Original Los Angeles Cast, 2002 (PS Classics) (3 / 5) Although Michael John LaChiusa’s First Lady Suite premiered Off-Broadway in 1993, the piece wasn’t recorded until it was staged in Los Angeles nine years later. While the resulting cast album reveals a score packed with the kind of lyrical and musical invention that LaChiusa displays in all of his work, it’s a dense listen, difficult to fully absorb even on multiple hearings. Once assimilated, however, it sticks with you. LaChiusa’s musicalization of emblematic moments in the lives of Jacqueline Kennedy, Mamie Eisenhower, and Eleanor Roosevelt is full of trenchant emotional insights. Most creative is the Eisenhower sequence, distilled to musical comedy proportions, with Eydie Alyson hilarious as Mamie and Gregory Jbara effective as her husband; also impressive is Paula Newsome as the legendary opera singer Marian Anderson. The remaining material makes less of an impression, partly because the other performers are more functional than exceptional. (Some moments that may have been brilliant in the theater were not successfully captured for the recording.) Still, much of this show remains moving, not only in its portrayals of significant figures in American history, but also because LaChiusa was willing to take the sort of chances that are rarely taken by other contemporary musical theater composers.  — Matthew Murray

Original London Cast, 1996 (First Night) (3 / 5) A curious musical with a curious history: It opened in New Jersey to respectable reviews, traveled to London for a sort of protracted New York tryout, was critically trounced there, and left behind this cast album. It’s also unusual in that the lyricist-librettist, Joel Higgins, is the star — and did he write himself a juicy part! As Jonas Candide (perhaps too symbolically named?), a “traveling executioner” who carts a primitive electric chair to penitentiaries in the American South of 1918, Higgins displays one of the finest voices in musical theater, though it has generally been confined to flops and replacement casts. Here, he makes an indelible impression early on in the title number, as he offers con-man comfort to a death-row inmate just before throwing the switch. Jonas has the misfortune of falling in love with another doomed inmate, a German immigrant accused of murder. Since she’s portrayed by Christine Andreas, who also possesses a great legit voice, you know you’re in for an earful. With her vocal finesse and considerable acting chops, Andreas shines in the intense “Who Are You?” and in two fine duets with Higgins, “Too Bad” and “Continental Sunday.” The uneven but often strong music is by Martin Silvestri; this is a score that glows when it focuses on the principals but goes somewhat slack in the ensembles. As Jonas’ adoring disciple, Marc Joseph has another stunning solo, “Alone,” and the orchestrations by Harold Wheeler are first-rate throughout. But both acts open with chorales for the prisoners that are as predictable as they are one-dimensional, and when Jonas tries to scare up some money to save his ladylove by appealing to American jingoism (“All in This Together”), the number has a perfunctory air to it. British critics objected mainly to the show’s now-tragic, now-comic tone, and its moral ambiguity, qualities (or deficiencies) that don’t really help or hurt this recording. What does emerge is a flawed but intriguing, ambitious attempt at a serious, original, large-scale American musical. Given most of the product of the mid-1990s, that’s nothing to scoff at. — Marc Miller

Studio Cast, 2004 (PS Classics) (1 / 5) PS Classics’ recording of this 1930 musical presents a fairly conventional score by Kay Swift and Paul James (a nom de plume for Swift’s husband, James Warburg). The show was a vehicle for comedian Joe Cook. It features a catchy title tune that became a standard, as well as a big ballad (“Can This Be Love?”) and a new-dance-craze number (“The Jig-Hop”). In these and other numbers, Swift’s hot-jazz rhythms and bluesy chords are pretty good imitations of the work of her sometime boyfriend George Gershwin. James’ lyrics, while illogical and a little casually rhymed, have an infectious, early-Depression optimism. If the material is decidedly second-tier, the execution of this recording is first-rate. Working from the one surviving fragment of Hans Spialek’s orchestrations, Russell Warner and Larry Moore wrote sensational period charts that are played here by an excellent 28-piece orchestra, energetically conducted by Aaron Gandy. If you can get past Mario Cantone’s screeching of the title song and Anne Kaufman’s amateur-night line readings, many of the performances are enjoyable: Gavin Creel ingratiates instantly in “Starting at the Bottom,” Jennifer Laura Thompson is an appealing ingenue, and Andrea Burns exudes musical-comedy snap in “The Jig-Hop” and “I Hit a New High.” Best of all is Carolee Carmello; if this were a live stage show, her “Nobody Breaks My Heart” would surely stop it. The score is shortish, but the disc generously includes an appendix of guest stars warbling other Kay Swift tunes. The Jessica Molaskey-John Pizzarelli duet “Can’t We Be Friends?” is so contemporary cool, you’d never guess that the song dates from 1929. — Marc Miller

Original Broadway Cast, 1959 (Columbia! DRG) (1 / 5) There may be a beguiling musical to be coaxed out of Pride and Prejudice, but Abe Burrows’ attempt isn’t it. Like several shows of the era, this one spends most of its time wishing it were My Fair Lady. Indeed, Elizabeth Bennett’s exuberant “This Really Isn’t Me” is so close to “I Could Have Danced All Night” that Lerner and Loewe probably could have sued. Other songs are ungainly stabs at hyper-literacy on the part of the writers (music by Glenn Paxton, lyrics by Robert Goldman and George David Weiss): “I Suddenly Find It Agreeable,” “A Gentleman Never Falls Wildly in Love,” and “Wasn’t It a Simply Lovely Wedding?” There are casting problems everywhere: Farley Granger’s Darcy is off-key and listless, and what does Hermione Gingold’s music hall presence have to do with Jane Austen? As Elizabeth, Polly Bergen is game but miscast; at one bizarre point, in “Fragrant Flower,” she actually has to trill in contralto. The album comes to life a bit when Phyllis Newman lilts through “I Feel Sorry for the Girl,” and again when Ellen Hanley soars through that wedding number. But the overall effect is of spending a long afternoon at an English aunt’s home and choking on the crumpets.  — Marc Miller

BBC Radio Concert Cast, 2003 (Capriccio, 2CDs) (2 / 5) Capriccio and the BBC left no manuscript unturned in reconstructing Kurt Weill’s biggest Broadway flop, a 1945 operetta about Benvenuto Cellini, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The accompanying booklet describes in detail the quest for the right tempi, the full orchestrations (mostly by Weill, assisted by Ted Royal), and the missing songs. It’s all scrupulously assembled, excellently conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and judiciously produced. In place of Edwin Justus Mayer’s verbose book, we have Sam Brookes’ witty rhyming couplets to connect the songs, and they are read with aplomb by Simon Russell Beale. The Weill-Gershwin score has its undeniable delights (“You’re Far Too Near Me,” “Sing Me Not a Ballad,” “The Nosy Cook”), but the show is hampered by needless plot detours and extraneous ensembles. The tone is now lighthearted, now heavy-handed, as if the creators couldn’t decide if we’re to care about these characters or not. Rodney Gilfry, for all of his vocal resources, can’t turn the bellicose braggart Cellini into a charmer; nor can Lori Ann Fuller overcome a mixed bag of songs, and George Dvorsky is at sea as the bumbling Duke. — Marc Miller

