Newman Cast:

Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert [VHS]
$19.98
I've learned a lot about this production from reading some of the other reviewers commentary below. One very informative posting included quotes from Lee Remick that it was unlikely that a more complete version of the concert would ever be released since there wasn't more footage in anybody's vault (although I'm not sure why the concert's having been a benefit would have put a crimp on recording it in its entirety). But I suspect that the fact that it was recorded BEFORE the DVD era was the main problem. Nowadays anyone filming such an event would probably record the event in full and then--as many reviewers have suggested--included a "Making Of" documentary to be included as "Disk Two." Nowadays, I suspect, that kind of packaging would be a virtual given.

Whether or not you find the current available product acceptable may depend on whether you're a "half full" or "half empty" type. Me, I'm enough of the former to be very glad to have this. But then, I didn't pay full price AND I had just come off seeing an above average regional production so the story was fresh in my mind (and filling in the blanks relatively easy).

It's not clear whether or not, the entire concert would have given neophyte viewers an adequate sense of the plot or not. Some might say that the plot was minimal to begin with. Still the audience benefits from knowing who Ben and Phyllis and Buddy and Sally are (by the way, was Sondheim a fan of the old DICK VAN DYKE SHOW? I mean, BUDDY AND SALLY, c'mon). The others, sketchy enough in the stage production, are strictly cameos, and that can be confusing.

The documentary describes the assembled artists as pretty much a dream cast, and that would certainly seem to be a fair description: George Hearn, Lee Remick, Mandy Patinkin, and Barbara Cook as your leads with luminaries of stage and screen like Elaine Stritch and Carol Burnett on hand. While Remick and Burnett are known primarily for their work on TV and in film, they both had experience in the musical theater and more than hold their own in this production. Cook, mainly a concert performer nowadays, provides several musical highlights, including a memorable "In Buddy's Eyes." Patinkin has been criticized here and elsewhere for hamming it up--and it probably was NOT a good idea to get rid of the "Comic Sally" and "Comic Phyllis" figures in favor of a straight solo on "Buddy's Blues." I won't dispute the claim made elsewhere on the page that this was done at Patinkin's insistence, but I don't know that for sure. Suffice it to say that it works so well done as a duet that it's a shame to lose that kind of real life back and forth. And we all know that Mandy has a strong, sustained falsetto, but it's not used to great effect here.

Along with Remick and Elaine Stritch, George Hearn proves most masterful at interpreting the lyrics. The dramatized breakdown in "Live, Laugh and Love" is tough to pull off under the best of circumstances. To do it successfully as a concert piece, divorced--for the most part--of any real context is quite a feat. And that's exactly what Hearn does here.

There will purists out there (and God love 'em) for whom the fragmented nature of FOLLIES IN CONCERT will never do. Many would likely have found even a full-length concert version lacking. These folks make several valid points, not the least of which is that the current product probably would have more accurately been called THE MAKING OF FOLLIES IN CONCERT. But for what it is, it works. There is a nice flow to it, and even the songs that are abbreviated are not really (IMO) totally butchered. The cuts do give one incentive to buy the CD, however, which from a marketing standpoint, may have been a pretty clever idea.

Seriously, though, if additional footage ever is dug up, a more complete version should definitely be considered. If the commentary here is any indication, they'd definitely be a market for the whole shebang. And what a shebang, it'd be.

Randy Newman's Faust (1993 Concept Cast)
$11.98
My taste in music runs from operatic arias to The Beatles. As I pare down the selections every now and then to those that I can listen to over and over again, Randy Newman's "Faust" always makes the cut. I just love it.

Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert
$24.99
I've learned a lot about this production from reading some of the other reviewers commentary below. One very informative posting included quotes from Lee Remick that it was unlikely that a more complete version of the concert would ever be released since there wasn't more footage in anybody's vault (although I'm not sure why the concert's having been a benefit would have put a crimp on recording it in its entirety). But I suspect that the fact that it was recorded BEFORE the DVD era was the main problem. Nowadays anyone filming such an event would probably record the event in full and then--as many reviewers have suggested--included a "Making Of" documentary to be included as "Disk Two." Nowadays, I suspect, that kind of packaging would be a virtual given.

