All stories by Michael Portantiere on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

2016 Theatre World Awards Awards - Report & Photos by Michael Portantiere

The 72nd annual Theatre World Awards, honoring "outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway significant, reviewable debut performances," were presented last evening in a ceremony at Circle in the S…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:39PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 8, 2016

The Drowsy Chaperone by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2006 (Ghostlight) This might be the first Broadway musical with commentary written into the script. Alone in his apartment, a musical theater devotee anonymously name…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:07PM[SHARE]

The Light in the Piazza by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast,  2005 (Nonesuch) The Light in the Piazza seemed to re-open the door for lush scores and musicals of honest sentiment of the type not seen since Rodgers and Hammers…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 01:33PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Memphis by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2009 (Rhino) Winner of 2010 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Book, Original Score, and Orchestrations, Memphis charts an enjoyable journey through the pioneering days of…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:59PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 2, 2016

2016 Lucille Lortel Awards Report by Michael Portantiere

Guards at the Taj (Outstanding Play), FUTURITY (Outstanding Musical), and The Robber Bridegroom (Outstanding Revival) were among the big winners at the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards honoring ex…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:25AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 29, 2016

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2013 (Ghostlight) Some musical theater writers have had great difficulty adapting epic, classic novels for the stage: Doctor Zhivago, Jane Eyre, East of Eden, etc…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:03PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 23, 2016

The Sound of Musicals: The King and I by Michael Portantiere

“The Sound of Musicals,” is a monthly podcast devoted to musical theatre recordings of all types, including Broadway cast albums, London cast albums, studio cast albums, and soun…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:59PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Book of Mormon by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2011 (Ghostlight) When it was announced that the creators of South Park were writing a Broadway musical, with one of the songwriters of Avenue Q, no less, everyone ex…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:28PM[SHARE]

Kinky Boots by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2013 (Sony Masterworks Broadway) Kinky Boots marked 80's pop icon Cyndi Lauper's debut as a Broadway songwriter. Based on the film of the same title, the musical is a…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:06PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Matilda by Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 2013 (RSC) This recording reflects the Royal Shakespeare Company's world premiere production of the musical Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's book about a precocious, five…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:56PM[SHARE]

The Bridges of Madison County by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2014 (Ghostlight) Robert James Waller's novel about an Italian war bride's brief affair with a photographer who passes through her Iowa town became a cultural phenome…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:01PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 29, 2016

In the Heights by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2008 (Ghostlight, 2CDs) Winner of 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations, In the Heights was the first Broadway musical hit t…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:51PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 24, 2016

Grey Gardens by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2006 (PS Classics) Based on Albert and David Maysles' fascinating 1975 documentary film of the same name, the musical Grey Gardens depicts the dysfunctional relat…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 11:15AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 18, 2016

The Last Ship by Michael Portantiere

Studio Cast, 2013 (Cherrytree/A&M)   Rock icon Sting introduced most of the songs that would fuel his Broadway musical The Last Ship in this eponymous, 12-track concept album, release…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 09:46AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 13, 2016

Altar Boyz by Michael Portantiere

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2005 (Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom) A boisterous, satirical show in the form of a concert by a Christian pop-rock boy band espousing wholesome morality through their musi…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 10, 2016

All Shook Up by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Masterworks Broadway) A lightweight jukebox musical showcasing 25 songs made famous by Elvis Presley, All Shook Up concerns a motorcycle-riding roustabout who b…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:10PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Dearest Enemy by Michael Portantiere

Studio Cast, 1981 (Beginners Records/Bayview) A minor milestone in the history of American musical theater, Dearest Enemy (1925) was the first book show with a score entirely by Richard Rodg…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:17AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Great Waltz by Michael Portantiere

Original West Coast Cast, 1965 (Capitol/no CD) Edwin Lester of the Civic Light Opera Company of Los Angeles and San Francisco was known for bringing Broadway's first national tours to the We…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 10:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 25, 2016

WOMEN WITHOUT MEN by Michael Portantiere

Women Without Men sounds like it could be the title of a girl-on-girl porno flick, or maybe one of those trashy, lesbian-themed pulp novels of the 1950s.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:52PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Color Purple by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Angel) Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple is a work with a lot of heart that was sadly compromised in its original Broa…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 04:00PM[SHARE]

Heathers by Michael Portantiere

World Premiere Cast, 2014 (Yellow Sound Label) Based on the '80s cult film of the same title, Heathers is a musical that's sometimes fun and frothy, though not particularly strong. Writers L…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 03:25PM[SHARE]

Spamalot by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Decca Broadway) This show, based on the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, attempts to spoof the formula of musical theatre while still adheri…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 02:41PM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 14, 2016

Something Rotten! by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2015 (Ghostlight) The more one knows about Broadway musicals, the more convulsed with laughter one becomes upon experiencing Something Rotten!, a smart stew of shrewd…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 05:08PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2011 (Ghostlight) With its all-star cast and creative team, and a hilarious movie by Pedro Almodóvar as its source material, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakd…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:16PM[SHARE]

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2005 (Ghostlight) This show, about a regional spelling bee with prepubescent contestants, marked the Tony Award winning composer/lyricist William Finn's return to Bro…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:13PM[SHARE]

Fun Home by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast,  2015 (PS Classics) Alison Bechdel's Fun Home may seem like strange fodder for a Broadway musical. A memoir in the form of a graphic novel, it chronicles Bechdel's…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:09PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Forbidden Hollywood by Michael Portantiere

Los Angeles Cast, 1995 (DRG) Here, Gerard Alessandrini has as much fun with Hollywood excess as with Broadway idiocy. But this recording differs from the Forbidden Broadway albums in one cru…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:28PM[SHARE]

Forbidden Broadway by Michael Portantiere

Original Cast, 1982 (DRG) Gerard Alessandrini's revues lampooning Broadway hits and personalities have been a reliable source of merriment in cabaret rooms, Off-Broadway theaters, and other …

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 12:27PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 18, 2016

Sunday in the Park With George by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 1984 (RCA) Few Broadway composers could successfully make a painting into a musical, but Stephen Sondheim turned Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 06:21PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 14, 2016

"Editing Without Betraying Jonathan's Conception"  The 1996 Interview About Rent's Finishing Touches by Michael Portantiere

As the 20th anniversary of Rent's Off-Broadway debut approaches, we look back to our 1996 interview with musical director Tim Weil, who talked about putting the finishing touches on …

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Hamilton by Michael Portantiere

Original Broadway Cast, 2015 (Atlantic, 2CDs) From start to finish, this recording marvelously captures the vibrancy of composer-lyricist-star Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking and record-…

SOURCE: castalbumreviews.com at 07:42PM[SHARE]

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