Richard
Fawkes
The
History Of The Musical
Louise Gold featured as one of the singers in the
illustrative musical extracts (actually Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes)
Catalogue number: (CD) NA422712, (Cassette) NA422714
Cast
Narrator
Kim Criswell
Performers In
Illustrative Extracts
Mark
Adams (as Frank
Butler from Annie Get Your Gun)
Thomas
Allen (as Emile de
Beque from South Pacific)
Kenny
Baker (as Whitlaw
Savoury from One Touch Of Venus)
Adam
Bareham
John
Barrowman
Josephine
Blake
Ann Brown (as Bess from Porgy And Bess)
Maurice
Capitaine
Len
Cariou (as The
Narrator in Sweeney Todd)
Peggy
Coudray
Kim
Criswell (as
Grizalbella from Cats)
Vaughn de
Leath
John
Diedrich (as Curly
from
Jamieson
Dodds
Mary
Ellis
Ruth
Etting (as Sal from
Simple Simon)
Nick
Ferranti
Beverly
Fite
Tim
Flavin ( Brad
Majors from The Rocky Horror Show - uncredited)
Julian
Forsyth (as Fagin
from Oliver)
Ethan
Freeman (as Tommy
Albright from Brigadoon)
Sarah
French (as Little
Orphan Annie from Annie)
Maria
Friedman (as Sally
Bowles from Cabaret)
Jane
Froman
Edward
Fuller
Kurt
Gerron (as The
Moritat Singer in Die Dreigrpschenoper / The Threepenny Opera)
Olive
Gilbert
Louise
Gold (as
Simon
Green
Brian
Green (as 1st
Gangster from Kiss Me Kate)
Michael
Gruber (as Don
Lockwood from Singin’ In The Rain)
Binnie
Hale
Ray
Heatherton
Mike
Holoway (as
Littlechap from Stop The World I Want To Get Off)
Ann
Howard (as The Old
Woman from Candide)
Walter
Huston
Dan Jones
Trefor
Jones
Janis
Kelly (as Fiona
Campbell from Brigadoon)
Ingrid
Kertesi
Dorothy
Kirsten
Felix
Knight
Harold
Lang
Jerry
Lanning
Gertrude
Lawrence (as
Evangeline Edwards from Nymph Errant, and, Liza Eliot from Lady
In The Dark)
Christopher
Lee (as The King Of
Shona
Lindsay (as Maria
from The Sound Of Music)
Paul
Manuel
Helen
Marshall
Valerie
Masterson (as: Anna
from The King And I, and others)
Christina
Matthews
Donald
Maxwell
George
Metaxa
Margaret
Mitchell (as Yum
Yum from The Mikado)
Ron Moody (as Honore Lachailles from Gigi)
Helen
Morgan (As Julie Le
Verne from Show Boat)
Sylvia
Neils
Caroline
O’Connor (as Annie
Oakley from Annie Get Your Gun, Velma Kelly from Chicago,
and others)
Tinuke
Olafimihan (as Eliza
Dolittle from My Fair Lady)
Frank
Parker
Catherine
Porter
Shezwae
Powell
Jonathan
Pryce (as MC from Cabaret)
Louis
Quilico
Ron
Raines (as: Sid
Sorkin from The Pajama Game, Don Quoxti from Man Of La
Mancha, and others)
Frederick
Ranslow
David
Rendall
Grania
Renihan (as Eva
Peron from Evita)
Faney
Revoil
Dick
Robertson (as John
P Wintergreen from Of Thee I Sing)
Paul
Robeson (as Joe
from Show Boat)
Howard
Samuels (as Frank n
Furter from The Rocky Horror Show)
Julia
Sanderson
Jules
Schmidt
Harry
Secombe (as
Pickwick from Pickwick)
Rosamund
Shelley (as Laurie
from
Teddy St
Denis
Don
Stephenson (as Nicely
Nicely Johnson from Guys And Dolls)
Richard
Tauber
Richard
Van Allan
Issy Van
Randwyck (as Mary
Magdelene from Jesus Christ Superstar, and others)
Ethel
Waters
Milton
Watson
Jane
Wellman
Lee Wiley
Jane
Wilson (as Adriana
from The Boys From
Iva
Withers
Peggy
Wood
Howett
Worster (as Gaylord
Ravenal from Show Boat)
Matt
Zimmerman (as 2nd
Gangster from Kiss Me Kate)
Orchestra’s and Companies In Illustrative Extracts
Abe Lyman
and his Californians
Al
Starita & His Novelty Orchestra
Columbia
Light Opera Company
Czech
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
The
The Eva
Jessaye Choir and Orchestra
Fred
Waring & His Pennsylvanians
Hungarian
Operetta Orchestra
Leo
Reisman & His Orchestra
The Lewis
Ruth Band
Light
Opera Company
Lyric
Theatre Orchestra
Max
Kaminsky & His Orchestra
Max Meth
and his Orchestra
National
Symphony Orchestra
New
Promenade Orchestra
One Touch
Of Venus Orchestra and Chorus
Palace
Theatre Orchestra
Paul
