Wonderful Town (Original 1953 Broadway Cast) | Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, ...

Wonderful Town (Original 1953 Broadway Cast) | Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, ... | Quality over quantity

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Wonderful Town (Or...

	Wonderful Town (Original 1953 Broadway Cast) Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, ... Decca U.S., 2001 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a must-have recording for REAL Broadway fans

This marvellous new re-issue of WONDERFUL TOWN is a must-have for Broadway buffs. In fact, this is really two albums in one, as it also contains the rare 1945 studio recording of ON THE TOWN as a bonus!

The story is based on the play "My Sister Eileen", written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov; as well as the stories written by Ruth McKenney. The play was later turned into a successful Columbia film starring Rosalind Russell (as Ruth Sherwood) and Janet Blair as Eileen. Several years later Columbia released a musical version (following the success of WONDERFUL TOWN) which starred Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett.

WONDERFUL TOWN originally starred Rosalind Russell (repeating her film role) as Ruth and Edith 'Edie' Adams as Eileen. The cast also included George Gaynes (GIGI, 'Punky Brewster') as the romantic male lead.

The score by Betty Comden and the late Adolph Green is gorgeous, and features the comical "100 Easy Ways", the lilting "A Little Bit in Love" and the showstopping "Conga!" and "Wrong-Note Rag".

No Broadway-recording collection is complete without the original cast of this landmark musical.

This re-issue from the superb Decca Broadway range also includes the rare 1945 set of ON THE TOWN, which featured original cast-members Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Nancy Walker singing their songs from the show, with Mary Martin singing "Lonely Town" and "Lucky to Be Me".

Highly-recommended.

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Quality over quantity

Yes, the original 1953 cast recording of "Wonderful Town" may not be the most complete cast recording of the hit musical BUT I would wholeheartedly reccommend this CD over any other version. Why? Because of its original cast members and its original orchestrations! Rosalind Russell is peerless as Ruth Sherwood (I consider her version of "One Hundred Easy Ways" one of the funniest songs in musical theatre history) and Edie Adams shines through radiantly. Listen to her sing "A Little Bit In Love" to understand what I'm talking about. Also, the original orchestrations gtive this CD more vibrance than any of the later incarnations INCLUDING the 1999 studio recording, which to me sounds too mechanical and the British orchestrator doesn't seem to get the rhythms right. The original cast recording is A MUST for the true theatre fan, abridged score or not

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Wonderful Town is a wonderful show

This is a terrific show. It has a famous composer, great tunes and a good, upbeat story. Why it has so thoroughly faded from memory is a question that puzzles me greatly.

The orchestrations are attributed to another individual, but Bernstein must have taken some substantial role in their creation, for large parts of "Wonderful Town" resemble only one other musical, "West Side Story."

Rosalind Russell is the star here, and rightly so. She sings--or rather croaks--her material very well, indeed. Only in "Swing" is she overmatched by the musical requirements and even then she fights them to a draw.

Edith Adams is very good, too, as Eileen. I think of her as Edie Adams, a sixties icon, wife of comedian Ernie Kovacs, mayhem-minded member of the Nairobi Trio and super-sexy pitchwoman for White Owl Cigars. I had no idea that she had also starred on Broadway. It was a pleasant surprise to find her here.

The men in the lead parts sing in that typical Broadway growl: perfect diction and lousy tone. They are endearingly awful. And I mean that in the best possible sense.

Five stars, no doubt about it!

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Light and lively musical comedy

The first cast album of WONDERFUL TOWN sounds even better than ever in Decca's latest remastering. The sound is still somewhat flat (as are all Decca albums from the 40s/50s) but the Decca engineers have worked wonders on the 50 year old tapes making them sound as good as possible. Rosalind Russell was a perfect choice to play the acerbic Ruth. She doesn't have much of a singing voice but the songs were tailored to her limited range and she makes the character come alive. Edith Adams sounds properly winsome as her sister Eileen. In the supporing roles, Jordan Bentley comes off best as Wreck, but George Gaynes makes for a ponderous, somehwat stuffy Bob Baker.

In terms of album production, Decca eliminated the Overture and some of the dance music, and re-arranged "Christopher Street" to eliminate the spoken vignettes. Otherwise the score is presented in a faithful aural re-creation. The booklet offers a detailed synopsis to guide you through the score.

The bonus tracks are six songs from ON THE TOWN originally recorded when that show was playing on Broadway. This is NOT the definitive recording of ON THE TOWN. For that you need the 1960 album avaialble on Sony. But, the excerpts heard here provide an enjoyable bonus.

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BUY THE 1999 RECORDING!

Yes, I know it is heresy to admit it, but I think this original cast album of Leonard Bernstein's only Tony-Winning score. (Believe it or not, his scores for CANDIDE and WEST SIDE STORY lost the award to other musicals) is not terribly good.

Ok, I'm willing to bet that if you saw this cast on stage you would find George Gaynes a proper leading man and Rosalind Russell funny, biting, charming, etc. But if all you have to go on is this recording, he sings bleatingly and she is quite underwhelming in both the singing and the comedy departments.

The Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green score is, to put it mildly, super. And it deserved the super, "complete" recording it got in 1999 conducted by Simon Rattle on EMI. Rattle's cast which includes Broadway stalwarts Kim Criswell, Audra McDonald and Brent Barrett and from the opera world, Thomas Hampson, could not be bettered. The sound on this disc is far superior to the one released in 1953 and, for about the same money, you get about twice the music.

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Tracks
Christopher Street | Ohio | One Hundred Easy Ways | What a Waste | A Little Bit in Love | Pass the Football | Conversation Piece | A Quiet Girl | Conga! | My Darlin' Eileen | Swing! | It's Love | Ballet at the Village Vortex | Wrong Note Rag | Opening (from the original Decca recording of "On the Town") | Carried Away (from "On the Town") | Lonely Town (from "On the Town") | I Can Cook Too (from "On the Town") | Lucky to Be Me (from "On the Town") | Ya Got Me (from "On the Town")

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