A Class Act--Manhattan Theatre Club production on CD

I don't know why I felt compelled to identify this recording as from the Manhattan Theatre Club production; to my knowledge there are no other recordings of A Class Act. This show contains a group of songs by Edward Kleban (right, who most notably wrote the lyrics for A Chorus Line). After Mr. Kleban's death in from mouth cancer in 1987, these songs lay fallow until they were grouped together and written into a new book musical telling the story of Mr. Kleban's life. A Class Act premiered in 2001.

While I have certainly listened to the songs from A Chorus Line, and know something about their composer, Marvin Hamlisch, I knew nothing about their librettist. Well, Edward Kleban was a composer also, but most of his songs remained unknown at the time of his death. That's too bad, because many of those included in A Class Act are worthy of being heard. I wonder if his compositional style--which sounds much like William Finn to me--was too ahead of its time.

The format of the show is not overly original, but works for a bio-musical about a musical theater composer. We open at Mr. Kleban's funeral and are sent back on a journey through his live. Along the way, we meet his friends, his colleagues, and his songs.

The songs that work best for me are the upbeat or character songs. The love songs come off slightly too sappy for me, as even their titles--"One More Beautiful Song", "Follow Your Star", and "Next Best Thing to Love"--suggest. The upbeat songs, particularly "Gauguin's Shoes" (with knowledgeable and funny lyrics) and "Better" (which was recorded by Barbra Streisand) are much more successful to my ears. The "Broadway Boogie Woogie" also includes some hysterical lyrics and should be in somebody's cabaret act.

The eight-member cast all perform well. Lonny Price, portraying Kleban" has the bulk of the singing assignments. Mr. Price is a likable performer with obvious (even just by listening to him) personality. Randy Graff is also a singer I have heard before and find very listenable, even if the music she is asked to sing here, often falls into the sappy category. The seven-member orchestra provides all the variations of breadth and color I could ask for these songs.

A Class Act: A Musical about Musicals
Music and Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price
Opened in 2001
Cast: Lonny Price, Randy Graff, Jonathan Freeman, Nancy Kathryn Anderson, Carolee Carmello, David Hibbard, Julie Murney, Ray Wills