ranging, reflective solos that sum up the entire show beautifully. Charlie tries to make sense of the world and his family's place in it while talking to his wife's grave. As he shares the memories of settling in the Shenandoah Valley ("we started on a penny and a crumb"), and raising their many children ("a loving wife with child again, and I'm thinkin' I should sleep with the cow, Martha, yonder in the barn with the cow"), the listener can almost see farm and family, and can feel his pain when he sings about his beloved wife's death.

Fans who know John Cullum's work primarily from his years starring as bar owner "Holling Vincour" on "Northern Exposure" (and also from his work this season on "E.R.") will find his character in "Shenandoah" to be the closest of his many Broadway roles to those TV characters...fiercely loyal, independent, sometimes cantankerous, but also loving and caring.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shenandoah is my all time favorite musical., December 1, 2000

By 

"donnarncen" (North Kingstown, RI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I saw it on Broadway in 1976, and for years I owned the cast recording on LP. It got broken and it was many years before I found it on CD. As soon as the overture started I knew it was still my favorite The patriarch, played so well by John Collum vows that "They'll never take my sons to face those Yankee guns" but eventually the war invades his farm in the Shenandoah valley. Regardless of what he believes, its time to begin fighting, but not for the cause of states' rights. Rather, the Anderson family fights for what matters most - their family. The drama that unfolds, and the wonderful ending are more than enough reason to stay up late and watch the movie version, but the music from the Broadway play adds more depth to the characters and their daily struggles. Whether it is the lighthearted tunes such as "Freedom" or "Next to Lovin' I like Fightin", or the deep, thoughtful solos such as "I've Heard it All Before" the music guides the story and gives us a glimpse of what day to day life must have been like for most Americans from 1861-1865. As the Andersons struggle to pursue a normal life in the face of the ever encroaching war, the sense is there that this struggle involves far more than politics and cannon fire. Anderson's personal beliefs are tested over and over until he finds he can no longer stay out of the war. The cost to his family and himself is huge, but in the end, the family, although tragedies mount, manages to stay together and to stay strong. I'd give anything to see the full Broadway version again, but failing that, this CD makes me feel like I am back there seeing it for the first time.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is on of my all time favorite cast albums!!, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I first owned this soundtrack in vinyl when it was originally released in the early '70's. I alway regretted never seeing John Cullum do the show.( I saw it in summer stock.) It may be a bit hokey by some standards,but I find it quite appealing. I particularly like the "meditation" at the end of the show. Don't let anyone tell you the ending! When I saw it there was not a dry eye in the place! I have a friend who calls it the last great family groupie musical.