Original Broadway Cast, 1959 (Capitol/Angel) (5 / 5) In an earlier era of musical theater, it was not uncommon for an overture to start with a sound effect. Here, we have the sound of a fire-engine siren, appropriate for a musical about the New York City mayor who famously showed up at fires riding with the firemen. Fiorello! tied with The Sound of Music for the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won the Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Guided by veteran George Abbott, who directed and co-wrote the book, the show featured the second Broadway score by composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick. (Their first, The Body Beautiful, wasn’t recorded.) The Fiorello! score displays an excellent feel for both period and character. While none of the songs ever achieved popularity outside of the show, many are Broadway classics. The numbers are evenly distributed among the principals, and the story is fairly easy to discern by listening to this album. In the title role, Tom Bosley isn’t required to sing much; there’s his campaign song, “The Name’s LaGuardia” (which he sings in three languages!), and he leads the energetic female ensemble in “Unfair!” Bosley also makes an impact with some brief but moving dialogue during the finale. As his long-suffering secretary Marie, Patricia Wilson is outstanding, especially in the bracing “The Very Next Man.” In the role of a political boss, Howard Da Silva leads the strong-voiced men’s ensemble (listen for the distinctive baritone of Ron Husmann) in the showstopper “Little Tin Box.” Da Silva and the men also shine in the plot-driven “Politics and Poker” and “The Bum Won,” a contrapuntal, post-election lament. As Fiorello’s first wife, Thea, Ellen Hanley uses her creamy soprano for nostalgia in “Til Tomorrow” and for mature romanticism in “When Did I Fall in Love?” “I Love a Cop” is charmingly sung by Pat Stanley, and “Gentleman Jimmy” is belted out by Eileen Rodgers. — Jeffrey Dunn

Original Broadway Cast, 1947 (Columbia/Sony) (3 / 5) The mélange of singing styles heard on the first recording of Finian’s Rainbow is intriguing, but may strike some listeners as confusing. Ella Logan is a Scottish singer playing an Irish lass; she caresses and embellishes “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” and “Look to the Rainbow” in a way not heard on Broadway before or since. As the leprechaun Og, David Wayne makes amusing voice-cracking sounds in “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love.” Donald Richards displays a stalwart baritone in “Old Devil Moon” and other songs. Then there are the non-Broadway sounds of supporting cast members who deliver the soul-flavored “Necessity” and gospel-flavored “The Begat.” After repeated listening, the score begins to shine through the mixture of styles, leavened as it is with more standard Broadway tunes such as “IfThis Isn’t Love.” Burton Lane’s music is endlessly melodic, and E. Y “Yip” Harburg’s lyrics are alternately satirical, whimsical, and romantic. The songs stand on their own, and that’s a good thing, because this recording doesn’t give a clear picture of the musical as a whole; it’s best to hear it after seeing a staging of the show and/or listening to other recordings of the score. The latest CD edition includes bonus tracks of Harburg singing “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” and “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love.” His performances of both are revelatory. The final bonus track is the deleted song “Don’t Pass Me By,” sung by Harburg, with Lane on piano. — Jeffrey Dunn

Broadway Cast, 1960 (RCA) (4 / 5) The City Center revival of Finian’s Rainbow moved to Broadway for a brief run. Happily, the cast album exhibits a more theatrical approach to the score than was taken for the original recording. Jeannie Carson is a vibrant Sharon in “Look to the Rainbow” and “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” while Biff McGuire is an effortlessly romantic Woody in “Old Devil Moon.” They team with the excellent chorus for rousing performances of “That Great Come-and-Get-It-Day”and  “If This Isn’t Love.” Howard Morris as Og is particularly funny in”When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love” and the reprise of “Something Sort of Grandish.” The monumental Carol Brice leads the ladies in “Necessity,” and “The Begat” is given a gleeful rendition by Sorrell Booke, Jerry Law, Tiger Haynes, and Bill Glover that reveals all the humor and wit in this number. The CD features the cover art of the first LP edition and includes a previously unreleased track, a finale reprise of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” that brings the disc to a satisfying conclusion. This is one of those cases where a revival cast recording is preferable to the original. — J.D.

Film Soundtrack, 1968 (Warner Bros./Rhino) (3 / 5) It took more than 20 years for Finian’s Rainbow to get from stage to screen. This was the first and only musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and though it’s surprisingly faithful to the Broadway script and score, it really doesn’t work. Yet the soundtrack album has many delightful things to recommend it. The most important contributions come from Petula Clark, who brings her pop-singing style to Sharon Mcl.onergan’s songs in a way that seems altogether appropriate. The recording starts with her beguiling performance of “Look to the Rainbow”; equally charming is her rendition of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” Indeed, Clark is a pleasure to hear throughout the album. The title character of Finian’s Rainbow, Sharon’s father, doesn’t sing much in the stage version,  but Fred Astaire was given a fair amount of singing to do when he took on the role for this, his final movie musical. He sounds wonderful. Don Francks performs Woody’s songs handsomely, and Tommy Steele plays Og with enough energy to burst through the speakers. Some of the movie’s arrangements try a little too hard to be “up-to-date” (for 1968). Still, this soundtrack recording is definitely worthy of attention. — J.D.

Off-Broadway Cast, 2004 (Ghostlight) (3 / 5) The Irish Repertory Theatre production of Finian’s Rainbow had a fairly small cast performing an edited version of the script, and the score was presented in a two-piano arrangement. Very few overtures (if any) can truly survive that sort of reduction, so this recording gets off to a shaky start. But it recovers quickly with a spirited “This Time of the Year” and continues to grow in strength right through to the finale. Melissa Errico is a wonderful Sharon; her “Look to the Rainbow,” with some lyrics not heard on previous cast albums, is ravishing. She and Max von Essen as Woody caress “Old Devil Moon,” giving it a romantic, sexy, and tastefully swung performance. Malcolm Gets sings the role of Og very well and is a charmer throughout, especially in “When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love.” Terri White’s “Necessity” is hot, her vocal improvisations around the melody thrilling. The performance of “The Begat” recorded here is notable for the complete clarity of the witty lyrics. For this production, the musically undernourished title role was enriched with a “Look to the Rainbow” reprise, sung beautifully by Jonathan Freeman. The score is not compromised by the two-piano arrangement, thanks to wonderfully clean musical direction by Mark Hartman, and the recording has a healthy helping of dialogue (including some narration) that aids in the storytelling. There are several previously unrecorded bits of songs and reprises, as well as a delightful bonus track of lyricist Harburg singing “Old Devil Moon.” — J.D.

