eShop USA > Music > 110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)
110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)
from: P.S. Classics
Our Price: $19.98 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0803607075422
Format: Cast Recording
Label: P.S. Classics
Manufacturer: P.S. Classics
MPN: 754
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: P.S. Classics
Release Date: June 12, 2007
Studio: P.S. Classics
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Editorial Review:
More than four decades after its Broadway debut, the Roundabout Theatre's 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade is a glorious showcase for soprano Audra McDonald, and an eloquent statement for an underrated and neglected work. Based on N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker, 110 in the Shade tells the story of a Texas town stuck in a blistering heat wave. Lizzie (McDonald), the daughter of a local widower (Broadway veteran and TV star John Cullum), has resisted all suitors, including the sheriff (Christopher Innvar), until a potential huckster named Starbuck (Steve Kazee) arrives in town promising to bring rain ("The Rain Song"). Just like Marian the librarian, Lizzie thinks she sees right through the scam ("You're Not Fooling Me"). McDonald shines in her solos ("Love, Don't Turn Away," "Old Maid"), but Cullum, Innvar, and Kazee also get their moments either in duets with McDonald ("A Man and a Woman," "Simple Little Things," "Is It Really Me?") or by themselves. 110 in the Shade is obscure compared to Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's most famous work, The Fantasticks--none of its songs ever entered the popular culture like "Try to Remember"--but it's a beautiful, evocative score that is tailor-made for McDonald's rich voice. It's also much more sumptuous than The Fantasticks, even in Jonathan Tunick's pared-down, Tony-nominated orchestrations. (Also nominated were McDonald, Cullum, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, and the show itself for Best Revival of a Musical.) P.S. Classics puts out its usual first-rate package, with color photos, introduction by Peter Filichia, synopsis, and libretto. --David Horiuchi
Four-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald triumphantly returns to Broadway in the role she was born to play: Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's heartrending musical adaptation of N. Richard Nash's classic play The Rainmaker. Amidst a heat wave in 1930's Texas, Lizzie - despite her wit, intelligence and homemaking skills - is on the verge of becoming an old maid, until a charismatic rainmaker named Starbuck enters town and her world is shaken. 110 in the Shade originally premiered in 1963 - Jones and Schmidt's first Broadway musical following their unprecedented off-Broadway triumph with The Fantasticks. Joining McDonald for the new Roundabout Theatre Company revival are two-time Tony Award-winner John Cullum and, fresh from Spamalot, Steve Kazee as Starbuck. PS Classics and the Roundabout previously collaborated on Grammy-nominated and top-selling recordings of Nine: The Musical and Assassins; this latest CD is sure to result in another definitive Broadway cast album, this time headed by one of Broadway's brightest crown jewels.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Fantastic Recording of an Underrated Show with a Glorious Lead Performace
What more can be said about the glorious Audra McDonald that hasn't been said already? The woman is a gift; a bizarrely immense talent of truly legendary proportions. No one should be this good (or in an ideal world, everyone should be this good). And what she alone is able to bring to a production is more valuable than any other effort a production team can accomplish.
Even with a show like "110 in the Shade," an obscure piece last seen on Broadway in 1963, Audra McDonald is capable ... Read More
Rating: - Audra McDonald Lifts Quality of CD
When it opened originally the show didn't do well, so it seemed anodd choice to revive. When the Tony Awards aired, it became evident how much the show gained from Audra McDonald's performance. A friend of mine was lucky enough to see it and felt she elevated the entire evening. The CD captures her musical abilities well. I've been following her since I saw her in Carousel years ago in NYC. Well worth the purchase.
Rating:  - This show was a stinker
I saw the NY production a few months ago. Huge disappointment. I recall there was one good number in the second act. Everything else (music and otherwise) was tedious and completely forgettable. If I hadn't paid so much money to see the show, I would have walked out at intermission.
I would like to listen to an old recording with the large choruses as others have mentioned. Perhaps that would make a difference.
What's the fuss about Audra McDonald in this show. She's a great ... Read More
Rating:  - Faithful revival
I saw the original production of this musical twice and just love it. And I loved Inga Swenson in the leading role. Yet one can't deny that Audra MacDonald's extraordinary voice brings new life to these beautiful songs. The revival was a disappointment; the CD is not. It's just lovely, and it displays a luscious, emotional score worth preserving.
Rating: - a good show reconsidered
Some of the other reviewers here lamented the changes made to the score in this revival of 110 in the Shade. Personally, I found the differences between this performance and the original quite refreshing and a tribute to the material itself--that it can be rethought and presented afresh with no fundamental loss to its spirit. One writer, for example, felt that the orchestrations had been reduced, suggesting that they sounded undernourished. I heard arrangements that were not simply pared down but entirely ... Read More
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