End of classes, Rent x 3

Well, I've had the last of my classes, and tonight was my last night of work until January, so the officially is essentially over besides for finals. I have one take-home final and two finals, and they all take place next Thursday (the take-home is due Wednesday at a poetry party).

Last night, I went to see the Rent movie for the third time with Len Shaffer, Christina, and her boyfriend, Richard. It was quite a fun evening I must say.

I was recently reading through some theatre articles and came across some rankings for people's favorite cast recordings of 2005, so I figured I'd take some time in this entry to write about some of my favorite recordings of the year.

Hair, The Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording
Standout Songs: "I Got Life" (Adam Pascal), "Hair" (Raul Esparza), "Easy to Be Hard" (Jennifer Hudson), "Walking in Space" (Sherie Rene Scott)
Other Comments: After having listened to the OBCR and movie soundtrack for Hair, I easily welcomed this new recording of one of my favorite shows. I tend to like newer recordings over older ones simply for the sound quality, and this is particularly the case for Hair since its OBCR hasn't held up well over the decades. This recording gives some of the songs a bit more of a contemporary feeling, and many of the performers have interesting takes on their songs. This was a very fresh recording of a show many consider dated. Definitely worth adding to a cast recording collection.

The 25th Annual Putname County Spelling Bee, Original Broadway Cast Recording
Standout Songs: "I Speak Six Languages" (Deborah S. Craig), "The 'I Love You' Song" (Celia Keenan-Bolger)
Standout Performances: Very much an ensemble performance
Other Comments: I can imagine opinions as to this recording are probably varied. It took a while for it to grow on me, particularly since the idea of having adults sing as children would can come off as grating. The songs are well written, however. William Finn (Falsettos, A New Brain) is rarely off in his composition skills, and this recording is certainly very entertaining, particularly when it takes a more serious turn with Celia Keenan-Bolger's rendition of "The 'I Love You' Song."

Bright Lights, Big City, Studio Cast Recording
Standout Songs: "Brother" (Gavin Creel), "Kindness" (Sherie Rene Scott), "Heart and Soul" (Gavin Creel, Sherie Rene Scott)
Standout Performances: Gavin Creel, Christine Ebersole, Jesse L. Martin
Other Comments: This show feels a lot like Rent. Based on the book of the same name by Jay McInerney (which is very good), this is a contemporary musical that captures the book perfectly. The performances are great all around. Some of the lyrics can be sloppy, but the score makes up for it with its energy. It's interesting that Jesse L. Martin (of Rent/Law & Order fame) is in a musical so similar to Rent. Patrick Wilson of Angels in America/The Phantom of the Opera fame is also excellent. This isn't necessarily a must-have recording, but it's really great overall.

The Light in the Piazza, Original Broadway Cast Recording
Standout Songs: "Passeggiata," "The Beauty Is," "Say it Somehow," "The Light in the Piazza," "Dividing Day," "Love to Me"
Standout Performances: Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison
Other Comments: The Light in the Piazza has easily the best score of this season on Broadway and, along with Caroline, or Change, one of the best scores of this decade. It's a very lush, classically-influenced score, full of rich string melodies that float effortlessly below the beautiful voices of the cast. The three leads, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, and Matthew Morrison, are uniformly perfect and do excellent work with the score, which has no low points. It takes a few listens for the unique sound of the score to feel entirely comfortable, but after the music begins to settle with you, it's hard to get it out of your head.

Billy Elliot, Original London Cast Recording
Standout Songs: "The Letter," "Electricity," "Solidarity," "Grandma's Song"
Other Comments: I've been waiting a long time to hear this score, written by Elton John and Lee Hall. What I found intesting is that the original director, chorographer, and screenwriter of the movie were involved with the movie in their same roles (with Lee Hall, screenwriter tackling both book and lyrics). The musical comes off as being on a scale slightly too big for its humble story, but, that aside, the score works well on its own. I can't help but feel as if the stage show might seem a little bit too Broadway, particularly in moments like "Expressing Yourself," which takes a moment from the movie (Michael introducing the subject of cross-dressing) and turns it into a lavish production number about "expressing yourself." The moments that work bet for me are those that stay true to the quiet nature of the movie ("Grandma's Song," "The Letter")or allow the emotions of the movie to be heightened in song ("Electricity"). "Solidarity" is one of those songs that seems a bit too big for the plot, with a singing band of miners commenting on society, but it's definitely catchy. I had it playing over and over on my iPod for a few days.

Pacific Overtures, Broadway Revival Recording
Comments: Well, this is one of my favorite Sondheim scores, so I was excited to have a new recording of the show. There really aren't any standout performances or songs, but I think it's mostly a testament to the ensemble nature of the show and the care that Sondheim puts into the uniform quality within his scores. Nothing seems out of place. I like the smaller feeling of the orchestrations on this recording and the crisper nature of the quality. Several minor players from the original Broadway cast are back again, and B.D. Wong is in great voice as the Reciter. This is another of those recordings that isn't really essential to a collection but that I enjoyed immensely.

Worst Recording: Sweet Charity

Honorable Mentions for Best Song (in recordings not featured):
"Days of Plenty" from Little Women, sung by Maureen McGovern
"I Love to Travel" from The Frogs, sung by Nathan Lane and Roger Bart
"Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, sung by Sherie Rene Scott

Honorable mention also goes to the movie soundtrack of Rent.