Welcome to CastAlbumReviews.com, a searchable website of reviews of recordings of musical theater scores, including original and revival cast recordings of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, as well as studio cast recordings and film soundtracks.

Literally thousands of recordings exist in this broad category: Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, including shows that originated in other countries but have played in New York and/or have become popular worldwide. Not included, with very few exceptions, are non-English language recordings of American and British musicals. Also omitted are reviews of soundtrack recordings of original film musicals that haven’t been adapted to the stage.

These reviews were contributed by some of the most knowledgeable writers in the field,  including theater journalists, book authors, playwrights and lyricists, educators, and historians (see below).  A large percentage of the reviews are published for the first time here; others were previously published but have been re-edited and/or updated. Many thanks to all of our writers, and to Jason Aylesworth for legal advice.

Each review heading includes a succinct identification of the recording (e.g., “Original Broadway Cast,” “Film Soundtrack,” etc.) and the year of the first release, followed in parentheses by the recording label(s). Where more than one recording of a particular score is reviewed, they are arranged in chronological order, from oldest to most recent. Identifying the recording label is challenging, what with releases, re-releases, and re-re-releases in various formats. To make things as simple as possible, we’ve listed the label on which each recording first appeared (in whatever format), followed by a slash, followed by the label of the most recent CD and/or downloadable digital album edition (where applicable).

A note about terminology: Although some people consider the word “album” obsolete in this context, we’ve retained it for the sake of tradition and as a viable alternative to “recording.” One dictionary definition of “album” is “a recording of different musical pieces,” so please think of it in those terms.

 

STAR RATING GUIDE:

(5 / 5) = Superlative; outstanding

(4 / 5) = Highly recommended

(3 / 5) = Recommended

(2 / 5) =  Recommended with reservations

(1 / 5) = Recommended with major reservations

0 stars = Not recommended

 

CONTRIBUTORS’ BIOS:

GERARD ALESSANDRINI has written and directed every edition of Forbidden Broadway and Forbidden Hollywood in cities around the world. The recipient of an OBlE Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and four Drama Desk Awards, Gerard was honored in 1998 with the Drama League Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater and a special Tony Honor for his work. With Michael Portantiere, he wrote the book Forbidden Broadway: Behind the Mylar Curtain. Gerard is also the creator of the hit show Spamilton.

DAVID BARBOUR is the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Lighting&Sound America, a monthly publication covering design and technology in live performance. He was previously editor of Lighting Dimensions and TCI magazines, and managing editor of TheaterWeek. He has contributed articles to various publications, including Playbill, Opera News, and Air Mail. He is co-president of the Drama Desk and a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle.

RICHARD BARRIOS is the author of the award-winning A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film. His second book, Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood From Edison to Stonewall, was the subject of a film series on Turner Classic Movies, which he co-hosted. His other books include Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter and West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic. Richard has appeared in numerous television and DVD documentaries, as well as several feature films. He lectures extensively and has written articles for The New York Times and other publications, and he has recorded DVD audio commentaries for South Pacific, Words and Music, and other films.

KEN BLOOM is the author of such books as American Song, Hollywood Song; Tin Pan Alley; Broadway: An Encyclopedia; Jerry Herman: The Lyrics; and co-author of Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows. On radio, he has worked with “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” His theater credits include many years with New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. Ken is the President of Harbinger Records and a 2017 Grammy Award winner in the “Best Album Notes” category, with his collaborator Richard Carlin, for Harbinger’s Sissle and Blake Sing Shuffle Along.

SETH CHRISTENFELD is a lyricist, librettist, and dramaturg. By day, he is Literary Manager for the York Theatre Company. He holds an M.F.A. His website, sethdoesthings.com, was last updated during the Obama administration.

JEFFREY DUNN directed musicals in the United States and abroad, including a three-year European tour of West Side Story. As an instructor of musical theater performance and history, he worked at Marymount Manhattan College, Syracuse University, New York University, Weist-Barron, and for many years at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Jeffrey died in 2014.