Whitman & His Concert Orchestra
The
Piccadilly Dance Orchestra
The
Victor Choral and On The Town Orchestra
The
Victor First Nighter Orchestra and Chorus
Victor
Light Opera Company
The
Victor Mixed Chorus
Victor
Salon Group
Musical Directors In Illustrative
Extracts
Maurice
Abravanel
Harry
Acres
Victor
Arden
Craig
Barna (uncredited
on sleeve notes)
Bunny
Berigan
Marc
Blitzen
Gustave
Cloez
Emile
Cote
Lehman
Engel
Herman
Finck
Henry
Geehl
Sir
Edward German
Isidore
Godfrey
Harry
Jacobson
Leonard
Joy
Max Kaminsky
Abe Lyman
Theo
Mackeben
Percival
Mackey
Max Meth
Ray Noble
John Owen
Edwards
Charles
Prentice
Clarence
Raybould
Leo
Reisman
Robert
Shaw
Nathaniel
Shilkret
Alexander
Smallens
Harry
Sosnik
Al
Starita
Alfred
Walter
Fred
Waring
Paul
Whitman
Johannes Wildner
Martin
Yates (uncredited
on sleeve notes)
Production Team
Written by -
Richard Fawkes
Original
idea - Christina Hardyment
Sourcing - John
Produced by
Track Listing
(Please note this only mentions the
illustrative excerpts tracks)
CD 1
1.Memory (from Cats)
- Kim Criswell
3. Where I Laid On
5. Oh Quil Etait Beau
(from Le Postillion de Longjumeau) - Maurice Capitaine
7. Can Can (from Orpheus
In The Underworld) -
9. La Dispute (from La
Fille De Madame Angot) - Fanely Revoil with orchestra conducted
by Gustave Cloez
11. Overture Die Schone Galathee
-
13. Overture Die Fladermaus
- Czech Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
15. The Moon And I
(from The Mikado) - Margaret Mitchell with the New
Promenade Orchestra conducted by Isidore Godfrey
17. And Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down
Her Back (from The Shop Girl) -
19. The Girl With The Brogue
- Julia Sanderson with orchestra conducted by Harry Sosnik
21. The Amorous Goldfish
- Light Opera Company
23. Dan Cupid Hath A Garden
(from Merrie England) - Dan Jones with orchestra conducted
by Clarence Raybould under the supervision of Sir Edward German
25. Teach Me How To Kiss
(from The Belle Of
27. Give My Regards To Broadway
(from Little Johnny Jones)
29. Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life
(from Naughty
31. Vilja (from The
Merry Widow) - Ingrid Kertesi with the Hungarian Operetta
Orchestra
33. Will You Remember
(from Maytime) - Helen Marshall and Milton Watson
with the Victor Light Opera Company
35. The Cobbler’s Song
(from Chu Chin Chow) - Jamieson Dodds
37. I’m Just Wild About Harry
(from Shuffle Along) - Vaughn de Leath
39. Tea For Two
(from No No Nanette) - Binnie Hale and Seymour Beard
with Palace Theatre Orchestra conducted by Percival Mackey
41. Indian Love Call
(from Rose Marie) - Victor Light Opera Company
43. Cossack Love Song
(from The Song Of The Flame) - Victor Light Opera Company
45. They Didn’t Believe Me
(from The Girl From Utah) - Julia Sanderson with orchestra
conducted by Harry Sosnik
47. Make Believe
(from Show Boat) - Howett Worster with Drury Lane
Theatre Orchestra conducted by Herman Finck
49. Ol’
CD 2
1. Bill (from Show
Boat) - Helen Morgan with orchestra conducted by Victor Arden
3. Softly As In A Morning
5. The Man I Love
(from Lady Be Good) - Jane Froman with Victor Salon
Group conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret
7. I Got Rhythm
(from Girl Crazy) -
9. Love Is Sweeping The Country
(from Of Thee I Sing) - Dick Robertson with Abe Lyman
and his Californians
11. Summertime
(from Porgy And Bess) - Ann Brown with The Eva Jessye
Choir conducted by Alexander Smallens
13. Let’s Do It
(from
15. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(from Anything Goes) - Louise Gold, with The National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
17. Art For Art’s Sake
(from The Cradle Will Rock) - Edward Fuller, Jules
Schmidt, and, Peggy Coudray with Marc Blitzen on Piano