Broadway Cast, 2010 (P.S. Classics) (4 / 5) This Broadway revival opened to rave reviews but ran for less than three months. At the time, it was speculated that this was because Finian’s Rainbow is wrongly perceived by much of today’s public as old fashioned and twee, rather than the witty satire it is, and also perhaps because the title doesn’t have the cachet and the box-office draw of some others, due to the fact that the 1968 movie version was not a hit and never became a big seller on home video. Fortunately, P.S. Classics’ cast recording preserves the musical component of an overall excellent production of a show that contains what must still be rated as one of the finest scores ever written for the theater. Kate Baldwin is a compelling and strong-voiced Sharon McLonergan — perhaps a little too strong-voiced to suit the taste of those who might wish she would have emphasized head voice over chest a little bit more in her belt/soprano mix.  Cheyenne Jackson’s warm baritenor is just about ideal for Woody Mahoney’s songs, Christopher Fitzgerald is a delightful Og, Terri White does a bang-up job with “Necessity,” and it’s nice to have Chuck Cooper on hand as the transformed and eventually reformed bigot Rawkins, joining the three Gospeleers (Bernard Dotson, Devin Richards, and James Stovall) in “The Begat.”  The original orchestrations, by Robert Russell Bennett and Don Walker, sound glorious in state-of-the-art digital sound as played by a full orchestra conducted by Rob Berman.  — Michael Portantiere

New York Concert Cast, 1991 (New World Records) (5 / 5)  Anything Goes may be rated the most fun Cole Porter score, but consider this 1929 hit, a whoop of joy from the late Jazz Age that makes relentless fun of Ugly Americans abroad. This recording of a sparkling concert version, performed by a fine cast at the Alliance Française in New York, seems to capture every subtlety in the orchestrations. Since those orchestrations are by a variety of practiced hands, including Hans Spialek and Robert Russell Bennett, it was well worth the effort. (Check out the happy flutes in “You Do Something to Me,” the klaxons in “Do You Want to See Paris?” and the saxophones everywhere.) Evans Haile’s conducting is pure buoyancy; when he picks up the tempo for the orchestral interlude of “Let’s Step Out,” you’ll want to get up and Charleston. Howard McGillin, an unusually soulful juvenile, gets one of Porter’s best ballads ever: “You Don’t Know Paree.” Jason Graae catches all the innuendo in “You’ve Got That Thing.” Kim Criswell is both a vocal powerhouse and an ideal Porter interpreter, making “The Boy Friend Back Home,” “Find Me a Primitive Man,” and “I’m Unlucky at Gambling” sound even racier than they are. Peggy Cass, although hardly a singer, amusingly croaks something called “The Queen of Terre Haute.” A couple of songs don’t land: “Where Would You Get Your Coat?” is a one-joke affair that goes on and on, “Why Can’t I Have You?” is a too-obvious riff on “Let’s Do It.” But the good stuff here is so good, and much of it so-little-known, that you’ll want to play the whole recording over again the moment it’s done.  — Marc Miller

Original Broadway Cast, 1964 (RCA) (5 / 5) One of the glories of the RCA cast album catalogue, this is a treasured memento of the original production of the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Joseph Stein masterpiece Fiddler on the Roof, based on stories by Sholom Aleichem. It’s well documented that Zero Mostel, the show’s hugely talented star, became impossible as Fiddler settled into its long run, ad-libbing outrageously and pretty much abandoning the character of Tevye. (According to some reports, his antics were partly responsible for his being passed over for the film version of the musical.) So we can be thankful that “Z” was on his best behavior for the cast recording, made just after the show opened. His Tevye is a force of nature, a definitive portrayal of the role, and his rendition of “If I Were a Rich Man” will likely remain unsurpassed till the end of time. The rest of the company is marvelous: The late, great Maria Karnilova is sharp and funny as Golde, golden-voiced Julia Migenes delivers a heart-tugging performance of “Far From the Home I Love,” Austin Pendleton sings “Miracle of Miracles” like he really means it, and Bert Convy’s gorgeous baritenor is showcased in “Now I Have Everything.” It’s fun to have Beatrice Arthur on hand as Yente, and you can hear more of her on the CD/digital download issue of this album than on the LP and tape editions, because one of the numbers in which she’s featured, “The Rumor,” is included; it was previously unreleased, along with the “Bottle Dance,” which is also happily to be found here. The sound quality of the recording is superlative, and several bonus tracks are included. All but one of them feature lyricist Harnick, who performs “If I Were a Rich Man” and two cut songs from the show, “How Much Richer Could One Man Be?” and “When Messiah Comes.” He additionally shares stories of the original production. The remaining bonus item is an instrumental version of “If I Were a Rich Man” as played by the Moscow Virtuosi. — Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 1967 (Columbia/Sony) (3 / 5) This is an enjoyable recording if you don’t mind the British accents of most of the singers and the strange, hard-to-pin-down accent of Topol (full name: Chaim Topol) in the role of Tevye. Some listeners  may actually prefer Topol’s performance here to the one he gives on the film soundtrack album (see review below), as it’s less mannered and has more theatrical energy. The other major soloists on the London cast album are Miriam Karlin (Golde), Linda Gardner (Hodel), Rosemary Nicols (Tzeitel), Jonathan Lynn (Motel), Sandor Elès (Perchik), and Paul Whitsun-Jones (Lazar Wolf). All of their vocal performances are fine but not distinctive enough to warrant special note, except to observe that Karlin is an extremely baritonal Golde. The Broadway orchestrations are used here, yet they sound a bit different than they do on the original Broadway cast album, because of the way the score is conducted (by Gareth Davies), recorded, and mixed. Note that here we have a  complete recording of  “Tradition,” rather than the edited version to be found on the original Broadway cast album, but both recordings feature the same rejiggered ending for “L’Chaim,” rather than what was actually seen and heard in the show.  — M.P.

Studio Cast, 1968 (London) (2 / 5) Here is an odd but intermittently pleasurable recording made in “Phase 4 Stereo.” Aside from overload distortion in certain passages, the sound quality is terrific. Although the orchestrations seem to be the Don Walker originals with a few enhancements, the score sounds quite grand as recorded in a weighty, reverberant acoustic. Conductor Stanley Black sets some very slow tempi, but his pacing does bring out the melodic beauty of “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Sabbath Prayer,” and “Far From the Home I Love.” As Tevye, we have opera star Robert Merrill, who toured in the role and who comes across here as both a fine actor and a great singer. Playing opposite him as Golde is Molly Picon, a treasured artist of the Yiddish theater — but she was too old for the role when this recording was made, and is further hampered by Black’s slow pacing and by her having to switch back and forth between octaves to negotiate the range of Golde’s songs. Still, Picon has many engaging moments. Gary Cole sounds too operatic and too British in Motel’s “Miracle of Miracles,” but Mary Thomas sings Hodel’s “Far From the Home I Love” well, even if she indulges in an ill-advised high note at the end. Perchik’s song “Now I Have Everything” is nowhere to be found on this album; on the other hand, we get to hear Merrill perform one of the partly sung, partly spoken monologues Tevye delivers upon learning that his daughters are planning to marry against his wishes. The most controversial aspects of this recording are that (1) it features annoying, superfluous narration written by Jacob Kalich and spoken by Picon and Merrill; and (2) for some reason, the order of the first several songs in the score was changed. — M.P.

Film Soundtrack, 1971 (United Artists) (3 / 5) While the film version of Fiddler on the Roof is a creditable adaptation of the show overall , the soundtrack recording doesn’t stand up all that well on its own. The music was adapted and conducted for the screen by John Williams, and the violin soloist is the great Isaac Stern, but many of the vocal numbers fall short as enjoyable listening experiences. Topol’s Tevye has lots of personality, but again, his odd accent is somewhat disconcerting, as on the original London cast recording. Also, he delivers his spoken lines in “Tradition,” “Tevye’s Dream,” and elsewhere v-e-r-y slowly. Norma Crane seems miscast as Golde, and Michele Marsh as Hodel goes overboard in trying to make “Far From the Home I Love” sound “natural” rather than musically expansive. More happily, when Rosalind Harris and Neva Small join Marsh in “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” it’s a delightful performance. The “Chava Ballet Sequence” is gorgeous, thanks in large measure to Stern’s achingly beautiful solo, and the highlight of the recording is Leonard Frey’s rendition of “Miracle of Miracles” — two minutes and four seconds of utter joy. The latest CD edition of this album includes some tracks that were not on the original two-LP set or on the first CD edition. One of them is “Any Day Now,” a song that was written for Perchik to sing in place of “Now I Have Everything” but didn’t make it into the movie. — M.P.

