Customer Reviews

Steel Pier (1997 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had heard of Steel Pier and seen the number "Everybody Dance" on the 1997 Tony Awards, but other than that, didn't know much about it.

During the summer of 1999, after I was cast as Bill Kelly in a regional revival, I purchased the CD and fell in love with Steel Pier and it's wonderfully romantic score. The opening and closing instrumental piece, "Rita's Theme" still brings tears to my eyes when I hear it.

The show is a little long and the book, somewhat corny with the ghost theme. But, it's a well crafted, fine score. There are some musical montages missing from the CD, but the majority of the score is in tact.

Interestingly enough, the vocal books we used in our production came directly from the broadway show and still contained written notes from the original. Fans of the show might be interested to know that before the show opened, there was a longer version of "Leave the World Behind" with an intro that included a reprise of "Second Chance" sung in rhythm to the snoring sounds of the sleeping marathon contestants.

Collectors of broadway theatre music should not be without Steel Pier gracing their collections. I highly recommend Steel Pier.

I caught a performance of STEEL PIER a few days after the 1997 Tony awards (where the show won NONE of its eleven nominations!) and found it mostly enjoyable. The book was indeed the weakest link mainly because it spent too much time trying to build up the secondary characters (dancers in a marathon) and pulling focus from the more intersting romantic triangle involving a marathon dancer, her "secret" husand, and her "ghost" partner.

Although it closed after a short run, it did get a highly enjoyable cast album that allows musical theatre fans to savour a fine score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Among the highlights: a beautiful haunting piano theme heard in the prologue and finale of the show. Standout numbers include: "Second Chance", "First you Dream" and "The Last Girl."

RCA has gone to great lengths to give this show a highly polished and professional sounding recording. The synopsis and libretto help, but the show comes through beautifully. Great use of sound effects in the opening..seagulls, the sound of the shore...it adds a nice touch and gives you an "in the theatre" type of listening experience.

A year or so ago, I caught an amature production locally. While not as well sung or performed as the Broadway company (and still with some lag in the book)I found myself again moved by the songs and story. I suspect in time STEEL PIER will be revised and revived.

Above all thank you John Kander and Fred Ebb for this wonderful score and all the other wonderful sores you have given us!!

This is a first-class recording of a first-class score. All the performances are great, in particular Karen Ziemba, Debra Monk, Daniel McDonald and Kristin Chenoweth.

If there is a problem with this show, it has to be the book; a stunt pilot crashes but is given an extra three weeks of life. This he chooses to spend meeting a special lady at a dance marathon.

Do not let that put you off though, the music more than stands up for itself. The orchestra is good, and really powers the dance and speciality numbers along. When things get a little quieter and more introspective or romantic, the songs are among the finest in Kander & Ebb's collection.

I would recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys a big, ballsy classic musical.

My only regret - this wonderful new musical should have been recorded in its entire content! I was one of the "Lucky Few" who got to see "Steel Pier" during its short-lived run on Broadway during the '97 Season. "Steel Pier" has become one of my favorite shows of the '90s. The original cast album on RCA is beautifully recorded. Complete with the sounds of the shore in the opening sequence (just as it was presented on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre), and with the sound of character Bill Kelly's airplane heard flying in-and-out of several scenes and with his airplane highlighted in the dream scene, "Leave The World Behind", the wild opening number from Act II. The wonderful talented cast and supernatural romantic storyline, along with the catchy, tuneful score of "Steel Pier", is what made this show so great! I love the music in this show so much and listen to the CD often. Definitely one of the BEST of Kander & Ebb, and one of my very personal favorite of their work. At least, "Steel Pier" is now preserved forever with the original cast recording. Perhaps one day we will get to see a major revival of this wonderful musical. This show did not get the recognition it so deserved and it certainly deserves a "Second Chance"! If you are a fan of Broadway, you will want "Steel Pier" for your cast album collection. You will not be disappointed!