19. Easter Parade (from
As Thousands Cheer) -
21. Here In My Arms
(from Dearest Enemy) - Lee Wiley with Max Kaminsky
& His Orchestra
23. Ten Cents A Dance
(from Simple Simon) - Ruth Etting
25. The Lady Is A Tramp
(from Babes In Arms) - Ray Heatherton
27. You Are My Heart’s Delight
(from Land Of Smiles) - Richard Tauber
29. I’ll See You Again
(from Bitter Sweet) - Peggy Wood & George Metaxa,
orchestra conducted by Ray Noble
31. Shine Through My Dreams (from
Glamorous Night) - Trefor Jones with The Drury Lane
Theatre Orchestra conducted by Charles Printice
33. Spread A Little Happiness
(from Mr Cinders) - Binnie Hale with Al Starita &
His Novelty Orchestra
35. How Could We Be Wrong
(from Nymph Errant) - Gertrude Lawrence, orchestra
conducted by Ray Noble
37. Your Eyes (from The
White Horse Inn) - Columbia Light Opera Company
39. Moritat / Mack The Knife
(from Die Dreigroschen Oper / The Threepenny Opera) - Kurt
Gerron with the Lewis Ruth Band conducted by Theo Mackeben
41. September Song
(from Knickerbocker Holiday) - Walter Huston, orchestra
conducted by Maurice Abravanel
43. The Lambeth Walk
(from Me And My Girl) - Lupio Lane, Teddie St Denis
and company
45. I Can Give You The Starlight
(from The Dancing Years) - Mary Ellis with The
CD 3
1. Falling In Love With Love
(from The Boys From Syracuse) - Fred Waring & His
Pennsylvanians, soloist Jane Wilson
3. Taking A Chance On Love
(from Cabin In The Sky) - Ethel Waters with Max Meth
and his orchestra
5. I could Write A Book
(from Pal Joey) - Harold Lang & Beverly Fite,
orchestra conducted by Lehman Engel
7. My Ship (from Lady
In The Dark) - Gertrude Lawrence, orchestra conducted by Leonard
Joy
9. West Wind (from One
Touch Of Venus) - Kenny Baker & The One Touch Of Venus
Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Maurice Abravanel
11. People Will Say We’re In Love
(from
13. What’s The Use Of Wonderin’
(from Carousel) - Iva Withers & original
15.
17. Anything You Can Do
(from Annie Get Your Gun) - Caroline O’Connor and Mark
Adams
19. Strange Music
(from Song Of
20. And This Is My Beloved
(from Kismet) - David Rendall, Valerie Masterson, Donald
Maxwell and Richard Van Allan
21. My Heart And I
(from Old Chelsea) - Richard
Tauber with orchestra and chorus conducted by Henry Geehl
23. We’ll Gather Lilacs
(from Perchance To Dream) - Olive Gilbert, orchestra
conducted by Harry Acres
26. Brush Up Your Shakespeare
(from Kiss Me Kate) - Brian Green and Matt Zimmerman ,
with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
28. Some Enchanted Evening
(from South Pacific) - Thomas Allen
30. The Heather On The Hill
(from Brigadoon) - Ethan Freeman and Janis Kelly,
with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
32. They Call The Wind Maria
(from Paint Your Wagon) - Ron Raines
34. I Could Have Danced All Night
(from My Fair Lady) - Tinuke Olafimihan with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
36. I Could Be Happy With You
(from The Boyfriend) - Simon Green and Jane Wellman
38. We Said We Wouldn’t Look Back
(from Salad Days) - Adam Bareham and Christina Matthews
40. Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat
(from Guys And Dolls) - Don Stephenson and company, with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
42. Shall We Dance
(from The King And I) - Valerie Masterson and Christopher
Lee, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen
Edwards
44. Singin’ In The Rain
(from Singin’ In The Rain) - Michael Gruber, with The National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Craig Barna
47. Hey There (from The
Pajama Game) - Ron Raines, with The National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
49. Mamma, Mamma
(from The Most Happy Fella) - Louis Quilico
50. Overture
CD 4
1.
