All stories by Michael Portantiere on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Adding Machine by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2008 (P.S. Classics) You might think The Adding Machine, Elmer Rice’s 1923 expressionist drama, an unlikely candidate for musical adaptation. It’s a bleak tal…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:44AM
Sunday, September 18, 2016

An American in Paris by Michael Portantiere

Film Soundtrack, 1951 (MGM/Rhino-Turner/Watertower Music) In the 1990s, Turner Entertainment restored one of MGM’s greatest musicals, An American In Paris. The restoration turned up the st…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 09:53AM
Monday, August 29, 2016

Newsies by Michael Portantiere

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1992 (Walt Disney) Listening to the soundtrack recording of  this 1992 movie that starred a young Christian Bale (well before his days headlining much da…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:33PM
Thursday, August 25, 2016

A DAY BY THE SEA - Talkin' Broadway's Review by Michael Portantiere

The program for the Mint Theater Company's production of N.C. Hunter's A Day by the Sea tells us that the author “took his place among the leading British dramatists of the 1950s,” but i…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:34PM
Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The Wedding Singer by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2006 (Masterworks Broadway) Antipathy towards screen-to-stage adaptations influenced a great many reactions to this tuner that musicalized the 1998 Adam Sandler movie…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 08:56AM
Tuesday, August 2, 2016

American Psycho by Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 2016 (Concord Records) Duncan Sheik’s score for this musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ savage (in all senses of the word), satiric novel marvelously captures…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:41AM
Monday, July 11, 2016

Jersey Boys by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Rhino) Jersey Boys tells the true story of the rise of the phenomenally successful 1960s pop singing group The Four Seasons — or, at least, true to whoever is…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:10PM

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2014 (Ghostlight) Based on a novel by Roy Horniman that also inspired the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949),  A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is pure wit…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:04AM

Spring Awakening by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2006 (Verve) Even with the success of such shows as Hair and Rent, the original pop/rock musical theater score has had a spotty history on Broadway, but it saw a majo…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:44AM
Monday, July 4, 2016

The Little Mermaid by Michael Portantiere

Film Soundtrack, 1989 (Disney) After a decades-long dry spell, Disney film animation finally sprang to life again with The Little Mermaid, a musical adaptation of the children’s story by H…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 07:45PM

Billy Elliot by Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 2006 (Decca Broadway) Based on the film written by Lee Hall, who did double duty for the stage musical as librettist and lyricist, Billy Elliot tells of a Northern Engl…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:55PM

Next to Normal by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2009 (Sh-K-Boom) If Spring Awakening marked the successful comeback of the original pop/rock musical theater score, then Next to Normal helped insure its future. Part…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:28PM
Sunday, July 3, 2016

The Sound of Musicals: Christine Andreas by Michael Portantiere

“The Sound of Musicals,” is a monthly podcast devoted to musical theatre recordings of all types, including Broadway cast albums, London cast albums, studio cast albums, and soun…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 03:44PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

2016 Theatre World Awards Awards - Report & Photos by Michael Portantiere

The 72nd annual Theatre World Awards, honoring "outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway significant, reviewable debut performances," were presented last evening in a ceremony at Circle in the S…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:39PM
Sunday, May 8, 2016

The Drowsy Chaperone by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2006 (Ghostlight) This might be the first Broadway musical with commentary written into the script. Alone in his apartment, a musical theater devotee anonymously name…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:07PM

The Light in the Piazza by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast,  2005 (Nonesuch) The Light in the Piazza seemed to re-open the door for lush scores and musicals of honest sentiment of the type not seen since Rodgers and Hammerste…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 01:33PM
Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Memphis by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2009 (Rhino) Winner of 2010 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Book, Original Score, and Orchestrations, Memphis charts an enjoyable journey through the pioneering days of…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:59PM
Monday, May 2, 2016

2016 Lucille Lortel Awards Report by Michael Portantiere

Guards at the Taj (Outstanding Play), FUTURITY (Outstanding Musical), and The Robber Bridegroom (Outstanding Revival) were among the big winners at the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards honoring ex…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:25AM
Friday, April 29, 2016

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2013 (Ghostlight) Some musical theater writers have had great difficulty adapting epic, classic novels for the stage: Doctor Zhivago, Jane Eyre, East of Eden, etc…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:03PM
Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Sound of Musicals: The King and I by Michael Portantiere

“The Sound of Musicals,” is a monthly podcast devoted to musical theatre recordings of all types, including Broadway cast albums, London cast albums, studio cast albums, and soun…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:59PM
Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Book of Mormon by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2011 (Ghostlight) When it was announced that the creators of South Park were writing a Broadway musical, with one of the songwriters of Avenue Q, no less, everyone ex…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:28PM

Kinky Boots by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2013 (Sony Masterworks Broadway) Kinky Boots marked 80’s pop icon Cyndi Lauper’s debut as a Broadway songwriter. Based on the film of the same title, the musical …

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:06PM
Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Matilda by Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 2013 (RSC) This recording reflects the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere production of the musical Matilda, based on Roald Dahl’s book about a precocious, …

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:56PM

The Bridges of Madison County by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2014 (Ghostlight) Robert James Waller’s novel about an Italian war bride’s brief affair with a photographer who passes through her Iowa town became a cultural phe…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:01PM
Tuesday, March 29, 2016

In the Heights by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2008 (Ghostlight, 2CDs) Winner of 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations, In the Heights was the first Broadway musical hit t…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:51PM
Thursday, March 24, 2016

Grey Gardens by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2006 (PS Classics) Based on Albert and David Maysles’ fascinating 1975 documentary film of the same name, the musical Grey Gardens depicts the dysfunctional rel…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:15AM
Friday, March 18, 2016

The Last Ship by Michael Portantiere

Studio Cast, 2013 (Cherrytree/A&M)   Rock icon Sting introduced most of the songs that would fuel his Broadway musical The Last Ship in this eponymous, 12-track concept album, released …

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 09:46AM
Sunday, March 13, 2016

Altar Boyz by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2005 (Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom) A boisterous, satirical show in the form of a concert by a Christian pop-rock boy band espousing wholesome morality through their musi…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:42PM
Thursday, March 10, 2016

All Shook Up by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Masterworks Broadway) A lightweight jukebox musical showcasing 25 songs made famous by Elvis Presley, All Shook Up concerns a motorcycle-riding roustabout who b…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:10PM
Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Dearest Enemy by Michael Portantiere

Studio Cast, 1981 (Beginners Records/Bayview) A minor milestone in the history of American musical theater, Dearest Enemy (1925) was the first book show with a score entirely by Richard Rodg…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:17AM
Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Great Waltz by Michael Portantiere

Original West Coast Cast, 1965 (Capitol/no CD) Edwin Lester of the Civic Light Opera Company of Los Angeles and San Francisco was known for bringing Broadway’s first national tours to the …

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:36AM