Original Broadway Cast, 2013 (Shout! Broadway) (1.5 / 5) Carolee Carmello was tasked with carrying this show in the role of charismatic evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, playing the character from age 15 to 50. One of Broadway’s most gifted belters, Carmello does her best with the material, but the songs fail to rise to the level of her immense talent. Though the cast album is dominated primarily by its star, she’s assisted ably by Ed Watts as Amy’s husband, Candy Buckley as her mother, and, in a very brief appearance, Broadway veteran George Hearn as her father. Carmello tears through the opening number, “Stand Up!” and admirably attempts to energize the proceedings with the fiery “Follow Me.” Listeners may be intrigued by these first two numbers, or by the appealing quartet “He Will Be My Home (reprise),” but the score’s limitations quickly become apparent. While the real life story of McPherson was full of sensational drama, from her sudden disappearance to an alleged affair that was highly publicized, the book of the musical — by television personality Kathie Lee Gifford — is meandering and full of clichés. (Scandalous played a paltry 29 performances on Broadway, and was widely panned by critics). The score, with lyrics by Gifford and music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman, also largely fails to capture the excitement of the central character’s life; songs such as “A Girl’s Gotta Do What a Girl’s Gotta Do” and “Lost or Found” are particularly dull. In fact, the second half of the album is nearly devoid of worth, and by the final number, “I Have a Fire,” even Carmello’s belt seems more stupefying than entertaining, as it has long since become clear that the creative team has relied on her talent alone to sell the subpar material. While the show straddles the fence as to whether “Sister” Aimee was “inspired or mired in sin,” there can be no doubt about Carmello’s gifts, even in this misfire. But the most unforgivable aspect of Scandalous is that it isn’t scandalous at all, it’s disappointingly bland. — Forrest Hutchinson