369 stories by "Rob Lester"
Context is everything. Have some patience and drink it all in, and don't judge by casual first listen. The brand new revival cast album of The Mystery of Edwin Drood is fully understood and …
Patti LuPone comes from the world of theatre and Patricia Racette is an established opera singer, but each has found another home on the cabaret stage. Each has a new live album that include…
"Retirement." It's not even a thought for performers Barbara Cook and Joel Grey or writers Sheldon Harnick and Sherman Yellen.
Beyond the usual Top Ten Vocals, there are a couple of other special honorees.
These are the ones that make me want to press "repeat play" repeatedly and think will hold up and I'll hold closer over the coming years.
Let's leap into the new year with looks at two new cast recordings, both courtesy of the invaluable Ghostlight Records label.
This is a feel-good fest. Lively and upbeat, the 69-year-old is as bubbly as the soon-to-be-corked New Year's Eve champagne.
Recommended listening comes from vocalists who've perked up my ears and piqued my interest.
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Telly Leung, Robert Cuccioli and Natalie Toro.
It's a wonderful feeling, finding an eye-opening, ear-opening dazzling treasure-chest of songs with melodies by a master, many of which have never (or rarely) been recorded.
Tell the stage manager to cue the snow as we welcome two Broadway veterans teaming up and joined by a small instrumental group. Then, two other albums: both vocalists from the Washington, DC…
There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and that every year there will be a bunch of new Christmas recordings on the market. "Haul out the holly" and have a look at this year's…
Anthony Newley "The Last Song: The Final Recordings," "Top Hat" 2012 London Cast, and Andrea Marcovicci's "Smile" reviewed.
What a pleasure to find these two Lost-titled albums and welcome back to two female singers whose latest work brings intelligent, artful interpretations: Deborah Shulman and Deanna Kirk.
There's nice work on all three of this week's musical entries. We begin with Nice Work If You Can Get It, the cast album that's a glut of Gershwin & Gershwin from the golden age. A starkly m…
We've got three discs on the CD player, and the name of composer-lyricist Irving Berlin is very much around. There's a London cast album of a production adding various Berlin songs to the sc…
Journey from eerie (Carrie, Jekyll & Hyde, two musicals we first heard from at the end of the 1980s) to spiffy, smirking supposed "sequel" to the ultimate in musical theatre cheery (The Soun…
One of the lesser-known musicals of one of the best-known musical theatre writing teams gets its only recording since the original and the two female stars of the new production have their o…
Taking on the legend's songbook, Ann has her own landmark bookmark in it, having been a contributor on a couple of occasions, which helps uniquely anchor the show.
Here are two studio cast albums of enjoyable musicals which saw limited-run New York productions: Next Thing You Know and Sympathy Jones. And a new issue of the original (1971) Follies Broad…
Two legendary ladies surnamed Lee—one fictional and one real—get new looks in recordings released this month. Lorelei Lee is the gold-digging heroine ... and cabaret singer Stacy Sulliva…
Here's a look at the theatrical cabaret act of a bright talent with a fun and funny autobiographical act, with a thoughtful core ...
old and brave, or balladeering and besotted with love, bathed in bravery or just bravado, musical theatre's long line of leading male roles is rich with juicy material.
Another edition of the Original Cast Records series of Lost Broadway and More brings more than a treasure chest full of recovered gems ... Only a Kingdom revels in its just-right tone ... […
The pair of pros on stage and in full command are musical theatre darlings Faith Prince and Jason Graae.