Broadway Cast, 2004 (PS Classics) No stars; not recommended. This production was woefully misdirected by David Leveaux. We can be grateful that the cast album doesn’t preserve such bits of staging as Tevye’s daughters sponge-bathing themselves during “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” Tzeitel and Motel dangling from the flies during “Tevye’s Dream,” and the minor character of Nahum the beggar taking over the spotlight in every big number. From a purely musical standpoint, the production wasn’t quite so deplorable, but that’s not to say there’s any compelling reason to purchase the recording. As Tevye, Alfred Molina has a bit more life here than he did onstage, but he’s still bland in a role that requires a tremendous amount of presence, energy, and humor. Sally Murphy, Laura Michelle Kelly, and Tricia Paoluccio as (respectively) Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava are colorless. Randy Graff is very good as Golde, but it’s difficult to enjoy her performance in these surroundings. And although John Cariani does a fine job with Motel’s “Miracle of Miracles,” Robert Petkoff doesn’t have enough voice for Perchik’s “Now I Have Everything.” Larry Hochman’s rewrites of the original Don Walker orchestrations are completely unnecessary; the fillips he adds to “Tradition” are especially egregious. Conductor Kevin Stites distorts such great songs as “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Far From the Home I Love” with weird internal shifts in tempo. For what it’s worth, the recording includes a fair amount of Joseph Stein’s wonderful dialogue.  — M.P.

London Cast, 2007 (Musical Associates) (4 / 5) Henry Goodman’s performance as Tevye is distinguished not only by his warm, witty, engaging personality and a strong singing voice but also by a very natural, authentic-sounding Yiddish/Russian accent. In sum, he’s one of the best Tevyes on records — and that’s saying something, considering the formidable competition. The other leads are also strong, particularly the American singing actress Alexandra Silber as a golden-voiced Hodel.  (Her performance of “Far From the Home I Love,” with a moving assist from Goodman, is one of the recording’s highlights.) Damian Humbley as Perchik bucks the unfortunate recent trend of this role having been cast with performers who can’t sing very well; he gives “Now I Have Everything” its full worth, in a key slightly higher than the original. More good news is that, although Don Walker’s original orchestrations for 25 pieces have been cut down to 10 by Larry Blank, the resulting sound is full enough that it feels as if nothing major has been sacrificed. Jae Alexander conducts the entire performance in a traditional manner with great love and care, a necessary antidote to the idiosyncracies of Kevin Stites’ work on the 2004 Broadway revival cast album. This entry seems to have gotten somewhat lost in the shuffle among 21st-century recordings of Fiddler on the Roof, but it’s well worth seeking out. — M.P.

Broadway Cast, 2016 (Broadway Records) (1 / 5) Here we have the cast album of yet another misdirected Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof — this one surprisingly botched by Bartlett Sher, whose previous productions of two other classic musicals, South Pacific and The King and I, were excellent. Sher’s ill-considered revamp of Fiddler included the addition of a pointless framing device, with Danny Burstein as a present-day Jew returning to the former site of Anatevka and then assuming the role of Tevye in what essentially became a show-length flashback; and a nonsensically dark misinterpretation of the formerly lighthearted “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” scene and song. Happily, neither of these major missteps come through on the recording. But several other infelicities do, such as the near-ruination through downward key transposition of “Sabbath Prayer” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” presumably done in order to keep these numbers within the narrow vocal range of Jessica Hecht as Golde. Other liabilities are the fussy new orchestrations by Ted Sperling, incorporating some passages borrowed from the film version of Fiddler, and the fact that Ben Rappaport as Perchik lacks the vocal chops for “Now I Have Everything.” (Given the deep pool of performing talent available on Broadway, one has to wonder why both David Leveaux in 2004 and Bartlett Sher in 2016 cast Perchiks who couldn’t properly sing the character’s one song.)  Adam Kantor’s Motel is persuasive in “Miracle of Miracles,” but while Samantha Massell displays a lovely voice as Hodel, her rendition of “Far From the Home I Love” is marred by poor phrasing and jarringly modern pronunciation. Very much on the plus side, Burstein is a warm and vital Tevye despite all the mishegoss that surrounds him. He fully deserved the Tony Award nomination he received for carrying this production on his shoulders, and his recorded performance is the primary reason why the cast album has not been handed a 0-star rating here. [Note: Although the recording was made and released early in 2016, this Fiddler officially opened on December 20, 2015.] — M.P.

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene/Off-Broadway Cast, 2019 (Time/Life, 2CDs) (5 / 5) This recording is an impressively well produced and comprehensive aural document of a gorgeous, extraordinary production of Fiddler on the Roof that was first presented by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage at Battery Park City in lower Manhattan, where it was such a big hit that it transferred to Stage 42 on West 42nd Street for a gratifyingly successful Off-Broadway run. The show was performed in Yiddish, in a translation dating from the 1960s,  lending a wonderfully authentic flavor to a musical that’s beloved the world over for its depiction of the universality of life experiences among people living in an insular Jewish community in Tsarist Russia. Steven Skybell’s sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, always powerful and achingly human embodiment of Tevye in this production was deservedly praised to the high heavens, and he leads a superb company including Jennifer Babiak as the best-sung Golde on records; Rachel Zatkoff, Stephanie Lynne Mason, and Rosie Jo Neddy, perfectly cast as Tsaytl, Hodl, and Khave (that’s how their names are spelled in this version); Ben Liebert as an especially charming Motl (ditto); and Broadway scene-stealer Jackie Hoffman in a refreshingly restrained turn as Yente the Matchmaker. For the recording, Zalmen Mlotek expertly conducts an orchestra that adds 10 musicians to the 14 or so who actually played the production. Over and above the excellent performance of the score in Yiddish, this album is a must-have item as it contains bonus tracks (in English) of a large handful of songs that were cut from the show for various reasons, performed by such notables as Hal Linden, Richard Kind, and Tom Wopat; original Fiddler cast members Austin Pendleton and Joanna Merlin; Rosalind Harris and Neva Small, who respectively played Tzeitel and Chava in the 1971 film version; honored veteran Joey Grey, who so skillfully and sensitively directed this Yiddish production; and the show’s lyricist, Sheldon Harnick, still vital in his mid-90s. — M.P.

