Sitting Pretty Studio Cast Album on 2 CD set

I had never heard of Jerome Kern's 1924 musical Sitting Pretty when I bought this studio cast album of the "reconstructed" score. I probably bought it because of either Jason Graae or John McGlinn. More on them later.

This show is more old-fashioned than Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe. While the songs do have some emotional connection to the characters performing them, the music is equally extractable without missing any of the context. In other words, it's not a book musical, where the songs are specific to time/place/character.

That being said, there is a lot to like in listening to this album that was released in 1990. There are very listen-able performers such as Mr. Graae, Judy Blazer, Beverly Lambert, and Paige O'Hara who continue to have musical careers. There is operatic soprano Roberta Peters. And there are hummable tunes, that while being clearly of another era, have some vitality. And the 'legit' soprano song "Days Gone By" sung here by Ms. Peters is a beautiful operetta aria, in the vein of "Vilja" from The Merry Widow.

Musical historian and conductor John McGlinn includes extensive notes on the back story of Kern and collaborators P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. He also clearly appreciates this music. Even if his love of this score is a bit over-zealous, he rightfully credits Sitting Pretty with paving the way for more substantial shows like Kern's Showboat.

I mentioned that Jason Graae is in this cast, and he is a delight. I've heard him perform live and always thought of him as a character singer, but he proves here to have a pleasant, light baritone voice with some true legato to it.

Sitting Pretty
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse
Book by Guy Bolton
1990 Studio cast recording conducted by John McGlinn
Cast: Judy Blazer, Davis Gaines, Merwin Goldsmith, Beverly Lambert, Paula Laurence, Paige O'Hara, Jason Graae, Paul V. Ames, Richard Woods, Roberta Peters

Showboat Recording

My listening pleasure today is a 1962 studio recording of Showboat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The liner notes say it was recorded to take advantage of the new Stereophonic recording capabilities. John Raitt sings Gaylord Ravenal; Barbara Cook is Magnolia; William Warfield sings Joe. The rest of the cast are not familiar names to me.

Is there any Broadway baritone who can compare to John Raitt? This is how I dreamed I would sing once I was leading my life upon the wicked stage. There's such an ease to his upper register that I've never been able to achieve. I remember watching, I think it was an Ed Sullivan clip, where John Raitt sings the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. At the end he interpolates at high b-flat. Most operatic baritones don't have that note.

Barbara Cook's singing is luminous. I have to say that William Warfield's voice does not have the rumble I think is needed to sing "Ol' Man River". I have other recordings of his singing and I like his voice, but this song calls for a true bass.

The CD reissue that I have includes four bonus tracks, one of which is Paul Robeson singing a song which was written for the 1936 film version; I'd prefer to hear Mr. Robeson sing "Ol' Man River."

Who knew PG Wodehouse shared the lyrics credit with Hammerstein? I must investigate the Wodehouse connection. PS. I discovered that Wodehouse wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill"-- a good song, no doubt, but certainly misleading on the credits of this recording cover, especally since other songs in the show have lyrics by writers other than Hammerstein.

Showboat
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and PG Wodehouse and others
Columbia Broadway Masterworks recording
Recorded December, 1961; CD reissue 2000
Cast: John Raitt, Barbara Cook, William Warfield, Anita Darian, Fay De Witt, Louise Parker, Jack Dabdoub
With bonus material sung by Tess Gardella, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Jan Clayton