I can't see myself remembering much about it in years to come.
The score is great. Yazbek really captures the Arabic and Israeli musicality with his use of the harmonic minor scale and the instruments the Band uses on stage (an Oud and a Darbuka are played).
There aren't that many songs, maybe 7 full fledged numbers. Lenk's late-in-the-show solo "Something Different" is a knockout.
Longer takes of the opening talent show acts, the beginning of Steppin' to the Bad Side, CC and Effie's cut song, and a few longer moments here and there.
The score is not as woven through as some musicals so some of the story is lost on the CR, but I think enough of it is there to be able to follow it even if you know nothing about the show.
One thing you really don't get is how painfully awkward (possibly on the spectrum?) Evan is.
It's great to have it all together on one recording. The cast is uniformly excellent. And any time there is a recording of William Finn's work I'm delighted.
But I miss the Starobin orchestrations and I can't deal with that cheesy synthesizer.
Good to have, but I'll always play the originals over this one.
She says she can't act, but I suspect with the right director she'd flourish. The way she invests herself in her music is evidence that she could do it.