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 1960 (MGM/Decca ) (5 / 5) There’s a reason why the original Off-Broadway production of this show ran for more than forty years. The prototype for every little Off Broadway musical with big hopes, it has never been equaled. Tom Jones, adapting a little-known play by Edmond Rostand, spun a slender fable about a young couple whose fathers scheme to bring them together by pretending to separate them. What’s important, however, are Jones’ casually poetic words, Harvey Schmidt’s elegantly understated melodies, and the simple, piercing insight that many people can’t appreciate happiness until they lose it. Schmidt’s witty, melancholy tunes and jazz-piano harmonies mesh beautifully with Jones’ lyrics, which are alternately tender, tart, and ironic, but always full of feeling. The leads are superb: Kenneth Nelson and Rita Gardner capture the young lovers’ wide-eyed naiveté without a trace of condescension. As their fathers, William Larsen and Hugh Thomas are a pair of cheerful fools, doling out parental advice in “Never Say No” and “Plant a Radish.” Best of all is Jerry Orbach as El Gallo, the narrator and catalyst; his rendition of “Try to Remember” sets the show’s tone beautifully. In a score that includes the gorgeous “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” the acidic “This Plum Is Too Ripe,” and the driving “I Can See It,” it’s hard to choose favorites. Shot through with romance, wit, and sadness, The Fantasticks is unique among musicals. — David Barbour

Japan Tour Cast, 1993 (DRG) (2 / 5) This is the cast album of a Japanese touring production of The Fantasticks that featured Jones in the role of Henry, the old actor, and Schmidt at the piano. It’s a competent performance, but it never delves into the show’s deep feelings of loss and regret. Alfred Lakeman (El Gallo), Sam Samuelson (Matt), and Chiara Peacock (Luisa) are all acceptable in their roles if somewhat lacking in personality. The recording contains many dialogue sequences that add little to one’s enjoyment; in fact, some scenes are quite tedious. A bonus track offers “A Perfect Time to Be in Love,” written for Robert Goulet as El Gallo to sing in a 30th anniversary tour of the show. It’s a sweet tune that fits in well with the rest of the score. — D.B.

Kings College School Wimbledon Cast, 2000 (JAY) (1 / 5) This is a pleasant, competent, totally undistinguished recording. The young cast is enthusiastic, but the El Gallo, Andrew Nicolaides, is vocally weak, while Ian Goodman and Mark Lowe sound far too young to be playing the fathers. As Matt and Luisa, Robin Chalk and Amber Sinclair are reasonably good; still, this is the most unsatisfying recording of this score, and one of the least necessary cast albums ever. [Note: The Fantasticks was televised in 1964, starring Susan Watson, John Davidson, and Ricardo Montalban, and a movie version was released in 2000, starring Jean Louisa Kelly, Joey McIntyre, Jonathon Morris,and Joel Grey, but neither yielded a commercially released audio recording.] — D.B.

Off-Broadway Cast, 2006 (Ghostlight) (4 / 5) The original production of The Fantasticks closed in 2002, after 42 years and 17,162 performances, partly a victim of changing real estate values in Greenwich Village. The show returned only four years later at a Midtown theater. In addition to being delightful in its own right, the 2006 cast album is a valuable record of the politically corrected lyrics that are now part of the standard licensed edition. Unsurprisingly, the biggest changes involve “It Depends on What You Pay,” which previously made extensive comic use of the word “rape” (in the sense of “abduction”). The new lyrics strain a bit to find replacement words for rape — but the rewrite was felt necessary due to changing sensibilities, and the basic charm of the piece is not disturbed. The outstanding member of the 2006 cast is Santino Fontana, now a Broadway (and television) star; he brings a real tenderness to the role of Matt, the young lover, along with his fine vocal technique. As Luisa, the light of his life, Sara Jean Ford doesn’t have Rita Gardner’s daffy charm, but she lends a feisty quality to the character that’s quite appealing. Other company members of note are Burke Moses as a nicely overripe El Gallo, and Martin Vidnovic and Leo Burmester, a solid pair of vaudevillians, as the fathers. Providing an extra touch of authenticity is “Thomas Bruce” — Tom Jones, using a stage name — in the role of Henry, the old actor. Like the 1993 recording, there are too many dialogue sequences here, but still, this version can confidently stand up to the 1960 original. There’s one intriguing extra: “Have You Ever Been to China?”, a duet for Luisa and El Gallo that was cut following a 1959 staging at Barnard College and replaced with “Round and Round.” The latter song is vastly superior, but the former is fun to hear. — D.B.

Original Broadway Cast, 1954 (RCA) (4 / 5) Based on Marcel Pagnol’s Marseilles trilogy about love and abandonment on the French Riviera, this nearly forgotten show has a beautiful score by Harold Rome that’s representative of the golden era of Broadway from which it comes, full of gorgeous tunes and excellently crafted, character-specific lyrics. The performances by the great opera singer Ezio Pinza and the young Florence Henderson as Cesar and Fanny are also tops. Fanny was the first Broadway venture of theater impresario David Merrick, and the cast album suggests how impeccably well produced it was. Joshua Logan directed, and the show was a solid success. On the recording, Pinza’s lush, large voice is thrilling. Henderson, long before her TV stint on The Brady Bunch, displays a compelling soprano, while the Hollywood character actor Walter Slezak portrays Panisse with charm and joie de vivre. William Tabbert’s legit tenor sounds beautiful in the songs of Marius, Fanny’s young lover. Highlights of the score include “Restless Heart,” “Why Be Afraid to Dance?” and one of the most touching ballads ever written for a musical: “Welcome Home.” Some of the atmospheric numbers, such as “Shika, Shika” and “Octopus Song,” are less pleasing; also unfortunate is the flat, fuzzy mono sound that underlines the antique nature of the album. Still, there is much to enjoy here.  — Gerard Alessandrini

Original Broadway Cast, 1961 (United Artists/DRG) (1 / 5) This recording begins with the strains of “Here Comes the Bride,” then the first words we hear are “Will you marry me?” The story goes on to trace what happens between those words and “I do.” Noteworthy as composer John Kander’s first Broadway show (collaborating with James and William Goldman) and Harold Prince’s first Broadway directing credit, A Family Affair is about how the Siegels and Nathans of Chicago deal with their kids’ impending nuptials. Top-billed Shelley Berman as the bride’s uncle has a second-act number, “Revenge,” that incorporates the sort of telephone sketch for which this comic was well known at the time. Berman manages not to obscure the prettiness of “Beautiful” and, backed by the male chorus, he does well with the cliché-ridden “Right Girls.” With co-stars Eileen Heckart and Morris Carnovsky (as the groom’s parents), he puts over “I’m Worse Than Anybody.” Carnovsky, best known for his Shakespearean roles, is a game participant in “Kalua Bay” with Heckart, whose exuberance compensates for her vocal insufficiencies. (She’s very touching in “Summer Is Over.”) The vocal honors go to Larry Kert and Rita Gardner as the marriage-bound kids; they excel in their duets (“Anything for You” and “There’s a Room in My House,” the latter as fine a ballad as Kander ever wrote), and in the now politically incorrect “Every Girl Wants to Get Married” (Gardner) and “What I Say Goes” (Kerr). Bibi Osterwald runs riot as a wedding planner, leading her cohorts in the show-stopping “Harmony.” — Jeffrey Dunn

Original London Cast, 1995 (Polydor) No stars; not recommended. After achieving great success as a movie and a TV series, Fame landed with a thud when it hit the stage. All about students at New York City’s legendary High School for the Performing Arts, the source material seemed perfect for a musical. If only creators José Fernandez (book), Jacques Levy (lyrics), and Steve Margoshes (music) had had something more in mind than an after school special version of A Chorus Line. They use every cliché imaginable to tell of ambitious kids dealing with drugs, sex, and angst; no new dramatic or musical ideas are found here. Aside from the famous Dean Pitchford-Michael Gore title song, which found its way into the score, the music mostly consists of flavorless beats and vamps, while the lyrics say very little, very loudly. The song titles alone speak volumes: “Hard Work,” “I Want to Make Magic,” “Let’s Play a Love Scene,” and so on. Miquel Brown, as the teacher who wants to nurture the kids’ minds rather than their talents, performs the gospel-like “These Are My Children” with something akin to real emotion, though lyrics such as “These are my children / My saving grace / I see my calling in every face” don’t make it easy for her. At least she’s not in the position of Marcos D’Cruze, who’s saddled with one of the most embarrassing “comedy” songs of the 1990s: “Can’t Keep It Down.” As he sings, “You know what it’s like / When you wake up in the mornin’ and it’s hard / Standin’ up straight at attention / Like the changin’ of the guard?” — Matthew Murray

