Broadway Divas

by Rca: Broadway Divas / Various

Overview

Unfortunately containing the vastly overused "D" word in its title, RCA Victor's Broadway Divas, one of a series of releases to commemorate the label's 100th anniversary, is a compilation of recordings by musical actresses culled from RCA's vast catalog of show music. It ranges from Eartha Kitt's performance of Arthur Siegel and June Carroll's "Monotonous" from the Broadwaymusical revue New Faces of 1952 to Julia Murney's performance of Andrew Lippa's "Raise the Roof" from the off-Broadway musical The Wild Party, which ran at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2000. But that spread of nearly 48 years is deceptive; actually, the Kitt recording is the only one that dates from before 1963. Four of the tracks come from the 1960s, two from the '70s, two from the '80s, and five from the '90s. The present-day orientation is further dramatized when you note the absence from the list of anything by Gwen Verdon or Chita Rivera, even though they made cast recordings for RCA, and the presence of a ringer like Sarah Jessica Parker, who has had some Broadway musical experience but hardly ranks with some of the other names here and no doubt is included only because of the television clout of her non-musical television series Sex and the City. This, then, is not the definitive collection of theater songstresses, even though there are some wonderful performances. The late Madeline Kahn, ably handling the tongue twister "Getting Married Today" (one of five titles by Stephen Sondheim), provides one of them, and another comes from Barbara Harris' "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" from the original cast album of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Just think of the set as a sampler rather than a history, and you'll have a good time with it. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	08/07/2001
Label:	Rca Victor / Rca
UPC:	0090266380527
Rank:	152328

Tracks

1. I Got the Sun in the Morning, song (from "Annie Get your Gun")  -  Annie Get Your Gun Cast Ensemble  - Irving Berlin  - Ethel Merman  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Andy Wiswell
2. Flora the Red Menace, musical~Sing Happy  - Fred Ebb  - John Kander  - George R. Marek  - Liza Minnelli  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels
3. Mean To Me  - Fred E. Ahlert  - Nell Carter  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Thomas Z. Shepard  - Roy Turk
4. Sunday in the Park with George, musical play~Children And Art  - Mandy Patinkin  - Bernadette Peters  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Thomas Z. Shepard  - Stephen Sondheim
5. Jennie, musical~Before I Kiss The World Goodbye  - Howard Dietz  - Mary Martin  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Arthur Schwartz  - Andy Wiswell
6. Company, musical~Being Alive  - Patti LuPone  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jay David Saks  - Jon M. Samuels  - Stephen Sondheim
7. New Faces of 1952, musical~Monotonous  - June Carroll  - Eartha Kitt  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Arthur Siegel  - Arthur Siegel
8. Once Upon a Mattress, musical~Shy  - David Baker  - David Aaron Baker  - Marshall Barer  - Sarah Jessica Parker  - Mary Rodgers  - Mary Lou Rosato  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jay David Saks  - Jon M. Samuels
9. Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville, musical play~All That Jazz  - Benny Carter  - Fred Ebb  - John Kander  - Bebe Neuwirth  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jay David Saks  - Jon M. Samuels
10. The Wild Party, musical play~Raise The Roof  - Andrew Lippa  - Julia K. Murney  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels
11. Company, musical~Getting Married Today  - Mark Jacoby  - Madeline Kahn  - Jeanne Lehman  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jay David Saks  - Jon M. Samuels  - Stephen Sondheim
12. Ragtime, musical play~Back To Before  - Lynn Ahrens  - Stephen Flaherty  - Marin Mazzie  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jay David Saks  - Jon M. Samuels
13. Follies, musical play~Losing My Mind  - Barbara Cook  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Thomas Z. Shepard  - Stephen Sondheim
14. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, musical~What Did I Have That I Don't Have?  - Barbara Harris  - Barbara Harris  - Burton Lane  - Alan Jay Lerner  - George R. Marek  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels
15. Gypsy, musical~Everything's Coming Up Roses  - Angela Lansbury  - Norman Newell  - Bill Rosenfield  - Jon M. Samuels  - Stephen Sondheim  - Jule Styne

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Patti LuPone   Primary Artist,Vocals
Angela Lansbury   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mary Martin   Primary Artist,Vocals
Bernadette Peters   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mandy Patinkin   Primary Artist,Vocals
Marin Mazzie   Primary Artist,Vocals
Bebe Neuwirth   Primary Artist,Vocals
Jeanne Lehman   Primary Artist,Vocals
Barbara Cook   Primary Artist,Vocals
Eartha Kitt   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ethel Merman   Primary Artist,Vocals
Madeline Kahn   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mark Jacoby   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sarah Jessica Parker   Primary Artist
Liza Minnelli   Primary Artist,Vocals
Julia K. Murney   Primary Artist,Vocals
Nell Carter   Primary Artist,Vocals
Barbara Harris   Primary Artist,Vocals
David Baker   Primary Artist,Vocals
Mary Lou Rosato   Primary Artist,Vocals
David Aaron Baker   Vocals
Annie Get Your Gun Cast Ensemble   Vocal Ensemble

Technical Credits

Bill Rosenfield   Compilation Producer,A&R,Direction,Liner Notes
Barbara Harris   Performer
Norman Newell   Producer
Thomas Z. Shepard   Engineer,Producer
Arthur Schwartz   Composer
Arthur Siegel   Composer,Composer,Lyricist
George R. Marek   Producer,Engineer
Janene Higgins   Design
June Carroll   Composer,Lyricist
David Baker   Performer
Mary Lou Rosato   Performer
Jon M. Samuels   Mastering
John Kander   Composer
Andrew Lippa   Composer,Producer
Angela Lansbury   Performer
Mary Martin   Performer
Lynn Ahrens   Composer
Stephen Sondheim   Composer
Marin Mazzie   Performer
Andy Wiswell   Engineer,Producer
Benny Carter   Composer
Bebe Neuwirth   Performer
Stephen Flaherty   Composer
Fred E. Ahlert   Composer
Jon Samuels   Mastering
Burton Lane   Composer
Patti LuPone   Performer
Fred Ebb   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Joe Linhart   Producer
Alan Jay Lerner   Composer
Barbara Cook   Performer
Eartha Kitt   Performer
Ethel Merman   Performer
Jay David Saks   Engineer,Producer
Madeline Kahn   Performer
Sarah Jessica Parker   Performer
Howard Dietz   Composer
Liza Minnelli   Performer
Jule Styne   Composer
Julia K. Murney   Performer
Hugo Winterhalter   Engineer,Producer
Mary Rodgers   Composer
Roy Turk   Composer
Marshall Barer   Composer
Nell Carter   Performer