2. I Am Easily Assimilated
(from Candide) - Ann Howard and chorus
4. Maria (from
6. Do-Re-Me (from The
Sound of Music) - Shona Lindsay and children
8. Reviewing The Situation
(from Oliver) - Julian Forsyth
10. What Kind Of Fool Am I?
(from Stop The World I Want To Get Off) - Mike Holoway,
with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
12. If I Ruled The World
(from Pickwick) - Harry Secombe
15. If I Were A Rich Man
(from Fiddler On The Roof) - Jerry Lanning
17. I Remember It Well (from
Gigi) - Sian Phillips and Ron Moody, with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
19. Mame (from Mame)
- Jerry Lanning and chorus
21. Try To Remember (from
The Fantastics) - John Barrowman
23. The Impossible Dream
(from Man Of
25. Money Money (from
Cabaret) - Jonathan Pryce and Maria Friedman, with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
27. Big Spender
(from Sweet Charity) - Shezwae Powell, Josephine Blake
and girls
29. Aquarius (from Hair)
- Caroline O’Connor
31. Sweet Transvestite
(from The Rocky Horror Show) - Howard Samuels, and Tim
Flavin with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin
Yates
33. Company (from Company)
- company of More
35. Send In The Clowns
(from A Little Night Music) - Sian Phillips with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
37. I Don’t Know How To Love Him
(from Jesus Christ Superstar) - Issy Van Randwyck with The
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates
39. Another Suitcase In Another Hall
(from Evita) - Grania Renihan
41. Memory (from Cats)
- Kim Criswell
43. All That Jazz
(from
45. What I Did For Love
(from A Chorus Line) - Catherine Porter
47. Tomorrow (from Annie)
- Sarah French, with The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Martin Yates
50. Sweeney Todd
(from Sweeney Todd) - Len Cariou and company
52. The People Song
(from Les Miserables) - company from More West End The Concert
The Cassettes follow the same track
listing as the CDs with: the first cassette containing CD1 Tracks 1 to 24 on
Side 1 and Tracks 25 to 49 on Side 2; the second cassette containing CD2 Tracks
1 to 21 on Side 3 and Tracks 22 to 45 on Side 4; the third cassette containing
CD3 Tracks 1 to 25 on Side 5 and Tracks 26 to 50 on Side 6; and the fourth
cassette containing CD4 Tracks 1 to 23 on Side 7 and Tracks 24 to 52 on Side 8.
Louise Gold
herself has appeared in productions (tours, revivals or concert stagings) of a
number of the musicals mentioned on this audio book, notably: The
Pirates Of Penzance, The Gondoliers, Of Thee
I Sing, Let ‘Em Eat Cake, Anything
Goes, The Boys From Syracuse, Du
Barry Was A Lady (see Du Barry
Was A Lady (1993 Production) and Du
Barry Was A Lady (2001 Production)), Panama
Hattie, By Jupiter, Something For The Boys, One Touch
Of Venus (see One Touch Of Venus
(1992 Production) and One Touch Of
Venus (2000 Production)) , Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Man Of La Mancha, Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes, 110 In The Shade, Hair,
Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (see: Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (York Production), Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Touring Production), and, Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Norwich Production) ), Godspell,
Follies, and Assassins.
She has also featured on recordings of: Anything
Goes, Cabaret, On The
Town, and, Stop The World I
Want To Get Off. In addition her film work includes The Pirates Of Penzance and Topsy Turvy (a film about the original production of
The Mikado. Apart from her recording of I Get A Kick Out Of
You from Anything Goes - Website
Recommended Album (a song which she has also sung on stage in Anything Goes ), at one time or another in
her career Louise has also sung a number of the songs featured in the
illustrative excerpts in this album including: The Moon And I (LOUISE GOLD ... By Appointment and Defiant Dames), I’ll See You Again (Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (recording)),
Let’s Do It (Noel/Cole: Let’s
Do It), The Lady Is A Tramp (A Time To Start Living), Falling In
Love With Love (The Boys From
Syracuse), Brush Up Your Shakespeare (Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It), I could Have
Danced All Night (admittedly only as a member of the chorus in My Fair Lady) Aquarius (Hair - only as a
member of the chorus though) Send In The Clowns
(Side By Side By Sondheim).
