All stories by Rob Lester on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sound Advice: Billy Porter and Beata Pater by Rob Lester

Two singers, different as night and day: One is grand and stylized, full of flamboyant flourishes, recording with a sizeable orchestra; the other is singing simply in a minimalist setting, w…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 03:57PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 17, 2014

Sound Advice: Two Musicals, one fluffy, one frisky by Rob Lester

"Going Up" studio cast recording and "Andy Capp" original London cast recording.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:07AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 11, 2014

Sound Advice: Pairs Alison & Tennessee, Samson & Delilah, Anya & Robert by Rob Lester

Here they are—a collection paired up for your musical inspection—a formidable musical theatre actress well matched to songs favored by one of our greatest playwrights; lovers from thousa…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 3, 2014

Sound Advice: "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" and "Privates on Parade" by Rob Lester

Not so gentle the touch in the rollicking A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, a new Broadway musical, or an old show about a show's troupe—Privates on Parade—transferred to CD for th…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:13PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sound Advice: "Inspired by...." by Rob Lester

They've made their names on Broadway—as, respectively, a Jersey Boy, a Dreamgirl, and a girl who dreams of life above sea level. The heroes and musical American idols for each are numerous…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:51PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 20, 2014

Sound Advice: Cabaret Month 2014 by Rob Lester

March is "Cabaret Month" in New York and other cities ... Here are some cabaret-related CDs that came out in 2013, whose artists are nominees.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 03:46PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 14, 2014

Sound Advice: Coming Out in Musicals: "Yank!" and "Fun Home" by Rob Lester

Taking place in earlier decades, two shows with characters dealing with their homosexuality have new cast albums which have come out from the PS Classics label. These are two powerful and to…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:38AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 6, 2014

Sound Advice: Close Encounters: Meeting on a First Date and meeting Irving Berlin by Rob Lester

Here are two contrasting how-do-you-do scenes taking place in a single night, where memories and imagination take over. One is a new show about a date that recently visited Broadway and the …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:56PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 20, 2014

Sound Advice: "Big Fish" and "A Night with Janis Joplin" by Rob Lester

Over the top, don't hold back .... The two have something in common.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:40AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 7, 2014

Sound Advice: "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and "Il Divo: A Musical Affair: Broadway and Beyond" by Rob Lester

Let's consider the male presumed perspective perceived by a woman playing-and playing with-male roles, from those women who dressed as men on stage. And then, an international all-male group…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:33AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 31, 2014

Sound Advice: Leading Ladies of Broadway: Solo Albums Bebe Neuwirth, Christine Ebersole by Rob Lester

"Gather around/ I've got a story to tell ..." sings Bebe Neuwirth ...

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sound Advice: The Top Ten Vocal CDs of 2013 by Rob Lester

When artist and material connect and something rings true, the spark is one we want to experience again. This year, there were some fortunate matches of artists to material, and some rewardi…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 03:15PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 16, 2014

Sound Advice: The Top Ten Cast Albums of 2013 by Rob Lester

The past year brought many pleasures to the ears and mind when it came to cast albums. Some were on the daring side, others were familiar musical comfort food in the form of revivals. Here's…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:43PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 12, 2013

Sound Advice: "Holiday Albums Part Two" by Rob Lester

"A Swinging Birdland Christmas," Liz Callaway's "Merry and Bright" and "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:56PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 9, 2013

Sound Advice: "Holiday Albums" by Rob Lester

Broadway Cares' Carols for a Cure Vol 15, Natalie Toro's Just in Time for Christmas, Megan McClannan Reardon's Dreams of Christmas.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:29AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 14, 2013

Sound Advice: "Philip Chaffin Somethin' Real Special: The Songs of Dorothy Fields" by Rob Lester

We get her many flavors: pluck, pizzazz, passion, playfulness and unaffected sweetness (no artificial sweetness her). The 15-track album is a welcome mix of the standards (refreshened rather…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 24, 2013

