Original Broadway Cast Members and Radio Cast, 1985 (AEI Records) (4 / 5) I Married an Angel is a gem from the collection of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Admittedly, it’s a slight musical; the plot concerns Count Willy Palaffi, who breaks off his engagement, stating that he will only “marry an angel.” Indeed, one flies down from heaven — complete with wings — and Willy learns to be careful what he wishes for. The only songs with a clear connection to the plot are the title song and “Angel Without Wings,” which consists mostly of rhyming dialogue. All the same, Rodgers and Hart supply a few lovely numbers that make this score a necessity for any musical theater fan. The highlight may be “A Twinkle in Your Eye,” a delightfully amoral ode to cheating and the ways that clever women can stay out of trouble, performed with vivacious flair by Wynn Murray. A wistful ballad, “Spring is Here,” also stands out, and it showcases the unique vocal quality of Eve Symington. The makeup of this album is unusual: It features six selections performed by members of the original Broadway cast and recorded by the Liberty Music Shop in 1938, plus a medley-cum-overture, played by popular pianists Cy Walter and Gil Bowers, that serves as the opening track. The five remaining numbers are taken from a 1952 radio production that starred the silver-voiced Gordon MacRae and the charming Lucille Norman. While both sets of excerpts are sung and orchestrated beautifully, this inconsistency makes the recording feel like it presents a series of musical vignettes rather than a complete score. But with music as good as this, why ask for anything more? — Charles Kirsch