Whether or not you find the current available product acceptable may depend on whether you're a "half full" or "half empty" type. Me, I'm enough of the former to be very glad to have this. But then, I didn't pay full price AND I had just come off seeing an above average regional production so the story was fresh in my mind (and filling in the blanks relatively easy).

It's not clear whether or not, the entire concert would have given neophyte viewers an adequate sense of the plot or not. Some might say that the plot was minimal to begin with. Still the audience benefits from knowing who Ben and Phyllis and Buddy and Sally are (by the way, was Sondheim a fan of the old DICK VAN DYKE SHOW? I mean, BUDDY AND SALLY, c'mon). The others, sketchy enough in the stage production, are strictly cameos, and that can be confusing.

The documentary describes the assembled artists as pretty much a dream cast, and that would certainly seem to be a fair description: George Hearn, Lee Remick, Mandy Patinkin, and Barbara Cook as your leads with luminaries of stage and screen like Elaine Stritch and Carol Burnett on hand. While Remick and Burnett are known primarily for their work on TV and in film, they both had experience in the musical theater and more than hold their own in this production. Cook, mainly a concert performer nowadays, provides several musical highlights, including a memorable "In Buddy's Eyes." Patinkin has been criticized here and elsewhere for hamming it up--and it probably was NOT a good idea to get rid of the "Comic Sally" and "Comic Phyllis" figures in favor of a straight solo on "Buddy's Blues." I won't dispute the claim made elsewhere on the page that this was done at Patinkin's insistence, but I don't know that for sure. Suffice it to say that it works so well done as a duet that it's a shame to lose that kind of real life back and forth. And we all know that Mandy has a strong, sustained falsetto, but it's not used to great effect here.

Along with Remick and Elaine Stritch, George Hearn proves most masterful at interpreting the lyrics. The dramatized breakdown in "Live, Laugh and Love" is tough to pull off under the best of circumstances. To do it successfully as a concert piece, divorced--for the most part--of any real context is quite a feat. And that's exactly what Hearn does here.

There will purists out there (and God love 'em) for whom the fragmented nature of FOLLIES IN CONCERT will never do. Many would likely have found even a full-length concert version lacking. These folks make several valid points, not the least of which is that the current product probably would have more accurately been called THE MAKING OF FOLLIES IN CONCERT. But for what it is, it works. There is a nice flow to it, and even the songs that are abbreviated are not really (IMO) totally butchered. The cuts do give one incentive to buy the CD, however, which from a marketing standpoint, may have been a pretty clever idea.

Seriously, though, if additional footage ever is dug up, a more complete version should definitely be considered. If the commentary here is any indication, they'd definitely be a market for the whole shebang. And what a shebang, it'd be.

Oklahoma! - Studio Cast Recording
$9.99
This is the reissue of the 1964 studio-recording of OKLAHOMA!, with Broadway stars John Raitt, Florence Henderson and Phyllis Newman playing the roles of Curly, Laurey and Ado Annie respectively. It was in fact one of a series of Broadway studio-albums released by Columbia and produced by Goddard Lieberson. Others in the series include SHOW BOAT starring John Raitt and Barbara Cook, and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN starring Doris Day.The orchestrations, created especially for the recording by Philip J. Lang, aren't a patch on the Broadway originals but serve their purpose. The performances of John Raitt and Florence Henderson are bright and polished, though it is a crime that Phyllis Newman never played Ado Annie in a major commercial production of the musical. She gives a spirited performance.Of the highlights; Florence Henderson's "Out of My Dreams" is, indeed, dreamy; John Raitt's soaring baritone perfectly fits "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" and Phyllis Newman's "I Cain't Say No" is performed to a comical perfection.Given the huge abundance of OKLAHOMA! cast-albums available, this studio recording may not be the most essential addition to your collection, but it is a rather pleasant album on the whole.