Sound Advice: "Matilda" OBC Recording by Rob Lester

There's a sense of wild anything-can-happen excitement, daredevilry, and delightful defiance throughout this piece.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:59PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 17, 2013

Sound Advice: "Hands on a Hardbody" OBC Recording by Rob Lester

It's a competition and people keep getting eliminated. We find out about them along the way: what makes these Texans tick, what ticks them off, what drives them to want to drive off with the…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 4, 2013

Sound Advice: "The Last Five Years" and Broadway's Next Generation by Rob Lester

It's all about love and marriage and how they both fall apart for a couple in The Last Five Years ... precocious, peppy young 'uns who've trod the boards, have had their When I Grow Up show …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:41AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sound Advice: Three Lauras: Osnes, Benanti and Ainsworth by Rob Lester

While the Osnes oeuvre is all Maury Yeston, both Ainsworth and Benanti have a mixed bag of show tunes and pop, and—fun fact: each acknowledges Johnny Mercer, who wrote the lyric to the tit…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:26PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 20, 2013

On Your MARK...get set...go, Hartman! by Rob Lester

Mark Hartman is often found behind the piano, as he will be for two big shows on September 24 at Iridium NYC, but he will also be behind the idea of making the shows fundraisers for The Play…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 01:59PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 19, 2013

Sound Advice: Aaron Tveit and Maud Hixson by Rob Lester

Aaron Tveit's live recording from 54 Below, and Maud Hixson sings the Music of Michael Leonard.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:01PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 12, 2013

Sound Advice: "Passion" Off-Broadway Cast Recording by Rob Lester

... at every turn, there's serious and shaded acting going on and that takes center stage in the Classic Stage Company interpretation directed by John Doyle and conducted by Rob Berman, who…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sound Advice: "Pippin" Revival Cast Recording by Rob Lester

Four decades after its first Broadway incarnation, Pippin's peppy, pop-inflected score has popped up again on Broadway, fresh and flush with energy.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:19AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 23, 2013

Sound Advice: "Closer Than Ever" by Rob Lester

When looking for thoughtful, rich, articulate material about experiences and feelings that speak to mature adults with some life mileage, song sleuths, cabaret singers, musical theatre audit…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:02AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 18, 2013

Sound Advice: "Dogfight" and "Murder Ballad" by Rob Lester

Dogfight fights to overcome some theatrical challenges—in a theatre or on disc ... You don't have to be a true detective or musical comedy sleuth to see where we're going in the dour and d…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:05PM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sound Advice: "Annie" Revival Cast Recording by Rob Lester

Is that beloved, spunky, optimistic little redhead showing her age? To answer with a song title from the Annie score: Maybe.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:57AM[SHARE]
Saturday, July 6, 2013

Marilyn Maye Takes Five on July 10 at Iridium NYC by Rob Lester

One night!! Two sets!! Three cheers!! For it's five " That is, it's a five-piece band with Marilyn Maye at Iridium NYC on July 10, in an act titled Marilyn Maye Takes Five. The name referenc…

SOURCE: NiteLifeExchange at 04:25AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 6, 2013

Sound Advice: "Kinky Boots" by Rob Lester

Dig in your heels to resist and say it's not much more than a well-done high-budget piece of force-fed fluff and pop puffery, or kick back and accept it as fine fun at best and a guilty plea…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:50PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 30, 2013

Sound Advice: A Couple of Cinderellas by Rob Lester

One began as the Rodgers & Hammerstein TV special over a half-century ago ... The other, by way of an Oregon theatre production, has a charmer of a score by Ezra Weiss and taps into the love…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 16, 2013

Sound Advice: Taking one's own path: Noël 'n' Nancy by Rob Lester

Welcome to the sophistication and very grown-up world of Noël Coward, inhabited by Steve Ross and guests, and the very much child-centric world of a kid named Nancy in the musical for kids,…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:23PM[SHARE]

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