did I miss something over the holiday weekend? Did no one mention the
news of the year:
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http://www.playbill.com/news/article/119129.html
A starry cast =97 including Tony Award winners Laura Benanti, Norbert
Leo Butz and Audra McDonald =97 has been assembled for the first
complete recording of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's Allegro,
which features a 50-piece orchestra.
The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization confirmed to Playbill.com that
principal orchestral and vocal work has been completed for the
recording, which will be released on a date and label to be announced
shortly.
The cast of the recording boasts Patrick Wilson (The Full Monty,
Oklahoma!) as Joe Taylor, Jr.; Nathan Gunn (Camelot) and Audra
McDonald (Ragtime, Carousel, Master Class) as Joe's parents; Marni
Nixon (My Fair Lady, Nine) as Joe's Grandma; Judy Kuhn (Les
Mis=E9rables, She Loves Me, Chess) as Beulah; Liz Callaway (Baby, Cats,
Miss Saigon) as Emily; Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Into the Woods, Nine) as
Jennie; and Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Wicked, Is He
Dead?) as Joe's best friend, Charlie.
The Allegro ensemble features Judy Blazer, Maureen Brennan, Ashley
Brown and Kathy Morath as well as a full chorus and a children's
chorus. Vocal cameos are made by New York City Cultural Affairs
Commissioner Schuyler Chapin; All Souls Church Reverend Dr. Galen
Guengerich; and Allegro's original production assistant, Stephen
Sondheim. In fact, Sondheim once referred to Allegro as "the first
really good experimental show."
The orchestra, which recorded the original orchestrations penned by
Robert Russell Bennett and Trude Rittmann's dance arrangements, was
conducted by Larry Blank. Bruce Pomahac is musical director, and Ben
Whiteley is the choral director (with choral arrangements by Crane
Calder).
Among the songs that will be heard on the new recording are "A Fellow
Needs a Girl" (Gunn, McDonald), "Come Home" (McDonald), "You Are Never
Away" (Wilson), "The Gentleman is a Dope" (Callaway) and "So
Far" (Kuhn).
The 1947 musical Allegro was Rodgers and Hammerstein's fourth
collaboration, following the Broadway musicals Oklahoma! and Carousel
and the film "State Fair." Although it ran for a season, it was the
first R&H musical to divide critics and be less than a blockbuster.
The original cast included John Battles, Stephen Chase, William Ching,
John Conte, Annamary Dickey, Lawrence Fletcher, Julie Humphries,
Roberta Jonay and Harrison Muller, among others. Agnes de Mille
directed and choreographed.
A recording of the 1947 Broadway production was made, although that
original cast album only includes about 30 minutes worth of material.
No other Allegro recording has been made until now.
The musical, according to press notes, "tells the story of an earnest
country doctor, Joseph Taylor, following his life from cradle to
adulthood, and his journey =97 both literal and moral =97 from small town
to big city, and back again. The score is unconventional: fragments of
song move in and out of the action like passing thoughts; melodies
flit by in one scene only to take hold and blossom in the next. Major
songs are given to minor characters, while the central character has
comparatively little solo work. A chorus provides spoken commentary
and sings aloud inner thoughts. Original director/choreographer Agnes
de Mille's extended ballet sequences are reflected in intriguing
orchestral pieces."
In a statement Ted Chapin, president of The Rodgers & Hammerstein
Organization, said, "Along with the innovations of the original
production, Allegro's score has its own innovative qualities, most of
which are simply unknown. To do justice to the show that Rodgers &
Hammerstein created, I have long wanted to capture the score in a way
that explains to us all how the musical tapestry of Allegro was
conceived. It is almost through-composed, using elements of songs in
fascinating, dramatic ways =96 which has led people to assume
incorrectly that it is a lesser work. After all, Allegro comes
chronologically between Carousel and South Pacific, so it's not as if
Rodgers & Hammerstein had lost their talent. My hope is that this
recording will introduce this extraordinary work to musical theatre
lovers in the best way possible =96 and I am thrilled that we have been
able to attract such a stellar group of artists to join us.
"It has taken more than 60 years to give the score of Allegro the full
attention it deserved. We've taken a lot of care to make it sound as
close as possible to the way Messrs. Rodgers and Hammerstein created
it over 60 years ago."
The Allegro recording is produced by David Lai and Bruce Pomahac. Ted
Chapin is executive producer. For more information visit www.rnh.com
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