RON FASSLER is an author, theater historian, drama critic and recovering actor. His book Up in the Cheap Seats: A Historical Memoir of Broadway had been described by Nathan Lane as “Well worth the price of admission.” Next up: Ron’s new book, The Show Goes On: Broadway Hirings, Firings and Replacements, will be published in the fall of 2024. For more information, visit www.ronfassler.org

PETER FILICHIA served nearly two decades as a theater critic for The Star-Ledger, and has been a longtime columnist for magazines (TheaterWeek, Encore Monthly) and the Internet (Playbill, TheaterMania). He was president of the Drama Desk Awards from 1992 to 1996, and now serves on that organization’s nominating committee. For the past 25 years, he has been chairperson of the nominating committee of The Theatre World Awards and has hosted its annual ceremony. Peter has written eight books on the theater, among them Let’s Put on a Musical, The Great Parade: The 1963-64 Season, Broadway Musicals’ Most Valuable Players, and Brainteasers for Broadway Geniuses. His work as a playwright includes Adam’s Gifts, God Shows Up, and The Whole World, and he has performed his one-person show A Personal History of the American Theater dozens of times throughout the country.

DAVID FINKLE is a journalist covering theater, music, dance, movies, and books. He now reviews theater exclusively for New York Stage Review. David has taught journalism at Fordham University and has written/performed with the award-winning cabaret trio Weeden, Finkle and Fay. He is the author of two story collections, People Tell Me Things and Great Dates With Some Late Greats; and two novels, The Man With the Overcoat and the forthcoming The Great Gatsby Murder Case.

LAURA FRANKOS is the author of Broadway Revival, a novel in which a time traveler saves Gershwin from dying at 38. It was named a finalist for the 2021 Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History. She also wrote The Broadway Musical Quiz Book and the chapter on the Gershwins’ Of Thee I Sing for the recent book Fifty Key Stage Musicals. Laura has degrees in history from UCLA, and has written science fiction, fantasies, and mysteries.  She’s currently finishing a book on the 1935 Rodgers and Hart musical Jumbo.

FORREST HUTCHINSON is a theater critic and community theater organizer based in Nashville, TN. He is the host of the podcast “Settling Scores: The Musical Theatre Podcast,” and is an avid collector of cast recordings and theater memorabilia.

CHARLES KIRSCH is the young host of the theater podcast “Backstage Babble,” which has presented over 200 in-depth interviews with theater legends such as Carol Burnett, Kelli O’Hara, Harvey Fierstein, Joel Grey, and Chita Rivera. Kirsch has also hosted game night benefits for the non-profit organization Dancers Over 40, and his YouTube reunions of cast members of Follies, Applause, and On the Twentieth Century have garnered thousands of viewers. Charles has hosted sold-out events at 54 Below, the Drama Book Shop, Theater Row, BroadwayCon, the Museum of Broadway, and more, and has contributed to Encore Magazine and to the book 50 Key Stage Musicals (Routledge Press). He is also the youngest voting member of the Drama Desk

MATT KOPLIK is the host of the popular theater podcast Broadway Breakdown. Matt holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College, and he is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. His Playbill collection is legendary.

MARC MILLER is deputy copy chief at Bloomberg Businessweek. He currently reviews for talkinbroadway.com, offoffonline,com, and theaterscene.com, and has written for such publications and websites as  InTheater, Stages, Stagebill, and theatermania.com. His other writing credits include a chapter on movie musicals for the book Film Genre 2000 and notes for several musical theater recordings. Marc is also a lyricist whose songs have been performed at the New York Festival of Song, the American Music Theatre Festival in Philadelphia, and other venues. He is a member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle..

MATTHEW MURRAY is the former chief New York theater critic for TalkinBroadway.com, a position he held from 2001 to 2017. He graduated from Western Washington University with a major in playwriting.

