Musical theater songwriter Jerry Herman enjoyed his last Broadway hit with La Cage aux Folles in 1983, but he has kept writing, and Miss Spectacular is presented here as a concept album, no doubt with the intention of mounting a stage production in the future. The recording is not technically a studio-cast album, since the songs are not sung by a few performers meant to portray the actual characters, but instead by seven different performers in what amounts to a various-artists recording. It's an accomplished bunch, ...
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Musical theater songwriter Jerry Herman enjoyed his last Broadway hit with La Cage aux Folles in 1983, but he has kept writing, and Miss Spectacular is presented here as a concept album, no doubt with the intention of mounting a stage production in the future. The recording is not technically a studio-cast album, since the songs are not sung by a few performers meant to portray the actual characters, but instead by seven different performers in what amounts to a various-artists recording. It's an accomplished bunch, including several actor-singers associated with the musical theater, notably Faith Prince, Christine Baranski, and Debbie Gravitte (the only person to sing more than one song), as well as performers more associated with the concert stage, such as Steve Lawrence and Michael Feinstein. The synopsis included in the CD booklet tells the story of a Midwestern girl who goes to Las Vegas to seek fame and fortune, specifically by entering a contest sponsored by the Hotel Spectacular. Herman has penned some entertaining songs, including "Las Vegas," which Lawrence handles well, gamely including a lyric that refers to himself and wife Eydie Gorme, and the comic "Where in the World Is My Prince?," sung with appropriate humor by Faith Prince. The score sounds like old-fashioned show music, which perhaps doesn't matter in terms of a stage version, since Broadway often seems to be in its own unique time warp. But the songs don't approach in wit or tunefulness those of previous Herman shows such as Hello, Dolly! and Mame. Still, theater fans should be happy that Herman is still working and willing to add this late, minor effort to their collections of his shows. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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