51 stories by "Amanda Prahl"
The soundtrack for the live-action remake of Aladdin manages to tweak the classic score just enough to not sound like a pale imitation while keeping the core of the magic that's made it one …
Origin stories are a weird thing, and nowhere on Broadway right now is there an odder origin story than Be More Chill. For star Stephanie Hsu, it started with a fake lemonade ad skit in the …
The onslaught of jukebox musicals doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, which, in turn, means that there are an awful lot of cast albums that also double as very well-sung cover albums. Th…
Previously a folk singer-songwriter, Anais Mitchell is blazing new ground on Broadway this season, both with her unique jazz-folk interpretation of classical Greek mythology and as the first…
With his new album Call Me Old-Fashioned, Tony nominee Max von Essen proves that he's found the perfect balance between modern Broadway star and golden age elegance.
Reviewing the cast album for Ain't Too Proud, the new bio-musical tracing the origins of the Motown vocal group the Temptations, is an unusually tricky task. How does one really review music…
With his new album Coming Home to You, Michael Ball expands his reach with a sound that's part country, part easy listening pop. It's an admirable effort, but one that sometimes falls flat.
Musical theatre is the land of collaboration, and anyone who's ever tried to write a musical knows that it can be a land filled with landmines. But for the ladies of the new musical Marie, D…
The newly released West End cast recording of Heathers includes all the fan-favorite songs from the original version, as well as a few new additions. For longtime fans, it's a welcome treat …
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there can never be enough Jane Austen adaptations - at least not for Austenites like me. Coincidentally, the theatre world is newly home to not on…
In 2010, the musical comedy Band Geeks premiered at Goodspeed, and now, almost nine years later, its score is finally available for listening. The EP of Band Geeks features seven of Mark All…
There are few things as difficult as penning a follow-up to a beloved classic. That's the challenge that faced the writers of Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, the next-generation sequel to the…
When it comes to sweeping, grand romances, the musicals from the golden age of the mid-20th century can't be beat - including Brigadoon, which most recently received a production at New York…
The intersection of Broadwayopera and sacred music seems like a natural fit. Both are often larger than life, both speak to a very specific message, and both use a wide range of instrumentat…
Since its inception in 2015, the Broadway Princess Party concert series has gone from a cute one-time show to a fan favorite at Feinstein's54 Below to a nationwide tour complete with a full-…
With his latest album, As Time Goes By, Boe tackles a slightly different genre, covering a variety of mid-century standards with a lounge-style, big-band sound. This branching out is a delig…
When it comes to how I got here stories, sta Hostetter's is both incredibly unique and incredibly familiar. The costume designer, currently represented off-Broadway by Roundabout's Usual Gir…
Melissa Errico is one of the most reliable theatre divas in contemporary musical theatre. With her fierce belt and a knack for finding the most interesting moments in music, it's no surprise…
Figure skating and musical theatre feel like perfect partners both involve heightened drama, intense training, and occasionally questionable costume choices. So it seems incredible that ther…
As far as wacky titles go Who's Your Baghdaddy Or, How I Started The Iraq War is a doozy. First-time listeners might be a little wary of this wacky, weird concept, but they'd be missing out.…
The album for the new dance musical The Beast in the Jungle is not your typical cast recording. Actually, it's not a cast recording at all, but a score recording that's purely instrumental. …
If you haven't heard of Abby DePhillips yet, now would be a good time to get acquainted. The social-media maven and up-and-coming producer is a rarity in the theatre world a star in the maki…
Linda Eder's career has had the kind of variety many performers would envy everything from Broadway to solo albums to concert halls. If You See Me, her latest release, is her seventeenth sol…
There's a fairly good chance that Lynn Ahrens wrote one of your favorite songs. Over the past few decades, she's written songs for beloved titles such as Schoolhouse Rock, Anastasia, Once on…
There's a good reason that Measure For Measure is considered one of Shakespeare's problem plays. It's a weird blend between comedy featuring that immortal device of classical theatre, the be…
