On Your Toes (1954 Revival Cast) [Cast Recording]

Vera Zorina, Bobby Van, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Elaine Stritch, On Your Toes (Related Recordings) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 28, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Decca U.S.
• ASIN: B000002P5D
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,456 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb 1954 Revival Cast recording - a sonic gem, September 11, 1998

By 

A. Andersen (Bellows Falls, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Your Toes (1954 Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

Even the 1983 Tony Award -winning revival of this Rodgers and Hart show couldn't match the sound and presence on its cast recording (now sadly out of print) with that of Decca's in this 1954 revival. Performances by Bobby Van and Elaine Stritch are wonderful, orchestrations are lively and bouncy, but it's the sound (uncharacteristically full, rich and sonorous for Decca's usually tinny results) that steals the show. Since the 1956 Columbia studio cast recording is not yet available on CD (the year 2000) and the 1983 cast recording is out of print, this is the ONLY one available - don't hesitate. It's a great recording.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ON YOUR TOES 1954, September 5, 2004

By 

Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Your Toes (1954 Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

Inspired the the successful 1952 revival of PAL JOEY, it was decided to bring back another Rodgers & Hart musical hoping lightning would strike twice. It didn't. ON YOUR TOES lasted just 8 unprofitable weeks. The critics felt that whereas PAL JOEY may have been a bit ahead of its time at its 1940 premiere, ON YOUR TOES now seemed dated and uninspired.

Decca took advantage of the revival to make a cast album and the recording stayed in print until it was retired in the late 1960s. Now it's back on CD. The biggest plus is Elaine Stritch who gets an extra song interpolated just for her...and she makes the most of "You Took Advantage of Me." (Side note: When this production of ON YOUR TOES opened, the Judy Garland film of A STAR IS BORN was olaying in movie theatres and she included a somewhat comic version of the song as part of her "Born in a Trunk" medley!) The rest of the cast is fine, although top billed Vera Zorina does not even appear on the recording since she was a dancing star and had no songs.

The sound is a bit thin and somewhat flat, as with most Decca recordings. The Lp omitted the Princess Zenobia ballet and cut the dance sequence that followed the title song. Even so it was a long LP for its day: 54:20! The new orchestrations by Don Walker date this recording and are more in keeping with tradtional 1950s broadway.

It's still an enjoyable recording but has now been replaced by the 1983 Broadway revival cast which is more complete and restores the original Hans Spialek orchestrations from 1936.

A 3rd ON YOUR TOES Lp was made by Columbia records in the early 1950s starring Portia Nelson and Jack Cassidy. It is a surprisingly dull recording and it has not been transferred to Cd.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For Elaine Stritch fans ONLY., August 1, 2002

By 

Alfonzo Tyson (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Your Toes (1954 Revival Cast) (Audio CD)

This truncated, reorchestrated recording of the unsucessful 1954 revival of "On Your Toes" did absolutely nothing for me. The orchestrations are all wrong and the lyrics to some songs (noteably "Too Good for the Average Man") were unnecessarily changed to much weaker ones. Only Elaine Stritch singing "You Took Advantage of Me" (NOT from the original score) shines through. Contrary to what a previous poster said, this CD's recording of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" is NOT the longest possible version: The remastered 1983 revival recording's "Slaughter..." is SEVENTEEN minutes! In summary, if you're a fan of Elaine Stritch, buy this CD. Otherwise, the 1983 recording is preferable.