Original American Cast, 1999 (DRG) (1 / 5) Despite the inadequacies of Fame as a stage musical, the first American touring production did boast some top-notch talent. Gavin Creel, Jennifer Gambatese, Kim Cea, Nadine Isenegger, Robert Creighton, Clyde Alves, and Natasha Rennalls are among the cast members who went on to bigger and better things. They make the most of the material, and some credit goes to Jo Lynn Burks for her musical direction; this recording has more energy than the London cast album. But since it features the same insufferable songs, that makes little difference. Creel and Gambatese’s numbers come off well, and Rennalls is fine in the title track and in her falling-apart number, “In L.A.” As with the London cast recording, “These Are My Children” is a relative standout, here sung with heartfelt passion by Regina Le Vert. — M.M.

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2003 (Q Records) No stars; not recommended. When Fame finally landed in New York, it played at the Little Shubert Theatre and was renamed Fame on 42nd Street — as if a title change would save it. But no time was spent fixing the show’s ridiculous lyrics and trite sentimentality. Unlike the other recordings, this one boasts no exceptional cast members. Cheryl Freeman tries hard but can’t make much of anything out of “These Are My Children,” though her duet with Nancy Hess in “The Teacher’s Argument” has an energy that previous renditions lack. Nicole Leach’s Carmen is decently sung but somewhat lifeless, as are most of the other performances. Two items of note: This disc includes music for a second-act pas de deux, and a “Romantic Suite” of songs from the show performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. These tracks suggest that Fame might be a much better show if it were only danced and not sung. — M.M.

Original Off-Broadway Casts, 1981/1990 (DRG, 2CDs) (5 / 5)  Although the second and third installments of William Finn’s “Marvin Trilogy” were originally produced nine years apart (the first installment was titled In Trousers), they’re now better known as the united work Falsettos, which reached Broadway in 1992. The closest thing we have to a cast album of that show is this two-disc set of material that eventually made up its two acts, but the recordings don’t preserve the rewrites that were made for Broadway. These are, nevertheless, definitive performances of Finn’s brilliant scores. There will probably never be a better Marvin than Michael Rupert, a better Whizzer than Stephen Bogardus, or a better Mendel than Chip Zien. Alison Fraser’s Trina in March of the Falsettos is only slightly superior to Faith Prince’s Trina in Falsettoland. James Kushner and Danny Gerard, as the two iterations of Marvin and Trina’s young son Jason, are both terrific, and so are Heather MacRae and Janet Metz as the “lesbians from next door.” The scores are sublime; Finn was adept at crafting both quirky patter songs and beautiful melodies. It’s impressive that the man who wrote “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” (a great opening number), “Please Come to My House,” and “Days Like This” was also responsible for “The Games I Play,” “Father to Son,” “What More Can I Say?” and the astounding “What Would I Do?” among myriad other songs on both ends of the spectrum. — Seth Christenfeld

Original Broadway Cast, 1964 (ABC-Paramount/Decca) (1 / 5) This musical spoof of Hollywood in the 1930s is best known for its star’s attempts to bail out of it. Betty Comden and Adolph Green tailored the book to the comic talents of Carol Burnett; she plays a Broadway chorine who’s packed off to Hollywood and transformed into screen legend Lila Tremaine. When Burnett began missing performances and tried to buy out her contract, the show closed, reopened, and quickly closed again. Comden and Green’s lyrics here seem a little tired, and though Jule Styne’s music is always professional, this is far from his best score. Burnett gets the most out of her numbers, including the witty “Call Me Savage,” in which the chorine is reinvented as a sex symbol; the defiant “Go Home Train”; and “You Musn’t Be Discouraged,” in which the star riotously spoofs Shirley Temple while Tiger Haynes conjures Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. The rest of the cast — including Jack Cassidy as a narcissistic leading man, Lou Jacobi as the neurotic studio boss, Tina Louise as a dim starlet, and Dick Patterson as Burnett’s love interest — are all fine, and the orchestrations by Ralph Burns and Ray Ellis are bouncy. Still, this is the sort of thing that Burnett did better a few years later on her TV variety series. — David Barbour

Studio Cast, 1976 (MCA, 2CDs) (4 / 5) This final collaboration (to date) of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice is also the last really praiseworthy musical theater piece (or pop opera, if you prefer) to come from ALW’s pen. Evita is based on the life of Argentinean dictator Juan Peron’s wife, Eva Peron, who was idolized by the nation and arguably was as powerful as her husband. The score is bursting with scintillating melodies and exciting rhythms, written in a modified rock idiom. Although that idiom is historically inaccurate for a musical in which the action takes place between 1936 and 1952, and more literal-minded listeners may balk at the anachronism, the songs are wonderfully enjoyable in their own right. There’s also a piquant Latin tinge to some of the tunes. Singing the tour-de-force role of Evita, Julie Covington is very much in the rock mode — as one listener amusingly but accurately put it, “she tends to sound like Patti Smith” — but her performance is dynamic, committed, and highly theatrical. As Che, a character based on Che Guevara, C. T. (later Colm) Wilkinson is terrific. Paul Jones sounds too young, too attractive, and too straightforward for the role of Juan Peron, but Tony Christie as Magaldi and Barbara Dickson as Peron’s mistress contribute vivid cameos. Among the recording’s best tracks are Covington’s soulful delivery of the gorgeous “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and her full-throttle belting of “Buenos Aires”; the caustic “Waltz for Eva and Che”; Dickson’s lovely, plaintive rendition of “Another Suitcase in Another Hall”; and the haunting “High Flying Adored,” another great Eva-Che duet. Throughout the recording, the London Philharmonic sounds magnificent as conducted by Anthony Bowles. When the full orchestra really lets loose for the first time in “Requiem for Evita,” the torrent of sound is worthy of what was, by many accounts, the funeral of the century. — Michael Portantiere

Original London Cast, 1978 (EMI) (2 / 5) Elaine Paige has one of the greatest musical theater voices ever, but much of her performance on this cast album of the world premiere stage production of Evita is disappointing. It almost sounds as if she’s holding back at times so as not to blow out her voice. To give only one example: When she reaches the high-lying bridge of “Buenos Aires,” she finesses the passage rather than delivering it in the gleaming, full belt for which she’s famous. It’s understandable that Paige would make vocal adjustments to get through eight performances a week of this killer role onstage, but its hard to imagine why she didn’t give her all for the recording. The other featured soloists — David Essex as Che, Joss Ackland as Peron, Mark Ryan as Magaldi, Siobhan McCarthy as Peron’s mistress — are fine, but their roles have been more persuasively recorded by others. Another big strike against the album is that it presents only highlights of the score; so while it holds some interest as the first recording of the highly successful stage version of Evita that was created from the concept album by director Hal Prince, orchestrator Hershy Kay (working with Lloyd Webber), et al., this album has been superseded by the one reviewed immediately below.  — M.P.