Although it opened to better reviews than some of the other musicals of the 96/97 Broadwy season, STEEL PIER failed to win any Tony awards and closed after a short run. Like many failed shows of the past, however, it has spun off a highly enjoyable cast album that allows musical theatre fans to savour a fine nostalgic score by Kander and Ebb.

On stage the show was not perfect: too much time away from the leading characters, and the endless dance marthon numbers became somewhat monotonous, but the cast album preserves the best parts of the show and ignores the rest. With Kander and Ebb's CHICAGO winning all the acclaim of the season it is easy to see how STEEL PIER might be overlooked. It certainly isn't at the same level as CHICAGO (or the more recently revived CABARET) but Kander and Ebb have never written an uninteresting score, and this one contains several gems that will eventualy become standards in the partners' catalogue.

Those gems include the counterpoint duet "Dance With Me/The Last Girl" which effectively captures the period feel of the piece and just may be the finest love song Kander and Ebb have ever written. There is also the charming "First you dream", the playful "Wet" the cynical "A Powerful Thing" and the title song which may sound a little too similar to the title song from CABARET for its own good.

There is quite a bit of dancing in the show and RCA has included somewhat abridged versions of the dance numbers. They have also, unfortunately, included the one (intentionally) terrible number from the score: "Two Little Words" is an operetta parody oversung by a Jeanette MacDonald wannabe that was not as funny in the theatre as it should have been, and on disc it's quite painful.

The rest, however, is solid gold and well performed by the talented cast. Those who know Gregory Harrison from his TV work may be surprised at his pleasant singing voice and his creepy performance as the dance marathon M.C. Newcomer Daniel ! MacDonald gets some of the best songs in the score and handles them well. Best of all is a solid performance by Karen Ziemba as the marathon dancer freed from her abusive marriage by her encounter with the ghost of a dead stunt pilot. Her star turn in "Running in Place" is one of the disc's many highlights.

They plot - a reworking of the standard ghost story, set against the backdrop of a depression era dance marathon - is given a detailed synopsis in the CD booklet, and there is just enough dialogue included on the 74 minute CD to put each song in context. The booklet also includes all the lyrics and a handful of smallish color photos from the short-lived production.

When the musical closed, the producers announced it would tour but nothing more has been said about that. A shame, because STEEL PIER is a show worthy of a second chance.

Hearing Debra Monk's "Everybody's Girl" sent me listen-
ing to music again after a few years hiatus. She de-
lievered that song like nobody but Karen Ziemba sings
even better. I don't know why that show wasn't a smash
but thanks to it, I have heard one of the funniest songs
ever. If you're into rap, forget it but if you like
music the way it should be this is it. "Running In Place"
makes me feel like I've been to asexhausting workout
but Karen Ziemba sang it beautifully and she topped
it with "Willing To Ride" which is as enchanting as
the merry-go-round scene from "Carousel". The other
cast members are excellent and there isn't a bad song
on this CD.
Joseph Hayes

The biggest criticism of this Broadway musical was the book. It allegedly meandered, bored the audience and included unfocussed or unnecessary sequences such as the "dream sequence". Well, I never saw the show and can only evaluate this score on its own merits. Based on that alone, it's a complete winner. Memorable songs, great performances, and the score itself tell a clear story that might have been muddled by an overly fussy book (again, that's from heresay...I never saw the show, which flopped in its initial presentation -- unfortunately, because there is much to admire and enjoy in this typically complex Kander and Ebb score).

First of all, top-rate performances abound here. Karen Ziemba makes every one of her songs sail into the stratosphere. She is a true wonder and deserved her Tony nomination against incredible competition (Bebe Neuwirth got it for the much more popular "Chicago", but Ziemba's her equal). Debra Monk once again makes her mark as a Broadway character actress, although her song "Everybody's Girl" is easily the worst song in the show and certainly beneath Kander and Ebbs' standard, but she wins you over with her energetic and well-placed rendition. Daniel MacDonald does a suberb job as the ill-fated hero, exposing innocence and wry commentary in his very presence, but he is equalled by Gregory Harrison's slimy and ultimately ferocious performance as Mick, the emcee.

