Bernstein - Wonderful Town / Audra McDonald, Kim Criswell, Thomas Hampson, Wayne Marshall, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic (2002)

a very unique performance

That performance of the "Wonderful Town" is to my opinion a must for every misic lover - as this "live performance" is so special in any sense - it attracts the listener/viewer continuously throughout that outstanding evening in Berlin. Also the musicians of the Berlin Phil. under Simon Rattle are taking an active part of the celebration, a real feast for the ears and for the eyes! August 2, 2008

OK But see if you can find the 1958 KINESCOPE

This performance will due as the only one available. But when will CBS Masterworks release DVD's of some of their classic television broadcasts. In this case I am talking about the 1958 one time only live broadcast of Rosalind Russell's recreation of the original broadway production of WONDERFUL TOWN, for which she won the TONY. I have viewed the excellant kinescope of this performance (co-star Sydney Chaplin)at the museum of broadcasting on several occasions. The quality is good and with a little digital remastering could equally match the quality of the available for purchase kinescope of 1957's Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Julie Andrews (another question: since both these were originally broadcast in color, wouldn't the FAR IMPROVED computer colorization processes available now be appropriate?) Oh well, enjoy a nice concert performance of a terrific 1950's. But you haven't seen this show till you see ROZ conga with the Brazillian navy and making small dinner talk ("I was re-reading Moby Dick the other day ...it's about this whale). It's a far funnier and much more nuanced performance than her celebrated Auntie Mame. April 30, 2008

good score, great singers, so-so pit band

a concert presentation of the leonard bernstein/betty comden/adolph green musical adaptation of "my sister eileen" with audra mcdonald radiant as eileen and kim criswell terrific as my. written in a matter of a few weeks after the earlier score by leroy anderson had been scrapped, this is the least respected of bernsteins scores for broadway (well, we wont go into "1600 pennsylvania avenue" but ...). still, it is a knockout of its kind, and the cast here is quite good, tho as is usual in these circumstances the orchestra under simon rattle, while highly proficient, doesnt quite get "it". now if only someone would release on dvd the 1958 television production starring original leading lady rosalind russell ...
April 21, 2007

Wonderful Performance for the So-so Musical...

I agree the performance was outstanding and all the performers did such a great job. The sound/video quality is exceptional. But... the problem is the Bernstein's score itself is not very good. I didn't like the musical very much: no depth and no good melodies... To me, the concert was all about superficial pleasure lacking the essence of true art. With the same effort and time and money, Simon Rattle and BPO could have done more meaningful concert for a better classical work. Life is too short for so-so music! November 23, 2005

Excellent Concert Presentation Of Wonderful Town

This concert version of the Betty Comden/Adolph Green/Leonard Bernstein 1953 Broadway hit demonstrates just how much skilled, experienced professionals can accomplish. The three turned out the score in four weeks. The production was a vehicle for Rosalind Russell's star return to Broadway after years in Hollywood...and Russell couldn't sing. They fashioned a series of raucous, tender, funny, romantic songs, with Russell's efforts tailored to her comedy skills and limited vocal ability. The show was a smash, and so is this concert performance conducted by Simon Rattle.

Kim Criswell sings Ruth Sherwood and Audra McDonald sings her younger sister, Eileen. The book is based on Ruth McKenney's best seller My Sister Eileen. Ruth wants to be a writer, Eileen wants to be an actress. They leave their home in Ohio and head for New York, where they wind up in a crummy Greenwich Village apartment. They meet an assortment of oddballs, have a series of adventures, and Ruth finds love and success. It's a funny, sweet story. Comden and Green fashioned lyrics that are satirical but good-natured. Bernstein rose to the task with songs that could be funny and tender, but also with set pieces designed to show off Russell. These pieces -- Conga!, One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man, Swing! -- are complicated, often raucous and were deliberately designed to be show-stoppers for Russell. They're still show-stoppers with Criswell.

Comden and Green had a way of making fun of things that seldom left wounds. Listen to the lyrics of Pass That Football, What a Waste or Conga! and you'll most likely laugh at the wry recognition of your own pretensions. While I admire most of Bernstein's Broadway shows, my admiration is more intellectual than emotional. Still, you have only to listen to the romantic theme given to Terry and Edie in On the Waterfront or to Lonely Town or Some Other Time from On the Town to realize he was capable of writing music of great longing and sweetness. He hasn't hit that mark here, but he's done some clever, highly polished work, and he's also come up with a couple of poignant-happy melodies that are outstanding: It's Love and A Quiet Girl.

Kim Criswell is an experienced Broadway musical actress who can belt out a song with the best of them. Audra McDonald is just as good as the quieter sister, and her voice is magnificent. They make a great duo. Thomas Hampson plays Robert Baker, who eventually realizes he loves Ruth, not Eileen.

This was the 2002 Berlin Philharmonic's New Year's Eve concert and was filmed in the concert hall as a minimally staged production. In this case, it's the songs, the music and the singers that count, and they all come off magnificently. The DVD picture and audio presentation is excellent. Highly recommended if you like Comden and Green and Bernstein's Broadway shows.

Incidentally, Eileen McKenney married a young author, Nathanael West. He wrote Miss Lonleyhearts and The Day of the Locust. Both books are worth reading. They were young, talented, and were killed in a car crash on their way to Scott Fitzgerald's funeral. Her life made part of a warm, funny book, a play, a movie and then a musical, but didn't have a happy ending. September 25, 2005

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