All stories by Rob Lester on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Stephen Pasquale and John Pizzarelli, Jan Cronin, Judy Whitmore, and Andy Pratt - 1/31/24 by Rob Lester

Reviews of albums from Stephen Pasquale & John Pizzarelli, Jan Cronin, Judy Whitmore, and Andy Pratt.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:51AM
Monday, January 15, 2024

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "Guys and Dolls," "Wild About You," "Walking with Bubbles," and "The New Peggy" - 1/15/24 by Rob Lester

Reviews of cast recordings from Guys and Dolls, Wild About You, Walking with Bubbles, and The New Peggy.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:57AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Merrily, Sondheim Project, Ben Jones, and Antoine Drye - 11/29/23 by Rob Lester

I've been doing a deep dive into songs by Stephen Sondheim lately, gorging on the new recording of Merrily We Roll Along, and then, wanting more, I went merrily scavenging through my "waitin…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:48PM
Thursday, November 16, 2023

Talkin'Broadway by Rob Lester

"New York, New York" OBC, Matthew Scott, "Other Lives", and Chloé Jean album reviews.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:48PM
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Anything goes - 10/26/23 by Rob Lester

Two "Anything Goes" albums from JAY Records.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:08PM
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Jeff Harner and "Harmony" - 9/02/23 by Rob Lester

A Collective Cy: Jeff Harner Sings Cy Coleman and "Harmony" OBC cast recording reviewed.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:45AM
Thursday, August 10, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "The Wizard of Friendship," Fanny Brice, and "The Flasher!" - 8/10/23 by Rob Lester

New album reviews: "Lewberger: The Wizard of Friendship," Fanny Brice: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, and "The Flasher!" soundtrack.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:29PM
Monday, June 26, 2023

Talkin'Broadway Sound Advice Reviews by Rob Lester

"New York, New York" OBC, Matthew Scott, "Other Lives", and Chloé Jean album reviews.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:58AM
Thursday, June 15, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Legends by Rob Lester

Reviews of newly released albums: Eleri Ward; Legends of Broadway and Vaudeville; Chet Baker Blue Room.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:48PM
Thursday, June 8, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "Camelot" and "South Pacific" - 6/8/23 by Rob Lester

et's open our minds and ears to alternate versions of classic musicals as presented in cast recordings: Camelot's recently opened revival and a complete South Pacific with a studio cast from…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:21AM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Sound Advice: "Shucked" and "KPOP" cast recordings by Rob Lester

Rob reviews the new OBC cast recordings for "Shucked" and "KPOP."

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:41AM
Monday, February 20, 2023

Talkin' Broadway - Book Review: "Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical" by Linda Winer - 2/2023 by Rob Lester

... Laurie Winer sees many sides to the icon, with her own eyes wide open rather than with myopic wide-eyed fandom, and with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight fueled by modern-day perspectiv…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:46AM
Thursday, February 2, 2023

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Cryer & Ford: Hidden Treasures, Eric Hoffman & Ken Hatfield, and Claudia Acuna - 2/2/23 by Rob Lester

Now we give due appreciation to duos–with a retrospective of the oeuvre of a long-standing, outstanding songwriting twosome, and then it's time for spare pairings of one singer accompanied…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:49PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: >A pair of Broadway's bio-musicals and two more holiday treats - 12/20/22 by Rob Lester

Reviews of new Funny Girl cast recording, A Beautiful Noise OBC recording, plus Harry Connick Jr.'s newest holiday album, and The Skivvies' Sleigh My Name.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:15AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: 2022 Sounds of the Holidays, Part 1 - 12/8/22 by Rob Lester

Part one of reviews of 2022 Christmas music releases, starting with Million Dollar Quartet Christmas.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:59PM
Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Victoria Clark, Liz Callaway, and Sondheim Unplugged Vol. 3 - 11/30/22 by Rob Lester

Maury Yeston's song cycle and two sets of Sondheim songs: The calendar inching us to December is an apt cue to turn to December Songs, with Victoria Clark taking on Maury Yeston's one-charac…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:35PM
Thursday, September 29, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet," ChimyTina, and San Gabriel 7 - 9/29/22 by Rob Lester