Narrator
Kim Criswell has also appeared in productions (tours, revivals or
concert stagings) of a number of the musicals mentioned on this audio book,
notably: Sitting Pretty, Babes In Arms, The
Threepenny Opera, Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing,
Let ‘Em Eat Cake, Anything Goes, Du Barry Was
A lady, One Touch Of Venus, Annie Get Your Gun,
Kismet, Call Me Madam, The Sound Of Music,
Man Of La Mancha, On The Town, Guys &
Dolls Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,
Jesus Christ Superstar, Annie, and Cats.
Her other recording work includes: Anything Goes, Annie Get
Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, On The
Town, Guys & Dolls (twice), The Pajamia Game,
Annie, and Encore
The Very Best From The Musicals. Apart from her recording of Memory,
at one time or another in her career Kim has also sung a number of the songs
featured in the illustrative excerpts in this album including: I Got
Rhythm, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Ten Cents A Dance,
and, Anything You Can Do,
Kim Criswell
has long been associated with keeping alive the history of Musical Theatre, as
a student at the legendary Cincinnati Conservatoire, she was a member of
the Cincinnati University Singers when they recorded an album of
early American Music Theatre songs called I Wants To Be An Actor Lady,
on which Kim herself sang a solo, I Can’t Do The Sum, and a duet,
How’d Ya Like To Spoon With Me.
Louise Gold’s recording of I
Get A Kick Out Of You can be heard in it’s entirety on: Anything Goes (Recording) - Website
Recommended Album, The Best
Of Broadway Musicals, and, Cole Porter
- Night And Day. She also sang a spoof version as I Get A Kick Out Of U on Sesame Street.
Maria Friedman and Jonathan Pryce’s
recording of Money Money can be heard in it’s entirety on Cabaret.
Mike Holloway’s recording of What
Kind Of Fool Am I can be heard in it’s entirety on Stop The World I Want To Get Off.
Thomas Allen, Ethan Freeman, Michael
Gruber, Valerie Masterson, Don Stephenson and The National
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Craig Barna, John Owen
Edwards and Martin Yates are also featured on The Best Of Broadway Musicals,
which also includes Louise Gold’s recording of I Get A Kick Out Of
You, and, Don Stephenson’s recording of Sit Down You’re
Rocking The Boat.
Thomas Allen, Kim Criswell, Tim
Flavin, Ethan Freeman, Sarah French, Michael Gruber, Valerie
Masterson, Christina Matthews, Donald Maxwell, Tinuke
Olafimhan, Sian Phillips, Schezwae Powell, Jonathan Pryce,
David Rendall, Howard Samuels, Don Stephenson, Richard
Van Allan, Issy Van Randwyck and The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Craig Barna, John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates
are also featured on Encore
The Very Best From The Musicals, which also includes Michael Gruber’s
recording of Singin’ In The Rain, Sian Phillips’s
recording of Send In The Clowns, Howard Samuels & Tim
Flavin’s recording of Sweet Transvestite, Issy Van
Randwyck’s recording of I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Valerie
Masterson, Donald Maxwell, David Rendall & Richard Van
Allan’s recording of And This Is My Beloved, and, Sarah
French’s recording of Tomorrow.
Thomas Allen, Ethan Freeman, Janis
Kelly, Paul Manuel, Valerie Masterson, Ron Moody, Tinuke
Olafimhan, Sian Phillips, Catherine Porter, David Rendall
and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards
and Martin Yates are also featured on Great Duets From The Musicals,
which also includes Ron Moody & Sian Phillips’s recording of I
Remember It Well.
Thomas Allen, Brian Green, Schezwae
Powell, Julia Shore, Issy Van Randwyck and Matt Zimmerman,
along with The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra and The National Symphony
Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards and Martin Yates,
are also featured on Cole Porter -
Night And Day, which also includes Louise Gold’s recording of I
Get A Kick Out Of You, and, Brian Green & Matt Zimmerman’s
recording of Brush Up Your Shakespeare.
Kim Criswell, Tim Flavin, Ethan
Freeman, Valerie Masterton, Tinuke Olafimhan, Matt
Zimmerman and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
Owen Edwards are also featured on On The Town
Maria Friedman is also featured on Merrily We Roll Along (recording)
Maria Friedman, Jonathan Pryce, Caroline
O’Connor, Howard Samuels and The National Symphony Orchestra
conducted by John Owen Edwards are featured on Cabaret,
which includes Maria Friedman and Jonathan Pryce’s recording of Money
Money.