The score evokes the time (the 1930s) without relying on pastiche to put it over. Of note, Ziemba's intro, "Willing to Ride", the ensemble "Everybody Dance" (which gives Harrison his chance to shine), "Two Little Words" (which provides the auspicious debut of a most impressive Kristen Chenowith and augers the great things yet to come for her), the touching "First you Dream" and, finally, the both ferocious and mournful reprises of the title song display a powerful and underrated score that deserves reevaluation.

If the book got it wrong, the composers and actors got it quite right the first time. This Original Cast Recording will always be proof positive of that undeniable fact. Always "dream".

I first heard excerpts from this on Accuradio.com, and thought it sounded great. It is. In the Kander and Ebb canon, Steel Pier may not rank with Chicago, but I enjoy listening to it as much as to Cabaret. It's sweeter and less dark than either of those, but set in the same period (1933) and just as evocative of that period.

First, the performances of the leads are excellent. Karen Ziemba is superb. Daniel McDonald has a wonderful light baritone, and who knew Gregory Harrison (Trapper John, M.D.) could sing, let alone sing well. Debra Monk performs an excellent comic turn. Kristen Chenoweth's Broadway debut number was corny as can be, but did show off her talent and range well.

The music is just wonderful. Willing to Ride is a spirited waltz. Everybody Dance is a near-perfect Charleston opener to the dance marathon that forms the backbone of the plot. Power is a Powerful Thing may be a little weak in the lyrics, but its set to a spirited and charming ragtime melody. Dance with Me and The Last Girl are sung in a medley format. This is almost a shame because both numbers are excellent in their own right. In fact, The Last Girl is as gorgeous a ballad as you can find anywhere.

Wet is a tinkling, sparkling number in which Ms. Ziemba charms, and Mr. McDonald has a teriffic counterpoint melody. Ms. Monk has a showstopper in Everybody's Girl and a torchy number with Somebody Older. The Shag is a dance piece that may be the best number of all. It seems to alternate between twenties hot jazz and the swing that was just starting to be heard around then. There's also a great bluesy harmonica specialty number, whose only flaw is that it's too short. All in all, the score is a gem, especially compared to most of what we've heard in the last twenty years or so.

This is one of those recordings that makes you wonder why the show was a flop. I went back and read the reviews. Basically they didn't like the plot and felt the production strained too hard to be likeable, but lacked energy at the same time. The show also suffered from comparison to the stunning revival of Chicago that opened in the same season. The critics even managed to be lukewarm on the score. The show closed shortly after being nominated for eleven Tony's and winning none - that was the year Titanic swept the boards. With all that, I'd still say the score is marvelous when heard on its own merits. And I'd go to see a revival if someone would do it. Buy it. I recommend it without reservation.

The overall plot for Kander & Ebb's 1997 "Steel Pier" is fairly weak, but the score is actually quite good and sung by a terrific cast (Karen Ziemba, Daniel McDonald, Debra Monk, Gregory Harrison, and Kristin Chenowith). Not in the same league as their brilliant "Chicago", "Cabaret" or "Kiss Of The Spider Woman", but a worthy effort with several nice tunes.

Best tracks:

Willing To Ride
Second Chance
Everybody's Girl
Running In Place
First You Dream
Steel Pier

Unfortunately, "Steel Pier" was overshadowed by that season's remarkable revival of "Chicago" and dreadful "Titanic". A fine addition, however, to a theatre-lover's collection!

I did not get to see this show on Broadway, only the few minutes they showed on the Tony Awards the year it was nominated. This is a lovely score with songs that I can't get out of my head. The cast is terrific, but Karen Ziemba is a particular standout.