MISIA, the new Vernon Duke Concept Musical

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 8:47pm

I just read of this recording on the PSClassics website, to be released May 5th.

Vernon Duke trunk melodies set to new lyrics by Barry Singer fashioned into the story of art patron Misia Sert. Cast includes Marin Mazzie as Misia and Judy Kuhn as Coco Chanel! Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Sounds like it has a lot of potential to be amazing, and Duke is one of my favorite underrated composers of yesteryear.

From PSClassics:
Legendary composer Vernon Duke (“April in Paris,” “Autumn in New York,” “I Can’t Get Started,” “Taking a Chance on Love”) left behind a treasure trove of unheard melodies when he died. Now celebrated journalist and author Barry Singer has taken nearly two dozen of these tunes and fashioned the book and lyrics for a new musical that celebrates the life of Misia Sert, the legendary muse and patroness of fin de siecle Paris, whose coterie included Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Auguste Renoir, Marcel Proust, “Coco” Chanel and Serge Diaghilev. An all-star cast of Broadway veterans – including Marin Mazzie in the title role, along with Bobby Steggert, Jonathan Freeman, Marc Kudisch, Jason Danieley, Lauren Worsham, Telly Leung, Philip Chaffin, Stephen DeRosa, Eddie Korbich, Darcy Dunn and Graham Rowat – have assembled to bring this new musical to life, under the baton of Scott Dunn, to all-new orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. PS Classics is very proud to present the world premiere recording of MISIA, a rich and rewarding new musical that unveils – for the first time -- the full, previously-unheard glories of the Vernon Duke catalog.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 9:49pm

^thank you for this info. It definitely sounds interesting.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 10:30pm

I don't know how I didn't hear of it sooner, they've been taking pre-orders for two weeks already!

Does anyone have any knowledge of the titular character? I've never heard of her and she does seem like a somewhat left-field choice to have a musical written about her.

[laural]

Posted: 2/17/15 at 1:43am

Yes, as a matter of fact. Misia was known as the Queen of Paris. She was a piano prodigy taught by Faure, was Coco Chanel's best friend (and some say lover), she introduced Cocteau to Diaghilev (and was with him when he died), was painted by Renoir, and was muse, to among others, Lautrec, Bonnard, Ravel, Satie and Vuillard. Proust based two characters on her in "Remembrance of Things Past".

Gold and Fizdale wrote a very good book about her, "Misia", in the early eighties. Well worth reading.

The Musee D'Orsay did an exhibit of many of the paintings done of her a couple of years ago.

Chanel has just come out with a new lipstick and perfume in her name.

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/23/15 at 8:04am

I got a note from Amazon for me to order this - but now says it will be released on June 16.

Meanwhile, some more background I found:  It only took 15 years

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/23/15 at 2:38pm

The release of this album, as well as PS Classics double disc GOLDEN APPLE, was pushed back several weeks when they picked up ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY and decided to re-release FUN HOME. They wanted to get those out before the Tony voting so their less dire projects were delayed.