Original Broadway Cast, 1979 (MCA, 2CDs) (5 / 5) With her amazing, industrial-strength singing voice and serious acting chops, Patti LuPone might have been born for the part of Evita. She belts “Buenos Aires,” “A New Argentina,” and other songs to thrilling effect, yet she’s vulnerable and moving in “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” “Eva’s Final Broadcast,” and “Lament.” Simply put, she’s definitive in this role. Mandy Patinkin brings to Che a unique combination of sweet, Irish-tenor-like high notes and a cantorial geshrei when he lets loose. Bob Gunton gives a sly, skillful performance as Juan Peron; he strongly leads “The Art of the Possible,” a neat song that wasn’t on the concept album of Evita, and he has great chemistry with LuPone in “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” and “Dice Are Rolling.” As Peron’s mistress, Jane Ohringer offers a lovely lyric-soprano rendition of “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” — and she really does sound like a teenager, which helps the song dramatically. Mark Syers, who died in a car accident about four years after this recording was made, is a fine Magaldi. The more rock-like sounds of the arrangements and orchestrations heard on the concept album were significantly toned down or eliminated for the stage version of the score; for example, the electric guitars in “Requiem for Evita” are replaced by trumpets. Also, the aggressively anachronistic rock ‘n’ roll number “The Lady’s Got Potential” is gone entirely. The orchestra, augmented for this recording, sounds huge and exciting under music director Rene Wiegert. If you want only one Evita for your collection, this is the one to choose.  (Note that it is actually labeled the “Premiere American Recording” of the score and was recorded in Los Angeles, where the show played prior to reaching Broadway.) — M.P.

Original Australian Cast, 1981 (MCA; no CD) (2 / 5)  Jennifer Murphy displays a lovely voice in her lower and middle registers on this recording, often flipping into her soprano extension to negotiate the higher sections of Eva’s songs. That in itself is not necessarily a negative assessment, but more disconcerting is the odd accent Murphy employs for the role, making her sound sometimes like Eartha Kitt, other times like Audrey Hepburn. Also, her phrasing of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” is awfully choppy. Neither is the performance of John O’May as Che completely successful; for the most part, he sings well in a sort of crooning tone, but some of his high notes are iffy, as in “Oh, What a Circus” and “High Flying, Adored.” On the plus side, John Carroll is a credible Peron in terms of both vocal ability and accent, and in the roles of Magaldi and Peron’s young mistress, Tony Alvarez and Laura Mitchell do well by “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” respectively. Both the orchestra and chorus sound fine, though Peter Casey’s conducting is occasionally sluggish. — M.P.

World Tour Cast, 1989 (Polydor) (3 / 5) In terms of sheer vocal brilliance, range, and control, Florence Lacey is pretty much ideal as Eva, so it’s all the more disappointing that her strong performance is somewhat compromised by questionable phrasing — most noticeably in “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” and “I’d Be Surpisingly Good For You,” but elsewhere in the score as well. Also, she’s one of those Evas who can’t seem to pronounce the city name “Buenos Aires” correctly. No such problems exist with James Sbano as Che, and it’s a great pleasure to hear a major, non-idiosyncratic voice like his in this challenging role. Michael Licata is appropriately smarmy as Magaldi in “On This Night of a Thousand Stars,” Szan Postel is perfectly sweet-voiced as Peron’s young mistress in “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” and Robert Alton brings an especially strong baritenor to Peron’s musical moments. A strike against this single-disc album of highlights from the score is that there are some awkward edits within songs, but overall it’s a fine recording, well worth seeking out. — M.P.

Film Soundtrack, 1996 (Warner Bros., 2CDs) (2 / 5) A film version of Evita was in the planning stages for years. When the movie was finally ready to roll with Madonna as Eva Peron, there was widespread consternation at the casting, since none of the pop star’s recordings gave any reason to believe that she’d be able to handle the vocal demands of such a difficult role. As it turned out, much of the score had to be transposed downward and rearranged for her to get through it. Not surprisingly, Madonna sounds best in the less demanding sections. Although “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” takes a lot of getting used to in a lower key, she sings it pretty well if not with great feeling. She also does an okay job with “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” but it’s unfortunate that this lovely song was taken away from the one-scene character of Peron’s mistress in order to give Eva/Madonna another number. The star flattens some of the rhythms in “Eva and Magaldi”/”Eva, Beware of the City” (Jimmy Nail sings Magaldi), and she also seems to have some pitch problems in this sequence, although the music keeps modulating so wildly to accommodate her limited vocal range that it’s hard to be sure. Also, Madonna gets the vowels and diphthongs of the words “Buenos Aires” all wrong, rendering the city name as if it were spelled “Buenes Arres.” For a plausible Spanish accent, look to Antonio Banderas, who sings Che’s songs with charisma, passion, and beautiful tone. Jonathan Pryce is an authoritative presence as Juan Peron — a brilliant bit of casting. As presented here, the score sounds a lot like it does on the concept album. There are some twanging electric guitars in the “Requiem” and “The Lady’s Got Potential,” the latter song reinstated with new lyrics, and these sounds are not all of a piece with some more authentic re-scoring for acoustic guitar and accordion. The movie and its soundtrack album are notable for including a new Lloyd Webber-Rice ballad, “You Must Love Me” — yes, another song for Eva/Madonna! As conducted by John Mauceri, David Caddick, and Mike Dixon, the orchestral score sounds impressive despite the more obvious instrumental anachronisms and the jarring transpositions and modulations for the leading lady. — M.P.

London Cast, 2006 (Polydor, 2CDs) (1 / 5) When Evita returned to the West End in 2006, much was made of the fact that the title role was being played by a real Argentinian, Elena Roger. Unfortunately, based on this cast recording, that neat element of verisimilitude doesn’t by any means compensate for the fact that Roger’s singing voice is not up to the demands of this extremely challenging role in terms of range or, arguably, tonal quality. Also, while Evita is set in Argentina, the musical was written in English, not Spanish, so Roger’s thick accent is another issue throughout. The Peron in this production is Philip Quast, a longtime stalwart of the London musical stage. He’s one of the best Perons on records, but Matt Rawle as Che has a rather annoying, hectoring vocal tone — and, here again, the natural Brit accents of these two performers prompts one to question why Roger’s Evita should sound Argentinian if none of the other singers/characters do. On top of all the above, the orchestrations have been re-revised to frequently disappointing effect. Whatever this recording has to offer,  the vocal over-parting of Roger as Evita will likely make you feel that it doesn’t need to be added to your permanent collection. — M.P.

Broadway Cast, 2012 (Sony, 2CDs) (1 / 5) Elena Roger did receive some acclaim for her title role performance in the 2006 London revival of Evita, but when she came to Broadway as Eva Peron, many critics and audience members found her singing voice unequal to the assignment — however persuasive she was as an actress, and no matter how “authentic” as a real-life Argentinian. Conversely, although former pop star Ricky Martin displayed almost no acting talent as Che, moving through the entire show with the same smirk on his face no matter what was happening in the plot, he sang the role well from a purely musical standpoint. So, on the cast recording, Martin’s performance is enjoyable but Roger’s is not; one of her most unfortunate moments is the section of “Buenos Aires” that begins with the lyrics “And, if ever I go too far,” sung with thin, wispy tone. Broadway stalwart Michael Cerveris is excellent as Peron, while Max von Essen and Rachel Potter respectively make the most of the small roles of Magaldi and Peron’s young mistress. The cast album has other pluses, but any recording of this score with a singer whose sound is so wanting in so much of Evita’s music will be judged by many listeners as not worthwhile — M.P.

