Cabaret--New Broadway Cast album

Days after her tragic death, I found the cast album of the 1998 Broadway (and Roundabout Theater) incarnation of Cabaret with Natasha Richardson. It has taken me until now to listen to it, and I'm not certain why.

I've only ever seen the film version of Cabaret which I talked about months ago. As the film severely streamlines the story (and cuts out all of the romance between the older couple) a lot of this music was new to me. I liked it all--from pastische Viennese waltzes, to ersatz Nazi propaganda songs, to raunchy cabaret acts, to show-stopper belt ballads--I liked it all.

Ms. Richardson made a splash in the role primarily for her acting, I believe. It is hard to make that case in a recording. I found her singing somewhat wanting. I realize that some have criticized Liza Minnelli for being too good--"How would she ever be stuck in this third-rate Berlin nightclub?" But there are times when I want my underdog characters to over reach their abilities. Perhaps Ms. Richardson's performance did that, but her voice was merely adequate and didn't push even an emotional extreme until the very end of the title song at the end of Act II. She underplays the Act I "Maybe This Time" and I felt this was a mistake.

It is difficult to judge Alan Cumming's performance just from the audio recording. He sings everything well and seems to have a strong sense of how to approach each number.

One interesting aspect to this recording--there are audience reactions (applause, laughs, etc.) to the tracks which take place in the cabaret setting. I assume these reactions are electronically added, rather than being from a live studio audience. It helps make the case for which scenes are show-scenes and which are within the storyline.

The very good liner notes outlining the history of the Cabaret from Isherwood stories to re-incarnated Broadway show provide a lot of interest information. I was particularly interested to know that Jane Horracks played Sally Bowles in the 1992 London Donmar Warehouse production that formed the basis for this Broadway version. Jane Horracks is mostly known as "Bubble" the ditsy assistant on "Absolutely Fabulous." I've heard she has a tremendous singing voice, though.

I wonder if that version was recorded?

Cabaret
Music John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Joe Masteroff
Originally produced in 1966
This production played in London in 1992 and then came to New York in 1998
Directed by Sam Mendes
Cast: Natasha Richardson, Alan Cumming, Mary Louise Wilson, Ron Rifkin, John Benjamin Hickey, Denis O'Hare

Grey Gardens original Broadway cast album on CD

This story, the musical telling it, the documentary film the musical is based on, and the Tony Award-winning performance of Christine Ebersole all drove me to pick this cast album out of the bin at the library. While I knew some of the story and had heard one song (which Ms. Ebersole had performed on the Tonys), I was unprepared to be so taken with Grey Gardens. The story, score, and lyrics are all compelling and very well written. Ms. Ebersole's singing ability is tremendous, and I'm only sorry that I didn't see her performance; I suspect her acting was as good as her singing.

The story surrounds Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter "Little" Edie, of the socially prominent Bouvier family--as in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onasis, who was Edie's younger cousin. Most of Act One takes place in 1941, as Edie is set to marry Joseph Kennedy, Jr. before he is sent off to battle in WWII. Edie is desperate to escape from her attention-demanding and extrovert mother, Edith (played by Ebersole). The marriage does not happen and Edie becomes trapped in the Hampton's home she and her mother share, called Grey Gardens.

Act Two takes place in 1973 as Edith and Edie are in jeopardy of being homeless as Grey Gardens has become very run-down and overrun by cats, and is about to be condemned. Mother Edith is still attention-demanding and now bed-ridden. Edie, now in her 50s, has spent her life in isolation at Grey Gardens, tending to (and always in the shadow of) her mother. Act Two Edie is played by Ebersole.

The music for this show is particularly wonderful, offering pastiche big band and Gershwin-like songs (appropriate to the 40s era) along with character songs that have a slightly Sondheim-esque feel to them. My favorite song of the score has to be "Another Winter in a Summer Town" which Edie sings near the end of the show. If there is another song which so completely captures longing, disappointment, and resignation I can't think of it now. The music, lyrics, and primarily Ms. Ebersole's singing of it, combine to make a very poignant and touching close to the show.

The credits on the Internet Broadway Database differ from the credits on the cast album for the role of the Act One younger "Little" Edie. The album lists Sara Gettelfinger, while the database lists Erin Davie. Inquiring minds want to know why.

This was composer Scott Frankel's first musical to be mounted on Broadway. I'm certain it won't be his last. I don't know if there are plans for Grey Gardens to tour. It closed on Broadway after only 308 performances. Whether it tours or is allowed to be mounted by a Chicago-based company, I look forward to having the opportunity to see this show.

Grey Gardens
Music by Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Book by Doug Wright
Cast: Christine Ebersole, Mary Louise Wilson, Matt Cavanaugh, John McMartin, Sara Gettelfinger