All stories by Rob Lester on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

A Little More Sondheim Music by Rob Lester

Well, 2010 isn't quite over yet--and that means that the celebration of Stephen Sondheim's·80th birthday isn't quite over yet either.· With many tributes, such as the one just released to …

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 05:58PM
Thursday, April 16, 2015

Sound Advice: "Fortress of Solitude" Off-Broadway Cast Recording by Rob Lester

. Its appealing and soulful intensity and very human heart make it clear early on that this sometimes gutsy and gritty (but ultimately sweet) musical belongs on the list of gratifyingly adve…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:19AM
Monday, April 6, 2015

Sound Advice: Alysha Umphress Swings Jeff Blumenkrantz; Anika Larsen Sing(s) You to Sleep by Rob Lester

Alysha Umphress has an album that, like her role in On the Town, has lots of moxie and sass, while it's low-key lullabyes on the agenda for Anika Larsen (Cynthia Weil in Beautiful: The Carol…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:38AM
Friday, March 27, 2015

Sound Advice: "On the Town" Broadway Revival Cast Recording by Rob Lester

It's only taken seventy years for On the Town to get a truly complete recording by a cast who had lived in the roles through an actual run of a production.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:32AM
Friday, March 6, 2015

Sound Advice: "The Last Five Years" Soundtrack by Rob Lester

The original stage cast album and the recent recorded revival have somewhat different tones and the same can be send for the film version. Designed for ears attuned to film, there's a genera…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:02AM
Sunday, January 25, 2015

Catch-Up on Cabaret January 2015 by Rob Lester

Hello, cabaret fans. I'd like to start out by telling you about the most inventive, charming, and out-and-out hilarious musically mad merriment I've seen in a cabaret room in a very long tim…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 12:47AM
Thursday, January 22, 2015

Sound Advice: The Top Ten Vocal Albums of 2014 by Rob Lester

... here is an honor roll of the ones I find myself wanting to return to and which seem richer and more appreciated with repeat plays.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 03:31PM
Thursday, January 8, 2015

Sound Advice: The Top Ten Cast Albums of 2014 by Rob Lester

Assuming no iPods are allowed on desert islands and there's no Wi-Fi there and the "sound cloud" isn't overhead, here's what I'd bring if forced to only bring ten cast albums from 2014 ...

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:10PM
Saturday, January 3, 2015

Sound Advice: Antonia Bennett, Sandy Bainum and Julie Budd by Rob Lester

Like your favorite Christmas sweater, Antonia Bennett's Embrace Me feels warm and comfortable and familiar ... the versatile Sandy Bainum voice that can croon, build up steam, or belt as nee…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:37AM
Thursday, December 11, 2014

Sound Advice: "The Man Who Saved Christmas" and Mark Jennett's "Everybody Says Don't" by Rob Lester

Merry Christmas from the factory where they make the toys, and then meet singer Mark Jennett, not cut from the same cloth as many of the retro crooner boys.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:10PM
Thursday, November 20, 2014

Sound Advice: "Tamar of the River" and "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Rob Lester

A beleaguered woman, strong and troubled, is at the center of each. Meet Tamar and Tess�one of the River, one of the D'Urbervilles. Both have tragedy and unusual trajectories.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:42AM
Thursday, November 6, 2014

Sound Advice: Betty Buckley' "Ghostlight" and Ellynne Rey's "Little Bit of Moonlight" by Rob Lester

Musical theatre veteran Betty Buckley's Ghostlight is named for that perhaps spooky sole light that traditionally is kept on in theatres so they are not completely dark. The Ellynne Rey ray …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:10PM

Make Hay for Maye & Pizzarelli Tonight by Rob Lester

Don't say that NiteLifeExchange didn't give you a medical warning. If you feel a sudden pain later this week, it will be because you deservedly kicked yourself for missing Marilyn Maye and h…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 01:00PM
Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sound Advice: Kritzerland "And the World Goes Round" by Rob Lester

... some pretty good things come in big packages, like this finally full, generous-length two-disc set, giving us much more of the score of this revue.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:34AM
Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sound Advice: "Roberta" and "Theater Boys" by Rob Lester

Studio casts of shows about fashion (Roberta) & passion (Theater Boys).

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:17PM
Thursday, October 9, 2014

Sound Advice: Tributes from Ann Hampton Callaway and Diane Schuur by Rob Lester

Ann Hampton Callaway's From Sassy To Divine: The Sarah Vaughan Project and Diane Schuur's I Remember You: With Love to Stan and Frank.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:41AM
Thursday, October 2, 2014

Sound Advice: Mr. Ball; Mr. Bell: 2 Solo CDs by Bass-Baritones by Rob Lester

Each presents an eclectic repertoire. As they sing their love songs, it's interesting to know that it was in theatrical settings that both Ball and Bell met their very musical wives with who…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:02PM
Thursday, September 11, 2014

Sound Advice: "The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World" Off-Broadway Cast Recording by Rob Lester

One of the music world's oddest real-life stories became one of the musical theatre world's more intriguing biographical pieces, with an Off-Broadway cast album preserving emotionally charge…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:45PM
Thursday, September 4, 2014

Sound Advice: Where the Sky Ends: The Songs of Michael Mott by Rob Lester

This album sampling the output of young composer/lyricist Michael Mott has a lot of pop influences, and the selections from two of his musicals suggest he doesn't long for the long-lined, sw…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:42AM
Friday, August 29, 2014

Sound Advice: "Valley of Song" ...finally by Rob Lester

The homeland of Anna in The King and I, which she described as "a civilized land called Wales," with a side trip to Venice are the settings for a little-known, never-recorded score that dese…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:14AM
Thursday, August 21, 2014

Sound Advice: "A Second Chance" and "Swan Esther" by Rob Lester

The gentle, low-key A Second Chance brings us a nice enough later-in-life man and woman who meet at a party and soon begin dating ... the "concept album" of the British entry Swan Esther, f…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:08PM

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