A Chorus Line - The New Broadway Cast Recording (2006 Broadway Revival Cast) [EXTRA TRACKS]

Marvin Hamlisch (Artist), Edward Kleban (Artist), Charlotte d'Amboise (Artist), Michael Berresse (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000HEZF8Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,481 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In the fall of 2006, A Chorus Line came back on Broadway 16 years after its original run closed, and it felt as if it had never left. The new production, put together by alums from the first one, is a carbon copy of Michael Bennett's groundbreaking staging, and the cast recording follows suit. The good news is that Marvin Hamlisch's energetic, pop-inflected score sounds as great as ever; the bad news: well, you might quibble with the staging but when it comes to the CD, there isn't really any bad news. This time around, the songs are performed in the order in which they are performed live, and the recording includes more of the incidental music and the dialogue. Among the highlights are Natalie Cortez's fabulous "Nothing" (check out the Bacharachian trumpet-and-piano arrangements, which aren't all that surprising since co-orchestrator Jonathan Tunick had worked on Bacharach's sole musical, Promises, Promises) and Jessica Lee Goldyn's uproarious "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three." And then there's "One," which remains one of the most memorable songs in the musical-theater catalogue—-lucky for us, we get it twice since it's reprised at the end. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Admirable, But Doesn't Approach Original, November 7, 2006

By	AJK (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

It's nice to see such a great show back on Broadway, but this recording just can't escape the shadow of the orginal (and far superior) production. Most everything feels slowed down - too slowed down. I gave it a couple of listens, but it just didn't have the magic. Best tracks:

At The Ballet
The Music And The Mirror
What I Did For Love
One/Finale

Worth the ticket? - Absolutely!, but pick up the landmark 1975 recording instead of this merely "passable" version.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ineffective Revival, , March 2, 2007

By	Tom George (Wash. DC) - See all my reviews

Having seen the original in 1975 shortly after it opened, and subseqeuntly, different casts over the years, I was hugely disappointed in this production. While it would be unfair to expect the current revival to have the same impact as the original (they were, after all, playing their own lives), this is oddly unmoving. Every performer seems to be "acting", whereas the original, they all came aross as natural and real. Charlotte D'Amboise is talented and appealing but somehow, she too seems to be forced. Donna MacKechnie was heartbreaking, her dancing was pure passion and desperation, and you totally understood why she could not blend into the chorus, she was such a standout, so amazingly talented with such star quality it was sometimes difficult to stop watching her when the other cast members were performing. D'Amboise comes across as just another member of the ensemble, and in The Music and The Mirror, is just dancing really, really hard.
While there is a little more music on this cast album, stick to the OBC to get what it was all about.
I thought to the novice who'd never seen ACL, that this production would seem wonderful, but I have a sister and her husband who recently saw this (and had never seen any production before) and they found it rather dull and ineffective. The original simply overwhelmed with it's brilliance...not here. BTW avoid the dismal mess of a movie at all costs.
Still, when a musical such as ACL chnges the face of musical theater, I say "Bravo" to any production available!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ONE SINGULAR SENSATION? YES, BUT ONLY THE ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM, November 5, 2006

By	Alan W. Petrucelli (THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI)) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It was, and remains, one singular sensation. A Chorus Line changed the face of American musical theater, with an urbane book by Nick Dante and James Kirkwood and sophisticated yet obvious lyrics and music by Ed Kleban and Marvin Hamlisch. The Pulitzer prize-winning musical has been resurrected in Broadway and on CD . . . And we can't wonder why. Those familiar with the original cast recording will cringe at the flatness of the "new" recording, a recording that's simultaneously intrusive on the memory and superfluous in any collection. Is this what Baayork Lee did for love?