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Ragtime - The Musical (1998 Original Broadway Cast)
: essential recording:The epic sweep of Ragtime is captured in its opening prologue, a nine-minute kaleidoscope of fictional characters mingling with historical figures from the early 20th century as originally captured in E.L. Doctorow's sprawling novel. As the story continues, we meet pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Brian Stokes Mitchell) and his child's mother, Sarah (Audra McDonald), who has been taken in by a respectable family (including Marin Mazzie as Mother). Parallel story lines of the Latvian immigrant Tateh (Peter Friedman), the entertainer Evelyn Nesbit (Lynnette Perry), and even Harry Houdini (Jim Corti) and ...
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Brian Stokes Mitchell
: : It's well known that the majority of musical-theater stars are women; save for a few exceptions (The Producers, for instance), most of the glory parts are written for them, and they're the ones who elicit fan worship. Brian Stokes Mitchell is among the rare male leads to attract the same kind of following. Few men have his easy-going charisma or his velvety pipes. Thanks to his long-overdue debut solo album (six years in the making), we now know he has even more skills than we suspected: Mitchell produced the CD, wrote the ...
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Man of La Mancha (2002 Broadway Revival Cast)
: :Brian Stokes Mitchell belongs to a rarefied species: a male lead who can steal scenes from his female counterparts in a Broadway musical. As if his impossibly rich and evocative voice weren't enough, Mitchell is a charismatic actor who inhabits his roles with panache. After turns in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime, and Kiss Me, Kate, he is back in the popular 1965 show about Cervantes and his fictional alter ego, Don Quixote. The show has become a bit creaky over the years. The revival probably wouldn't have a chance without Mitchell, ...
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South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall
: : From the second the majestic overture of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 show starts, you know you're in for a treat: In this age of diminished Broadway pits, hearing the 45-piece Orchestra of St. Luke's firing on all cylinders is just thrilling. And that's only the beginning of the fun in this most traditional, most delightful musical, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in June 2005. As Nellie Forbush, Reba McEntire deploys a homespun Southern charm that works marvels against the urbane Emile de Becque, i.e., Brian Stokes Mitchell and his impossibly buttery baritone ...
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Ultimate Broadway II: The Very Best of Broadway Now
: : From the second the majestic overture of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 show starts, you know you're in for a treat: In this age of diminished Broadway pits, hearing the 45-piece Orchestra of St. Luke's firing on all cylinders is just thrilling. And that's only the beginning of the fun in this most traditional, most delightful musical, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in June 2005. As Nellie Forbush, Reba McEntire deploys a homespun Southern charm that works marvels against the urbane Emile de Becque, i.e., Brian Stokes Mitchell and his impossibly buttery baritone ...
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Encores from Encores!
from: Drg
: : From the second the majestic overture of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 show starts, you know you're in for a treat: In this age of diminished Broadway pits, hearing the 45-piece Orchestra of St. Luke's firing on all cylinders is just thrilling. And that's only the beginning of the fun in this most traditional, most delightful musical, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in June 2005. As Nellie Forbush, Reba McEntire deploys a homespun Southern charm that works marvels against the urbane Emile de Becque, i.e., Brian Stokes Mitchell and his impossibly buttery baritone ...
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A Splash of Pops
from: RCA
: :Keith Lockhart might very well be the Backstreet Boy of classical music. With good looks, a ton of energy, and--most importantly--popular appeal, he leads the Boston Pops Orchestra through disc after disc of Americana compositions (and the odd Celtic title). A Splash of Pops is more of the same. The Boston Pops get downright patriotic by playing everything from Paul Simon's 'America' to 'Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy,' along with a few classical compositions (for example, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture). It's a light affair loaded with saccharine energy, but a few surprises (the overture to State ...
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The Frogs / Evening Primrose (2001 Studio Cast)
: 's Best of 2001:After unearthing Stephen Sondheim's youthful effort, Saturday Night, a couple of years ago, producers desperate to bank on the name of one of Broadway's last living titans continue chasing after obscure offerings. The Frogs was a 1974 adaptation of a play by Aristophanes and was staged by the Yale Repertory Theater for a week. This recording, the first complete one, boasts the presence of Nathan Lane, Davis Gaines, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. In Broadway star power, that's like having Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise in the same movie. ...
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Great Musicals
from: RCA Victor Broadway
: 's Best of 2001:After unearthing Stephen Sondheim's youthful effort, Saturday Night, a couple of years ago, producers desperate to bank on the name of one of Broadway's last living titans continue chasing after obscure offerings. The Frogs was a 1974 adaptation of a play by Aristophanes and was staged by the Yale Repertory Theater for a week. This recording, the first complete one, boasts the presence of Nathan Lane, Davis Gaines, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. In Broadway star power, that's like having Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise in the same movie. ...
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Do Re Mi (1999 Broadway Revival Cast)
: :Despite its stellar pedigree (music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Comden and Green, book by Garson Kanin), 1960's Do Re Mi remains relatively obscure. It was said to be a lightweight romp, irremediably linked to the outsize personalities of its two original stars, Phil Silver and Nancy Walker. Now Nathan Lane and a superior cast prove that, while no masterpiece, Do Re Mi is a vastly entertaining musical. The book is an inane romp about a jukebox scam, but the score has brassy, swinging tunes ('Waiting,' 'All You Need Is a Quarter'), sentimental ...
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