willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#2Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 2:36pmI'm very excited about this -- easily the best new musical in years.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
#2Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 2:38pm"Helene's a slut" cracks me up every time!
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#3Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 2:41pm
Yeah, I finally saw it last night and loved it. Picked up a copy of the cast album since they were selling advance copies at the show.
I saw the understudies for Anatole and Natasha last night. Lauren Zakrin was wonderful as Natasha. Josh was good as Anatole, but listening to the album now, I think Lucas has a stronger voice.
#4Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 3:31pmOut of curiosity, how much were the cast recordings at the venue?
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
GilmoreGirlO2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/05
#5Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 3:36pm
Seeing the show again this weekend…keeping my fingers crossed that they will still be selling copies at the theatre!
For those who have been recently, do they have any other merchandise?
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#6Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 3:37pm
Well, when I got my rush ticket, the girl selling the tickets said that they were selling the advance copies for $20 and would be selling the real ones for $30. When I bought it during intermission, the person I bought it from charged me $18.
It doesn't have the full color booklet with all the lyrics that is mentioned in the article, just a black and white cover with the logo and says "Advance Copy" on it and on the inside has the production credits.
#7Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 3:40pmThat's interesting. I've never heard of a production doing that. I guess there was a substantial demand for a recording.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#8Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/24/13 at 3:47pmI'm so excited about this! I've been obsessed with the promo for some time now and have been dying to hear more of the score.
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#9Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 1:01amI kind of wish Shaina Taub was on the recording as Mary, I loved her voice when I saw the show the other day.
#10Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 11:49amIs this a show that just needs to be seen? Is it the expereince that everyone is raving about? Just listening to the music I'm not really understanding what the fuss is about.
Brick
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/21/06
#11Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 12:43pmIt is something that has to be seen. The music is truly stunning, but some of its charm is how the music surrounds you in the venue, with characters bouncing lines back and forth across the venue. The poetic chaos in the staging perfectly mirrors the score's eclectic, frenetic, and beautifully detailed qualities.
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#12Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 6:59pmYeah, I would agree that it is a show that needs to be experienced. I feel that had I not seen the show, I would not really enjoy the album, but having seen the show I love reliving it with the album.
#13Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 10:33pm
I would also add that some numbers that fall flat on album come alive in the space, both because the singers can be staged at far ends of the room or in interesting visual arrangements and also because the musicians themselves are an active part of the staging as well. Watching the wonderful Music Director at the keyboards emote the crap out of his part in the score's ballads or the guitar players wandering around the playing space during the more folk-based songs added to the kinetics of potentially less memorable music. Also, the cast's additional contributions (Pierre's accordion, the ensemble all picking up drumsticks and banging on assorted bass drums around the room during "Natasha & Anatole", etc) bring the score to life as well.
I don't think the score is perfect, but it's highlights are truly unique delights ("No One Else", "The Duel" and "Sonya Alone" stood out to me after seeing the show, haven't listened much to the recording beyond them but I'm sure there's great music to reward on future listenings.)
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
Updated On: 10/26/13 at 10:33 PM
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#14Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 10:40pmI don't know how people can listen to shows they haven't seen.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#15Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 11:31pm
"I don't know how people can listen to shows they haven't seen."
Many of us are not located in or even near NYC, and for us it is more a necessity than a choice. We often have to depend on National Tours or community productions to actually see the shows, and cast albums come much more quickly. The recordings are often very enjoyable in their own rights, as long as the score is good. I can definitely see how this particular score is less impactful without the full experience, but this is a unique show with a very atypical staging and most of the time a score can stand on its own considerably well for those who did not have a chance to actually see the show.
I cannot imagine that you've never listened to the cast recording of a show you hadn't seen and enjoyed it immensely.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#16Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/26/13 at 11:58pmIt's a musical. It's meant to be experienced. I'm not sure how I would have felt just listening to it, but I think it's one of the best musicals I've seen in years (close behind Fun home).
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#17Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/27/13 at 12:10amIt's a musical. It's meant to be experienced. I'm not sure how I would have felt just listening to it, but I think it's one of the best musicals I've seen in years (close behind Fun home).
#18Natasha, Pierre... cast album first listen!
Posted: 10/28/13 at 11:45pm
The full and highlights albums are now available on iTunes, $15.99 and $9.99 respectively.
But for $2 more, you can get the physical CD direct from Sh-K-Boom.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
