32 stories by "Andrew Kendall"
The first thing I thought about when I heard that Barbara Cook had died was her appearance at the 34th Kennedy Center Honors. To be fair, I think about (and listen to) that Barbara Cook trib…
Rachel Bay Jones and Gavin Creel picked up Featured Performer Tony Awards last Sunday for their supporting work in Dear Evan Hansen (Best Musical winner) and Hello, Dolly! (Best Musical Revi…
"Thank you, madam. Please call again. Do call again, madam," is the rejoinder the staff at Maraczek's Parfumerie sings each time a customer exits the shop. The line charmingly, simply, under…
In 1996 Jose Llana performed one of the most beautiful renditions of "We Kissed in a Shadown" on the revival of The King and I. It was his Broadway debut. In 2015 he returned to the show, th…
The 2015-2016 theatre season saw us witnessing the fifth Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. This means it is now proceeded by Show Boat, The Threepenny Opera and Porgy & Bess as th…
The latest Stephen Sondheim compilation album immediately courts scrutiny when it announces itself as The Essential Stephen Sondheim. For, as even the most cursory of musical theatre fans kn…
Polished. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of the New Broadway Recording of The Color Purple, which opened in theatres a few weeks ago. This revival holds an interesting…
The 1970 Tony Award season was a real curio for the musicals in good ways and bad ways. It was a year of limited options: there were only three musicals nominated for Best Musical " the same…
Doctor Zhivago had the inauspicious title of being the first show to close on Broadway when the Tony nominations were announced in May. It had received no nominations and after poor notices,…
In May 1965 the first Kander and Ebb musical premiered on Broadway. Flora the Red Menace, despite a lovely score, was not too long for the Great White Way. It scored a Tony for Liza Minnelli…
The storied journey of The Visit to Broadway has been recounted many times, in 2015, fourteen years after its first planned tryout, The Visit finally made it to Broadway. It was a short …
From the opening of the New Broadway Cast Recording of On the Twentieth Century it’s clear to lovers of the show that they have little to worry about. Among many things On the Twentiet…
In the face of multiple two person theatre shows I'll admit a bit of a penchant for the mid nineties John & Jen, for no reason other than my own sibling relationships making me thrilled …
It’s been a few days since the Tony Awards. From where I sit, it was a generally impressive show with a historic slate of winners. Before we turn over to the new Broadway seasons I wan…
What makes for a good musical comedy score? I feel like too often musical comedies work on a funny book and lyrics, and miss the possibility of using musical arrangement to augment humour. S…
With a cast of six and a small orchestra, Tokio Confidential probably never intends to be more than a simple chamber musical; albeit, a chamber musical with a dense plot. The musical premier…
Marin Mazzie fans are fortunate that Broadway's wonderful soprano has finally released a solo album after more than two decades of charming us on the stage. Following in the line of previous…
Bill Condon, the director of the recent revival of Side Show, understands the purpose of cast recordings for theatre fans. In the digital booklet which comes with the recording (released Feb…
In 1978 Lea Salonga made her stage debut in a Philippines Repertory production of The King & I at age seven. 1989 she made her London debut as Kim in Miss Saigon winning an Olivier Award…
The newly released soundtrack for the film adaptation of The Last Five Years is an important album. Important for me because the Original Cast Recording of the musical on which it is based w…
Can you love a revival just from the casting announcement of the leading lady? The news that Roundabout Theatre Company is producing a revival of She Loves Me in the Spring of 2016 as part o…
One of the annual Broadway traditions will have its 2015 run when Broadway Unplugged happens on January 26, at The Town Hall. The yearly show is a great chance to hear Broadway stars show of…
Next to actually seeing shows, the memories that come with a great cast recording are the next best thing. We were fortunate to have some excellent recordings of new scores, jukebox musicals…
We want to wish you a Merry Christmas with the help of musical theatre. For such a popular holiday there are unusually few Christmas songs in the musical theatre canon. Of the sixteen, or th…
A few weeks ago we took a listen of the audio commentary for The Bridges of Madison County and now we give a listen to the Beautiful cast recording with Jessie Mueller. The Beautiful cast re…
