Wonderful Town (1958 Television Cast) [Cast Recording]

Leonard Bernstein (Artist), Betty Comden (Artist), Adolph Green (Artist), Rosalind Russell (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 15, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027TI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,269 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ross is great, but Jacquelyn McKeever is the suprise!, August 25, 2006

By 

Marlene Halpern "jacobhw" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wonderful Town (1958 Television Cast) (Audio CD)

Wonderful Town is a great and fluffy tale of two sisters trying to make it on their own in New York. The older sister Ruth (Rossalind Russell)is not too great with boys unlike her younger sister Eileen (Jacquelyn McKeever).

With great songs like; Ohio, A Hundred Easy Ways, A Little Bit In Love, Conga!, and Quiet Girl who could not like this show.

I was very familiar with Rossalind Russell from the 1953 OBCR with Edith Adams as Eileen. Rossalind Russell is always very good and has this great comic styling that seems to only work for her (example of bad copying is Donna Murphy).

The one excellent thing about this recording is Jacquelyn McKeever. She just blasts her role out of this world. Her singing is incredible and her acting is superb. Great job.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why O Why O Why O Did I Ever Leave Ohio?, May 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonderful Town (1958 Television Cast) (Audio CD)

Well, gee, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Comden and Green, and Roz Russell croaking out her tunes how could this be anything be great? The booklet that comes with the CD has with some nice liner notes about the production and swell photos.

Not for the uniniated, but a must have for the collector!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the 1958 taped TV version of WONDERFUL TOWN, April 5, 2004

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Wonderful Town (1958 Television Cast) (Audio CD)

In 1958, the Broadway hit WONDERFUL TOWN was adapted for a television production, which again starred Rosalind Russell as the plain-speaking and forthright Ruth Sherwood. This cast album was recorded during rehearsals, and was originally released on LP the week following the broadcast.

Russell is surrounded by a strong cast including Jacquelyn McKeever (OH CAPTAIN!) as Eileen and Sydney Chaplin (BELLS ARE RINGING, SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING, FUNNY GIRL) as Bob Baker and Cris Alexander (ON THE TOWN) reprising his Broadway role as soda jerk Frank Lippencott.

Jacquelyn McKeever is a luminous Eileen. She sings her big number "A Little Bit in Love" an octave higher than Edie Adams on the Broadway cast album. Sydney Chaplin, as mentioned above, is a veteran of Comden & Green musicals and does well by his numbers.

And Rosalind Russell? Well, she's fabulous! Her interpretation and performance only seemed to get better in between this recording and the '53 Broadway album. I would advise first buying the original cast album, though I strongly recommend that you seek this TV version out, too.