BROOKE PIERCE has written about theater for such publications as TheaterMania, Show Business Weekly, New England Entertainment Digest, Washington Square News, and Arts America. Her musical Sympathy Jones (music & lyrics by Masi Asare) premiered at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2007 and has since received more than 50 productions throughout North America and beyond. Brooke’s plays have had staged readings at various venues, including Stage One Theater in Louisville and the Ensemble Studio Theatre and Snapple Theater in New York City.

MICHAEL PORTANTIERE is a panelist for the podcast “This Week on Broadway,” presented by BroadwayStars.com. He has worked as an editor and writer for InTheater magazine and Back Stage, and he was Editor in Chief of TheaterMania from 2000 to 2007.  Michael has written for such publications and websites as Playbill, The Sondheim Review, Everything Sondheim, and NPR.org. He may be heard, along with CastAlbumReviews.com contributor Richard Barrios, on the commentary track for the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of the 1956 film version of The King and I, and he has written notes for cast recordings of Little Me, The Most Happy Fella, and the New York Philharmonic’s Sweeney Todd with George Hearn and Patti LuPone. He is also a theater photographer whose photos have been published in The New York Times and other major publications.

ANDY PROPST, founder of AmericanTheaterWeb.com, wrote for such diverse publications the Village Voice, TimeOut NY, and Backstage. He authored the books They Made Us Happy: Betty Comden & Adolph Green’s Musicals and Movies,  You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman, and The 100 Most Important People in Musical Theatre. Andy died in 2021.

DAN RUBINS is a theater critic for Slant Magazine, for which he also writes film and TV reviews. He is a contributor to The New Yorker‘s “Briefly Noted” book review column. When not at the theater, Dan is an educator, composer, and arts nonprofit leader focused on empowering youth with serious illnesses.

LISA JO SAGOLLA is the author of The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken and Rock ’n’ Roll Dances of the 1950s. Formerly the Dance/Movement columnist and a dance and theater critic for Back Stage, she writes reviews and arts features for American Theatre, The Dance Enthusiast, and U.S. 1/Princeton Info. She has written scholarly journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries on dance and musical theater for several reference volumes, and she has choreographed more than 75 musicals for Off-Broadway, regional, summer stock, university, and dinner theaters. An arts education consultant, Lisa Jo has taught at Columbia University, Rutgers University, New York University, and Marymount Manhattan College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the College of William and Mary, as well as an M.A. in Dance Education and an Ed.D. in Art Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. She is currently researching a book on the role of Pennsylvania’s Bucks County in the shaping of America’s musical theater.

ROBERT SANDLA was the editor in chief of Stagebill for many years; prior to that, he was co-founding editor of TheaterWeek. He has also been a contributing editor at Dance Magazine, Opera News, and Lighting Dimensions; has written for Interview, InTheater, BBC Music Magazine, and Playbill; and has provided notes for several musical theater cast recordings, in addition to having worked with the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Philharmonic, and the Drama Desk.

MORGAN SILLS is a theater producer with several credits in New York and elsewhere. A graduate of Wake Forest University with majors in theater and English, he is also a writer, actor, and singer. Nominated for a MAC award for The Roger Edens Songbook,  he wrote and performed that show in New York and around the country. He has toured nationally in Forever Plaid and has appeared in productions of  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Flora the Red Menace, and Wish You Were Here.

DAVID WOLF won an Emmy Award for one of his scripts for Unicorn Tales, a series of musicals for children that aired on NBC-TV. He also wrote theater criticism and taught musical theater history. Highlights of his early career included working for Harold Prince as stage manager of  Fiddler on the Roof (in the latter years of that show’s run) and A Little Night Music. David  held a master’s degree in musical theater from New York University. He died in 2005.

CHARLES WRIGHT is president of the Drama Desk. He writes the program notes for the York Theatre Company’s series “Musicals in Mufti.” As an executive at A&E, he has been involved in the commissioning/production of numerous documentaries, including The Farm: Angola, USA, which received the 1998 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.