The Biggest Thing You Probably Haven't Heard About...

...There is a new Complete Recording of ALLEGRO!!!!!!!!!!

You might not initially share my excitment, or even realize the import of this recording. ALLEGRO is the most notable and ambitious of Rogers and Hammerstein's 3 flops (the other two being PIPE DREAM and ME & JULIET). The show was a bit of an expieriment, to follow it's protagonist from birth through middle age, in which he goes to college, marries the girl next door, moves to The City, becomes jaded, returns home. The story is told using a Greek-style chorus (with a lot of that silly talking in unison business), and about 37 different ballets (thanks to Director/Choreographer Agnes DeMille) and comes off as being hoplessly old fashioned and pretentious simultaneously. And bleak. And hateful of modern society. Really, I'm not surprised it didn't catch on when it was new, nor am I surprised no brash and bold young director (or even wise and experienced old director) has been able to truly ressurect this corpse. That being said, it's a corpse with R&H's name on it, so every now and then it's worth a detailed look, which is precisely what this recording does.

If you are not interested in the historical inplications of ALLEGRO, this recording still has merit as it assembles the most perfect musical theater vocalists of our time to sing a frequently wonderful R&H score with a lush orchestra and Robert Russell Bennet orchestrations. In layman's terms, it sounds really good. Actors performing on this recording:
Patrick Wilson
Audra McDonald
Nathan Gunn (one of those devestatingly handsome Opera stars they're making these days)
Liz Callaway
Judy Kuhn
Norbert Leo Butz
Laura Benanti (who is sadly wasted as the "girl next store" who for whatever reason never gets a big musical moment of her own)

Some musical highlights (click on links to listen/download):
A Fellow Needs a Girl--a duet between Joe's parents, overheard by Joe. Sung by Audra(!), and Nathan Gunn.
You Are Never Away (and Encore)--Happy music! Patrick Wilson is awesome. The encore is basically the same thing, but with a fun choral arrangement thrown in for the (Greek) Chorus.
The Gentleman is a Dope--The most (i.e. only) famous song from the show. You've probably heard it before. Sung my Liz Callaway who has a pretty perfect voice...almost a little too perfect for my taste. But a great song nonetheless.
Allegro--the title song, and the most unusual of the lot. Features Callaway and the always amusing Norbert Leo Butz as they criticize the phony upper-crust society around them.

All in all, this is a pretty exciting, important recording that seems to be flying under the radar. Can I blame this on the economy?