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Binding: Audio CDEAN: 0090266132720 Format: Cast Recording Label: RCA Victor Broadway Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway MPN: 61327 Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: RCA Victor Broadway Release Date: June 23, 1992 Studio: RCA Victor Broadway Editorial Review: Amazon.com: OK, so it's not exactly The Threepenny Opera. Still, Grand Hotel has plenty of the atmosphere of prewar Berlin in this Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune. Based on the 1932 star-studded, Oscar-winning film, the show takes place in Europe's most luxurious hotel and follows the intertwining lives and shattered dreams of both regular and once-in-a-lifetime guests. Leading the ensemble cast are Parisian follies star Liliane Montevecchi as the aging ballerina, and strong tenor Brent Barrett as the dashing but debt-saddled baron. Also appearing are Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski as the would-be movie star, cabaret artist Karen Akers as Montevecchi's confidante, and Michael Jeter as the dying bookkeeper. The score was written by Robert Wright and George Forrest (who brought Borodin to Broadway with Kismet), with additional material by Maury Yeston (Titanic), and the highlights include the soaring romantic ballad "Love Can't Happen," the jazzy scat of "Maybe My Baby Loves Me," and the sassy Charleston number "H-A-P-P-Y." Plenty of dialogue helps capture the flow of the show, and the CD also includes a live cabaret performance of "Love Can't Happen" by the late David Carroll, who originated the baron role on Broadway. --David Horiuchi Average Rating:
 Rating:  - I can only guess...Just hearing the bonus track of David Carroll singing "Love Can't Happen" makes me wonder how BETTER the original cast recording could have been. Brent Barrett vocally sounds shrill and tense in his upper range, marring the official recordings of "Roses at the Station" and "Love Can't Happen". What a tragedy!!! And Carroll's other recording--the Broadway version of Chess--is no longer in print (according to Amazon). This is a double tragedy, because David played Anatoly in the show and gets to ... Read More Rating: - Grand Hotel - Grand RecordingThe original cast recording of Grand Hotel is grand indeed. Exellent orchestrations and as excellent cast. The emotion of the piece is conveye d thoroughly on this recording. Rating: - Grand Hotel"Grand Hotel" is a fine musical with songs by George Forrest and Robert Wright and some additional material by Maury Yeston. What stole the show in this musical, however, was Mr. Tommy Tune's inventive staging. That doesn't mean audiences went out humming the staging, though. The songs are excellet as well. Some standouts include the opening number, "Grand Hotel" or "The Grand Parade" as it is officially titled written by Mr. Yeston is a wonderfully jaunty opening number. "At The Grand Hotel\Table ... Read More Rating: - Mr. JeterTraveled from AZ. to NYC specifically to see Michael Jeter perform live in "Grand Hotel". A man of remarkable talent who went way too soon. He is the only reason I went and the only reason I have this cd. For him I give it 4 stars. Rating:  - "Grand Hotel" ain't anywhere near grand.I saw the original Broadway cast and I have never heard such praise for such a worthless piece of fluff in all my years as a Broadway performer and fan. But being a Broadway fan, I bought the album to give the show a second chance. Sitting through this mismatch of Yeston mediocre and Wright and Forest dregs, I sadly had to throw the recording away. I didn't even want it in my extensive collection. The only saving grace was "Let's Lift a Glass" with a haunting Michael Jeeter. Otherwise not one performance ... Read More |