Original Broadway Cast, 1978 (Warner Bros./no CD) (2 / 5) The resurrection of Eubie Blake’s music in the 1970s was a joyous affirmation of the fact that even if genuine talent fades for a while, often it makes a comeback. Blake’s career had peaked in 1921 with the all-black Broadway hit Shuffle Along, but he was still around more than a half-century later — a charming nonagenarian making appearances on talk shows, telling great stories, and playing a mean piano. Blake also had some fine songs to his credit. While “I’m Just Wild About Harry” (lyrics by Noble Sissle) and “Memories of You” (lyrics by Andy Razaf) are the only two that most people remember, many others are worth reprising. In 1978, a few months after the Fats Waller tribute Ain’t Misbehavin’ opened, it was Blake’s turn. Forty years’ worth of his songs were performed by an energetic, all-black group of singer-dancers in a revue that just had to be titled with the composer’s euphonious, unforgettable first name — plus an exclamation point! The company included Gregory and Maurice Hines. It would be nice to report that the cast album is a winner,  but it’s not a complete success. Part of the problem is that the material is inconsistent in quality. Blake was not Fats Waller, and while his melodies go from rags to blues to Tin Pan Alley, they aren’t always top-drawer. The arrangements are overblown, and the recorded sound is often unpleasant, as was the sound amplification in the theater. Many of the performers seem to have been directed to give subtlety a holiday and try to stop the show at every opportunity. “My Handy Man Ain’t Handy No More,” with its cheerfully dirty lyrics by Razaf, is a case in point. A song like this shouldn’t be blasted out, as Alaina Reed does here; double entendres are usually funnier when they’re not hammered home. Blake’s songs require more care than they received in this revue.  — Richard Barrios

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 1960 (DRG) (3 / 5) Following the success of My Fair Lady, it seemed that witty and teddibly literate entertainment was what the theatergoing public craved, so lots of songwriters began plowing through all things British for anything that would allow a similar tuner to be adapted. In light of that mad scramble, it’s not surprising that Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest attracted lyricist-librettist Anne Croswell and composer Lee Pockriss. This is the romp in which the incomparable Victorian playwright twitted a couple of twits who woo two young damsels, one of whom has an inordinately proper mother. Luckily, Croswell and Pockriss brought sufficient elan to bear in a score’s that’s somewhat derivative but nevertheless has charm and lilt. While Croswell’s lyrics do not necessarily approach Wilde’s genius with an epigram, the show is by no means a travesty. Although it produced no chart climbers, it does boast “A Wicked Man,” which got some attention. “How Do You Find the Words?” is also a bit of all right, even if it sounds rather like something salvaged from the Lerner and Loewe discard bin. The speak-singing leading man that Rex Harrison validated in My Fair Lady is represented here by John Irving (not the novelist). Far superior vocalism comes from the pursued soubrettes, Gwendolyn (Leila Martin) and Cecily (Gerrianne Raphael). Sarah Seegar as Lady Bracknell delivers Croswell’s best rhyme — “satchel or” with “bachelor” — upon learning that, as a baby, her daughter’s suitor was found in a handbag. Gershon Kingsley provided the lively arrangements. — David Finkle

Original London Cast, 1993 (First Night) (5 / 5) An alternately heartbreaking, cathartic, and wonderfully humorous program of songs and monologues about AIDS victims and their loved ones, this show premiered Off-Broadway in 1987, but no cast album of that production was released. Inspired by the enormous Names Project quilt that memorializes those lost to AIDS, and also by Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, the piece is a brilliant collaboration between Bill Russell (book and lyrics) and Janet Hood (music). The London cast recording includes none of the show’s many monologues but all of its songs — and what songs they are. In an uncommonly strong score, a highlight is “And the Rain Keeps Falling Down,” the lament of a man who can’t let himself cry over a friend’s illness. Mindful of the fact that an evening made up entirely of sad songs would be unbearable, Russell and Hood came up with some numbers that are funny (“I Don’t Do That Anymore,” “Spend It While You Can”), rousing (“Celebrate”), and/or inspirational (“Learning to Let Go”). This recording begins with the almost-title song “Angels, Punks and Raging Queens” in a touching rendition by Kim Criswell, who also excels in the score’s best known number, the heartbreaking “My Brother Lived in San Francisco.” The other three singers — Miguel Brown, Simon Green, and Kwame Kwei-Armah — are equally fine. — Michael Portantiere

New York Concert Cast, 2001 (Fynsworth Alley) (5 / 5) This is a live recording of a concert version of Elegies…. that was performed as an AIDS benefit. Featuring a cast of 52, the concert was conducted by Janet Hood and directed by Bill Russell. The recording begins disappointingly with Alice Ripley’s forced rendition of “Angels, Punks and Raging Queens,” a song that wants a much more simple, less showy performance, but the rest of the singers are well matched to the material. Brian d’Arcy James lends his gorgeous voice to “And the Rain Keeps Falling Down,” Clent Bowers and Doug Eskew offer blessed comic relief in “I Don’t Do That Anymore,” and Emily Skinner’s singing of “My Brother Lived in San Francisco” is very special. (Skinner also duets with Ripley, her erstwhile Side Show twin, in “Celebrate.”) On hand as well are such talents as Alton Fitzgerald White, Orfeh, Amy Spanger, Stephanie Pope, Kane Alexander, Kathy Brier, Sharon Wilkins, and Kelli Rabke. The album ends grandly with Norm Lewis soaring through “Learning to Let Go” as the entire company sings backup and the audience claps along. Given that this is a live recording with no touch-ups, some of the performance sounds a bit raw, but that’s entirely appropriate to the subject matter. A major selling point of the album is that it includes six of the show’s monologues, delivered to full effect by Steve Burns, Erin Torpey, Veanne Cox, Bryan Batt, Christopher Durang, and Mario Cantone.  — M.P.

Original Off-Broadway Cast, 2003 (Fynsworth Alley) (5 / 5) In his songs for the theater, William Finn is often pointedly autobiographical; he seems happiest when dissecting his own thoughts with a sharp scalpel. Shying away from nothing, particularly not from death and grief, his Elegies: A Song Cycle is breathtaking in the depth of its commentary on the rewards and woes of being part of a family, a group of friends, and a society in good times and bad. “I wrote this song to not forget Mark’s all-male Thanksgiving,” he reports at the end of one number, and that statement is indicative of his tell-all compulsion as expressed in often free-form melodies and sometimes carefree rhyming. Though there are references here to people and places from Finn’s upbringing, he’s really chronicling the period of time bracketed by the advent of AIDS and the Twin Towers’ collapse (“Goodbye” includes remarks by someone phoning from the doomed buildings). There’s no denying that much of the song cycle’s brilliant content is painful, yet Finn invokes laughter amid tears. “Infinite Joy” may be the best song he has ever written — a marvel as delivered by Betty Buckley, for whom this sort of soaring anthem is ideally suited. The other classy warblers on this cast album, for which Vadim Feichtner did the musical arrangements and Gihieh Lee the vocal arrangements, are the lustrous-voiced Carolee Carmello, the commanding yet easy-going Michael Rupert, the earnest Keith Byron Kirk, and the delightful Christian Borle. It all adds up to infinite joy.  — David Finkle