Broadway Cast Recordings, Soundtracks, or Audio Books?

Before embarking on a three-day drive to California several years ago, a friend said, "And you're bringing some audio books?"

"No."

"You don't get audio books?" she said with astonishment. "I always get them when I drive."

Then it occurred to me. In a way, I do listen to audio books. But we don't call them audio books. We call them Original Broadway Cast Recordings (not soundtracks). It works the same. You pop it in, then follow the plot through the songs. Better than an audio book, you don't get tired after one listening because, well, it's music. Music is much more repeatable than a traditional audio book.

This works particularly well with contemporary recordings. Older recordings tend to cut out all dialogue, so you're only getting songs. Contemporary recordings, however, include introductory dialogue as needed to give songs context. There may be a need to read some liner notes to get clarification, but overall, it makes for a very entertaining listen!

Some of my favorite Broadway Audio Books, shows I first discovered on album:

Triumph of Love: I love following the twists and turns on the recording, which is almost the complete show.
Jane Eyre: This is a great score to get lost in, and it's easy to follow the plot on the album.
Dreamgirls (Concert Cast): This is pretty much the whole show in concert.
Marie Christine: I still have vivid memories of the first time I followed this story on disc; it was riveting.
Bernarda Alba: Not exactly an uplifting show, but it makes for an intriguing listen.
Ragtime: So much music is there, you can easily follow what's happening in the plot.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Because the recordings are two discs, you can easily following all the horrific details of the plot.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Okay, so I first saw this one on Broadway, but the album is a delightful document of the twists and turns of the plot.

the Broadway Mouth
June 10, 2009

Preparing a National Tour: Don't They Always?

It's the cliche of cliches. A big show closes on Broadway without turning a profit, and the press release announces that the producers are planning a tour.

Isn't that kind of like saying tomorrow you'll start that diet, next week, you really will get to the gym three times, or you will really stop watching so much television?

It's the biggest letdown of any closing for the millions of Broadway fans not living near Broadway, this big, empty promise of a tour, the tour that never happens.

Perhaps a better idea would be to tour first, then get to Broadway. I'm not a Broadway economist, so I'm sure there are a thousand reasons why its not economically feasible, but a big, lush show like A Tale of Two Cities with instant name recognition must stand a strong chance of finding an audience on the road, particularly with an advertising slogan like "Pre-Broadway Engagement." It would give creators a chance to really work on the show with a variety of audiences, get feedback from a variety of critics (including those from the Variety) before heading into New York. Plus, they would make some money, money, money while doing so.

Historically, there isn't much hope that A Tale of Two Cities will actually tour, which is a tragedy. It seems like the type of show middle America would eat up (remember, they always went for shows like Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera).

Now, I can only hope someone somewhere steps up to record the show. If The Pirate Queen can get recorded, there must be someone somewhere willing to put this down on CD for posterity. There are record companies out there whose goal seems to be to preserve shows that otherwise would not get recorded. It didn't help get Cry-Baby out (a score I would love to hear), and statistically it's not looking to good for this one either.

the Broadway Mouth
November 5, 2008

Broadway Recording Producers: Stop the Insanity!

I typically wait at least several months before buying pop/rock albums because I don’t want to get burned by any more “special tracks” available exclusively at one store. It is frustrating to buy a CD at one store, only to realize that you are missing out on a track or six available elsewhere

Let’s be honest, it would be very easy to steal music for free online, but as obsessive Broadway collectors, we enjoy supporting the artists and doing what is honest and right—paying for our music. When I buy a Broadway CD, I do look at it as, “I’m supporting Jason Robert Brown” or “I’m making a statement that there is a market for shows like Bernarda Alba.”

But there is a two-way street. Let’s ask those who produce and sell Broadway recordings to be fair in return.

We’d already gotten to the point where the revival cast recording of A Chorus Line had an additional track available from one of the online music sellers, and now the annoyance with the revival of South Pacific, in which Barnes and Noble is selling a special edition with additional tracks, after many fans flocked to Amazon to pre-order the CD at a special price.

Nate on All That Chat on Talkin’ Broadway listed the following details about the Barnes and Noble edition:

I just bought the CD tonight...the Bonus Tracks are:

27. Bali Ha'i (Billis)...this is Billis's reprise after the song proper

28. Cable Hears Bali Ha'i...this is Cable's reprise that follows Billis's

29. Company Street...this is incidental music that plays during the transition after all "Bali Ha'i" Reprises and the book scene leading into "My Girl Back Home" (the book scene is not on the CD...just the incidental/transition music)

30. A 30 second track labeled simply, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair." This is the small section that Emile sings in the last scene of Act I when he is teasing Nellie...it's odd that they didn't include it in the normal place, because they have all the other reprises in the Act I Finale scene on the regular CD.

31. Wonderful Guy (Orchestral)...It is simply the orchestral track sans Kelli O'Hara, but the chorus sings at their proper times.

32. Some Enchanted Evening (Orchestral)...The orchestral track sans voices...NOT the Exit Music, which is what I initially thought it would be.

Personally, the orchestral tracks are not particularly of interest, but I would really want the vocal reprises. When someone buys your product, you want them to be thrilled with what they’ve purchased, not frustrated or angry that they are saddled with the lesser version for which they’ve paid top dollar. You also want strong opening week sales for bragging rights on the charts. Doing something that causes people to wait before buying the CD isn’t an effective way of achieving that.

the Broadway Mouth
June 7, 2008