First Lady Suite - A Musical (Premiere Recording) [CAST RECORDING] [SOUNDTRACK]

Michael John LaChiusa (Artist), Gregory Jbara (Artist), Kate Shindle (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording, Soundtrack
• Label: P.S. Classics
• ASIN: B00008BL61
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,567 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Michael John LaChiusa's First Lady Suite is a fascinating probe into some of history's most neglected figures, the wives of U.S. presidents. The title is a wordplay on the familiar presidential suite, but also a reference to the three-part structure that focuses on Jackie Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, and Eleanor Roosevelt as they examine what their lives have become and take a metaphorical journey from flying prison to glorious solo flight. The cast, which presented the work at Los Angeles's Blank Theatre in March 2002, is uniformly fine, and it seems unfair and unnecessary to single out any of the nine members (some playing more than one role)--even the first ladies, because in some cases their assistants are equally prominent characters. As for hummable tunes, LaChiusa's score will never be mistaken for something by Jason Robert Brown, but it's angular and jazzy, and when appropriate, it soars. Considering how many unfamiliar shows have been derailed by half-hearted recording packaging, it's a pleasure to report that First Lady Suite comes with a full libretto, cast credits, photos, and liner notes. The show, and those who wish to experience it, deserves nothing less. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
The award-winning score by five-time Tony nominee Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Hello Again) in which First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and Mamie Eisenhower--and the people closest to them--reveal their true selves in song. An imaginative and irreverent look behind the scenes of the White House, "First Lady Suite" receives its premiere recording here, following acclaimed productions in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, D.C. "This witty musical never fails to charm and engage... fresh, surreal historical riffs that are slyly subversive in a way we haven't seen since 'Assassins.'"--Los Angeles Times.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bear with it., February 19, 2004

By	Jonathan Rees - See all my reviews

I really want to recommend close and repeated listening to this CD. Even though i'm a big fan of La Chiusa's Marie Christine and Wild Party, my first hearing of this show left me cold. The show seemed too unstructured to really carry a listener along - remembering that the experience of a show heard on a CD player is totally different from seeing it on a stage. I left the CD alone for months, and it's only because I'm currently working on some other La Chiusa music that I decided to give it another go. This time the show glowed out at me from the speakers. The lyrics are utterly remarkable, the characters honed to perfection and the music lilts between recitative and "numbers" with amazing fluidity, encompassing a vast range of styles that suit the moment ideally. Not all the singing is beautiful but it as always characterful and precise. I recommend this recording to anyone and urge you to put the effort in. It will reward every moment with so much beauty and wisdom.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars first lady sweet, March 22, 2003

By A Customer

I've read several rave reviews of this CD now, and indeed it's a superb recording, but the comments were so scholarly that I think they missed the point. For me, the marvel of the score is how playful it is. I'll be the first to declare Michael John LaChiusa a brilliant composer-lyricist, but for me, there's been something wrong with his recent work: the writing remains gorgeous, but I'm too aware of the collaboration and the compromise -- the voice feels only intermittently full-throated. This portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-younger-man clearly belongs to a time when he didn't have the world looking over his shoulder, and he's not afraid to be a little crazy and silly and twisted. That's not to say that the work isn't powerful -- in fact, I found it as powerful as anything he's written precisely because the dramatic moments take you by surprise. LaChiusa's a great story-teller here, and First Lady Suite is a revelation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LaChiuisa does it again!, April 27, 2003

By	S. McCasland "prohouser" (Deer Park, Ny. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although LaChiusa's work may be a bit strange for some tastes, his work his always entertaining if to say anything at all.
Some beautiful songs, mostly the opening and closing, and clever lyrics tell these wonderful stories of some our most beloved first ladies, Jacky O, Eleanor Roosevelt and others! (There's even a little Amelia Aerhart too.) You won't regret adding it to your musical collection, especially if you enjoyed MARIE CHRISTINE, HELLO AGAIN and THE WILD PARTY (all by LaChiusa).