Brian Green, Paul Manuel, Matt
Zimmerman and The National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John
Owen Edwards are also featured on Anything
Goes (recording) - Website
Recommended Album which also includes Louise Gold’s recording of
I Get A Kick Out Of You.
Conduction Martin Yates, like a few other
current musical directors, has also made his own contribution to Musical
Theatre, he has written the music for a musical called The Soap Opera
John Owen Edwards’s musical direction
credits include Gilbert & Sullivan spoofs in Metropolitan Mikado and a concert of
highlights from Ratepayers'
Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado
Kim Criswell, Matt Zimmerman,
and, Louise Gold all appeared together in Let
‘Em Eat Cake
Christina Matthews appeared in the film Billy The Kid And The
Green Baize Vampire
John Barrowman and Matt Zimmerman
appeared on stage in Anything Goes (stage)
John Barroman, Josephine Blake, Maria
Friedman appeared in Chicago &
Company
Josephine Blake, Maria Friedman, Simon
Green appeared in A Tim To Start
Living, where Maria Friedman and Louise Gold were among a
trio of girls singing The Lady Is A Tramp.
Nick Ferranti, Maria Friedman, Simon
Green, Schezwae Powell appeared in Kids
At Heart and Josephine Blake may have appeared in it.
Len Cariou appeared in Ziegfeld and on Ziegfeld
(recording)
Ethan Freeman appeared in One Touch Of Venus (2000 Production)
Maria Friedman appeared in Sondheim At The Barbican and Merrily We Roll Along (Stage)
Maria Friedman and Simon Green
may have appeared in Will-Aid
Mike Holoway appeared in The Pirates Of Penzance (Stage)
Schezwae Powell appeared in Follies
Issy Van Randwyck appeared in: Love Life, By Jupiter, Kiss Me Kate, Hot ‘n’
Spicey 2, and, The Regents Park 70th
Anniversary Gala.
Matt Zimmerman, and The Drury Lane
Theatre Orchestra appeared in The Royal Variety Performance
(1982)
Issy Van Randwyck and Grania Renihan
appeared at Dress Circle Grand
Reopening
Josephine Blake and Tim Flavin
appeared in Broadway To Brighton
Tim Flavin and Jonathan Pryce have appeared on
television on A Week In The West End.
Mark Adams, Kim Criswell, Michael
Gruber, Mike Holoway, Jerry Lanning, Paul Manuel, Caroline
O’Connor, Tinuke Olafimihan, Catherine Porter, and, Grania
Renihan can also be heard on Simply Musicals;
which also features the NSO conducted by Craig Barna, John
Owen-Edwards, and, Martin Yates, along with complete tracks of
several excerpts heard on this album, namely: If I Were A Rich Man,
What I Did For Love, Anything You Can Do, The
Phantom Of The Opera (Song), What Kind Of Fool Am I?¸ The
People Song¸ Another Suitcase In Another Hall.
Louise Gold, Kim Criswell, Ethan
Freeman, Brian Green, Ron Moody, and, Tinuke Olafimihan,
along with the conducting talents of Lehman Engel, John Owen Edwards
and Martin Yates, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra can
also be heard on The
Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century; along with complete
tracks of two excerpts heard on this album namely: I Get A Kick Out Of
You, and, Brush Up Your Shakespeare.
Simon Green has appeared
in Side By Side By Sondheim 30th
Anniversary Gala, and, A Love Letter To
Dan.
Thomas Allen was a guest on
the TV programme The Ghost Of Faffner
Hall.
Howard Samuels may have
appeared in Dear Ralph.
Kim Criswell, Ethan Freeman, Christopher Lee, Valerie
Masterson, Donald Maxwell, Ron Moody, Caroline O’Connor, Tinuke
Olafimihan, and, Jonathan Pryce,
along with the National Symphony
Orchestra, and the conducting talents of Lehman Engel, John Owen
Edwards, and, Martin Yates can
be heard on The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales
Thomas Allen, Kim Criswell, Louise Gold, Michael Gruber,
Valerie Masterson, and, Sian Phillips’s recording credits
include The Great Musicals – Glamour And
Majesty. This also involved The
National Symphony Orchestra, and, The
Piccadilly Dance Orchestra; with maestros Craig Barna, Lehman Engel,
John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates. This album includes the
complete track of the excerpt of I Get A Kick Out Of You heard on
this album.
John Barrowman, Maria Friedman, Shona Lindsay, Valerie
Masterson, Caroline O’Connor, Tinuke Olafimihan, and Jonathan Pryce’s recording credits
include Centre Stage Showtime!; which
also features The National Symphony
Orchestra, along with maestros John
Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Thomas Allen, Ethan Freeman, Mike Holoway, Janis Kelly,
Caroline O’Connor, Catherine Porter, Ron Raines, Julia Shore,
and, Don Stephenson’s recording
credits include The Great
Musicals – Dashing Heroes, Blushing Maidens; This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra, and, The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra; with
maestros Lehman Engle, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Kim Criswell, Valerie Masterson, Catherine Porter, and, Ron
Raines’s recording credits include The
Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears; This also involved The National Symphony Orchestra; with
maestros Craig Barna, John Owen Edwards, and, Martin Yates.
Issy Van
Randwyck has gone on to take part in Shopping
With The Stars.
Review
by Emma Shane,
September 2002
If
you ever wanted a painless way of gaining an overview (and some detail) of the history
of Musical Theatre and how it became the art form that it is, now’s your
chance. This stunning audio book is amazing for its shear breadth and detail
(although as with any such work it is quite possible there may be a few dubious
details - for example was Anything Goes really drastically
rewritten because the producer didn’t like the book, or was it because of the S.S.
Morrow Castle fire?). A project of this kind needs someone suitable for a
narrator, you couldn’t have just any old actress. Kim Criswell, however,
is a perfect choice (always assuming of course that you enjoy hearing her
distinctly Southern States accent. If you don’t like Southern States accents
then this audio book won’t be your cup of tea). To my mind Criswell, the
Broadway ex-patriot from
The
shear detail included on this album is quite outstanding. I am particularly
surprised and delighted to find that the left-wing Unity Theatre in
London gets a mention, admittedly only because of the key role it played in the
development of Lionel Bart’s career (and even then it is only mentioned
for staging the first production of Wally Pone, Bart’s previous
five years of experience there being overlooked) but at least it is a worthy
mention. I am very amused by much of the detail, examples include: Hair
opening in London the day the censorship that would have prevented it was
lifted, and the difficulties of actually getting Man Of La Mancha
on - which rather reminded me of the flame-haired actress who was determined to
play Aldonza but kept being told not with red hair (Kim Criswell eventually
did play Aldonza, with red hair and all, at The Peacock Theatre in
London in the Covent Garden Festival in the summer of 2000). It is also fascinating to learn just how
often something heralded as a new or modern thing in musical theatre is not
actually all that new. You think nudity came in with The Full Monty?
think again, there was nudity in Hair, even if it was only
momentary. While, in 1905, The Merry Widow became the first
musical to go in for mass merchandising, in very much the same way as the big
musicals are today (hats, clothing, crockery etc), in fact the merchandising on
The Merry Widow went far further than that on many of today’s
shows.
Being
an audio book rather than a written book permits the work to be interspersed
with appropriate musical extracts. Although this is certainly a plus, it has to
be said that some of the extracts, especially involving quite well known
musicals, are not always to my mind the best choice of recording, at least in
terms of capturing a sense of the historic role this or that number or indeed
musical played in the development of the genre. In this respect the first CD is
entirely satisfactory, using historical recordings as much as possible, but the
subsequent three are a rather mixed bunch. There are some delightful original
or near original recordings, such as: Paul Robeson singing Ole Man
River, Helen Morgan singing Bill, Ruth Etting
singing Ten Cents A Dance (one can really hear how Criswell
herself replicated the intonations on her recording), Walter Huston
singing September Song, and Kurt Gerron singing Mack
The Knife, a recording which was perhaps his finest hour, before his
untimely dreadful demise. However, there are also quite a number of instances
where I feel that the illustrative excerpt used although passably well sung is
not really the best choice to capture the piece, particular examples include: The
Lady Is A Tramp (this song really needs to be sung by a woman, and one
who can sound as though she means it - Jessica Martin or Christine
Ebersole would be excellent choices, and they’ve both sung the number, even
if they have not recorded it), People Will Say We’re In Love (I
just feel a recording involving one of the great 1940’s/50’s baritones: Howard
Keel, John Raitt, Gordon Macrae or the tenor Alfred Drake,
would have been a more appropriate
choice), I Could Have Danced All Night (To my mind, no one can
quite live this song the way Julie Andrews and Liz Robertson can,
personally I’d go for the latter, although Andrews was the original), Do-Re-Me
(The song is just so much Julie Andrews’s song, although Mary Martin
would also have been very appropriate as she originated it, and Kim Criswell
should record it because she clearly has a special affinity with it), I
Remember It Well (The song is so inextricably associated with Hermione
Gingold and Maurice Chevalier), and, Hey There (this
is so much John Raitt’s song, he did it both on stage and in the film).
That said, there are occasions when the use of a different performer is
actually a huge improvement on the original, the best of these being the
delight of hearing Memory from Cats, not sung by Elaine
Paige (and one might point out that the role was original written for Judi
Dench anyway), but by the lady who stopped the show nightly when she sang
it in the Los Angeles production, Kim Criswell.
The
greatest failing in the choice of illustrative excerpts is that there are many
great stars of the musical theatre who have certainly recorded some of the
fabled performances and who get mentioned, but whom we never get to hear on
this audio book, such as: Fred Astaire, Carol Channing, Alfred
Drake, Mary Martin, and, above all Ethel Merman. The
Mighty Merman was one of the greatest stars of the Broadway musical, and a
favourite of several songwriters, including Irving Berlin and Cole
Porter, with a number of major roles in classic shows written for her,
among them: Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes, Annie Oakley in Annie
Get Your Gun, Sally Adams in Call Me Madam, and, Mama
Rose in Gypsy. The role of Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly was also
originally created with her in mind. Her debut in Girl Crazy
changed the world of the Broadway musical, without her the vogue (apparent for
much of the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s) for having your big brassy comic song belter
as the leading lady may well never have occurred. She introduced Broadway
audiences to a large number of hit songs (I Got Rhythm, I
Get A Kick Out Of You, You’re The Top, Anything
Goes, Blow Gabriel Blow, It’s Delovely, Friendship,
Do I Love You Do I?, They Say Falling In Love Is Wonderful,
I Got The Sun In The Morning, Anything You Can Do I Can Do
Better, You’re Not Sick You’re Just In Love, Everything’s
Coming Up Roses, Rose’s Turn, Mutual Admiration
Society, and, There’s No Business Like Showbusiness).
Naturally she is mentioned, but never actually heard: I Got Rhythm
is sung ineffectively by Julia Shore
- oh she can sing, but she doesn’t give the song the brassy punch that
made it the big hit it became (One really needs either Merman herself, or
Criswell, to demonstrate how this song should sound). Meanwhile Caroline
O’Connor’s rendition (with Mark Adams) of Anything You Can Do
I Can Do Better while being entirely satisfactory in ordinary terms,
for example on a solo album, or a recording or production of Annie Get
Your Gun is more like a Mary Martin rendition of the song than Ethel
Merman’s. It is a very good performance of the number, but it just doesn’t
fit the context. The closest this audio book gets to that distinctive brassy
sound of Ethel Merman’s powerful pipes is Louise Gold singing I
Get A Kick Out Of You. This may not be the sweetest ever recording of
the song (that honour probably goes to Kim Criswell), but it is
extremely well sung and Gold does wonders in giving us a proper sense of how
this song would have sounded, and if we can’t have the extraordinary sound of Ethel
Merman herself on this album then well the lady they call ‘The English
Ethel Merman’ is the next best thing. In any case Louise Gold is a
wonderful performer in her own right, who thoroughly deserves to be singing on
this audio book, it is curious however, that she is not credited in the
commentary, one has to read the sleeve notes to find out that it is her
singing.
For
Louise Gold’s performance alone this album would not be worth
collecting, one would be better off buying the Showtime CD The Best
Of Broadway Musicals. However for anyone interested in Musical Theatre
it is well worth having, as it really is a great way to learn about the history
and structure of the genre and where different musicals and indeed different
kinds of musicals fit within that history. It is a fascinating album. It is
also a delight to hear the history narrated by a performer such as Kim
Criswell who appears to be so genuinely interested in what she is
narrating. For anyone who is a fan of Musical Theatre or Kim Criswell
then it is well worth having.
Critics Comments On
Richard Fawkes - The History Of The Musical
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Links about The History
Of The Musical