The comet at hand is not the celestial object but a musical comedy with a title character named Regina Comet. Constellations and Under the Stars are the names of cool jazz releases. In any c…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:30PM
Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Talkin' Broadway - Book Review: "Miracle of The Music Man: The Classic American Story of Meredith Willson" by Mark Cabaniss - 9/26/22 by Rob Lester

Miracle of The Music Man: The Classic American Story of Meredith Willson, while full of affection and appreciation, is also full of familiar tales and tidbits if you've read some of the othe…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 04:01PM
Thursday, September 22, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Eleri Ward's second Sondheim album, plus three more. by Rob Lester

When the feats of production are at their most dense and intense, there's a risk of upstaging the essence of the material's drama or delicacy–at least on the first or second hearing. And I…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:12AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Book Review: "The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes, and Disagreements" by Peter Filichia - 9/8/22 by Rob Lester

Full of fascinating facts, fond memories, musings, and proffered preferences, Peter Filichia's newest book may be a haven for the theatre maven unable to put it down. While perusing The Book…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:36AM
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "The Pleasure Garden," "It Happened in Key West," + 2 - 9/6/22 by Rob Lester

Let's check out two London cast recordings of newer musicals–The Pleasure Garden and It Happened in Key West–and then turn our focus to southern California to report on two singers based…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:48AM
Thursday, August 25, 2022

Talkin' Broadway - Book Review: "Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers" by By Mary Rodgers and Jesse Green - 8/25/22 by Rob Lester

In her candid memoirs, self-aware Mary Rodgers (1931-2014) states this about the princess protagonist of the show she worked on as composer in the late 1950s, Once Upon a Mattress: "Despite …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:40PM
Friday, August 19, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: Molly Brown, 13, Anne of Green Gables, and More by Rob Lester

Here's some "colorful" music: tweaked scores of The Unsinkable Molly Brown and 13 (music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown), and the concept recording for Anne of Green Gables, plus vocals by…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:58AM
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Talkin' Broadway Sound Advice: "Girl from the North Country" and "Caroline, or Change" new cast albums - 1/20/22 by Rob Lester

New cast albums from two Broadway shows of this season: "Girl from the North Country" and "Caroline, or Change."

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:55AM
Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Sound Advice: "Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing and Perform "Funny Girl": The Ultimate Edition" - 11/10/20 by Rob Lester

Don't expect Funny Girl's twin sister, but more of a distant cousin who's so cute and enthused that one don't want to rain on her parade.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:02AM
Thursday, October 5, 2017

The Wizard of Oz— Extended and Recommended!! Come Over the Rainbow to this Production That Needs No Introduction by Rob Lester

I’m so glad I landed in Oz with the delightful Harlem Rep’s reputable version of a beloved tale. It’s easy to get to this terrific stage show: just follow the yellow brick road. Oh, yo…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 11:06AM
Sunday, August 6, 2017

Liberace and What’s-his-name: Two Musicals About Real-Life Artists, Visual and Performing, Performed Artfully at NYMF by Rob Lester

When art imitates life in the arts, there can be artistic differences. At the festival closing Sunday, August 6, two ambitious NYMF shows celebrate real-life artistic American men: one still…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 07:05AM

“Be Your True Self!” Say Loveable Shows in NYMF, Like Backbeard and Happily by Rob Lester

What better message for a musical than, “Find and be your true self, despite pressures to be a clone, and you’ll be a happier true you.” Backbeard and Happily don’t have lyrics sayin…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 07:05AM
Friday, August 4, 2017

Two Shows with Teen Angst, Talent, Terrific Songs. Generation Me; Peace, Love and Cupcakes by Rob Lester

Looking for musicals about teens and their troubles? See our Pick of the Week for info on Happily (August 3 & 4) at NYMF. And here are reviews at two that came by first: along first at the …

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 06:08AM
Tuesday, August 1, 2017

NiteLife Person of the Week— Prince of Broadway? …but which one? by Rob Lester

Opening in NYC: Hal Prince saluted in The Prince of Broadway …..or do we mean Faith Prince who turns 60 this week (on Sunday)? Or The Student Prince, since that operetta’s composer, Sigm…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 10:06PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards