CDs Now Available:

An American in Paris OBC
(Sony Masterworks - new on CD/mp3/at iTunes)
Original Broadway cast. Gershwin score. Adapted, arranged and supervised by Rob Fisher with orchestrations by Christopher Austin and musical direction by Brad Haak. Recording April 20, 2015.

Bessie (Music from the HBO Film)
(Legacy - new on CD/mp3/at iTunes)
Songs from the HBO film on Bessie Smith starring Queen Latifah. "Young Woman Blues" (Queen Latifah), "Hot Time In The Old Town" (Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks), "Prove It On Me" (Carmen Twillie), "Weary Blues" (Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven), "Weepin' Woman Blues" (Pat Bass & Queen Latifah), "See See Rider" (Tamar-Kali), "Ballin' The Jack" (Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra), "Down Hearted Blues" (Queen Latifah), "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (Fats Waller & His Rhythm), "Preachin' The Blues" (Queen Latifah), "I've Got What It Takes" (But It Breaks My Heart To Give It Away)" (Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks), "Work House Blues" (Queen Latifah), "I'm a Mighty Tight Woman" (Sippie Wallace), "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" (Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra), "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" (Cécile McLorin Salvant), "Long Old Road" (Queen Latifah), "Gimme A Pigfoot and A Bottle of Beer" (2015 Remix: Bessie Smith featuring Queen Latifah). Released previously on mp3 and iTunes

The Golden Apple
(P.S. Classics - new on 2 CDs/mp3/at iTunes)
First-ever full-length cast album featuring nearly 90 minutes of previously unrecorded material. John Latouche / Jerome Moross score (1954). Includes the 135-minute sung-through musical in its entirety. Produced by Tommy Krasker. Susanna Moross Tarjan, executive producer. Orchestra of 38 plays the original Moross / Hershy Kay orchestrations. 43-member Lyric Stage (Irving, TX) cast recorded live at the last four performances in 2014. "Overture," "Nothing Ever Happens in Angel's Roost," "Angel's Roost Has Its Situation," "Mother Hare's Seance," "My Love Is on the Way," "The Heroes Come Home," "It Was a Glad Adventure," "Come Along Boys," "It's the Going Home Together," "Mother Hare's Prophecy," "Good Is a Word That Fools Believe," "It's the Going Home Together (Continuation)," "Helen Is Always Willing," "The Arrival of Paris," "Let's Pay a Visit," "The Picnic Table," "Mother Hare's Return," "An Impartial Judge," "The Judgment of Paris," "If You Select My Angel Food," "I'll Teach You," "The Loveliest Things in Life," "It's a Fraud," "Paris Visits Helen," "Lazy Afternoon," "The Departure for Rhododendron." Featuring nearly 90 minutes of previously unrecorded music and the complete libretto. Currently available for pre-order at PSClassics.com at the price of $15.95.

Jeanne-The Musical
(Stage Door Records - new import CD)
Previously unreleased 1981 studio cast recording of Shirlie Roden score for the musical about Joan of Arc. Eventually produced twice in the 1980s in England. Recording features Shirlie Roden as Jeanne, with Richard Barnes, Peter Straker and Carl Wayne. "Fille De Dieu / Child of God / Now Is the Time," "Born to Be Fool," "Has Our Flower Been Deflower'd?," "A Highly Irregular Game," "Lionheart," "Orleans," "Shine on," "Burn Her Bridges," "Silver Lining," "Act of Accusation," "The Trial," "Carte Blanche," "Bittersweet," "The Burning." Available directly from the U.K. at StageDoorRecords.com and Dress Circle.

Judy Kuhn: Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel
(P.S. Classics - new on CD/mp3/iTunes)
Based on based on Kuhn's February 4 American Songbook concert. Music direction and arrangements by Todd Almond. "Oh, What Beautiful Mornin'"/"The Call," "Am I?," "This Can't Be Love," "Dividing Day," "If I Loved You," "We're Gonna Be All Right," "Nobody's Heart"/"Hey, Love"/"Love to Me," "If You Ask Me," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Hero and Leander," "Song of Love"/"A Wonderful Guy," "Daybreak," "Through the Mountain," "The Sweetest Sounds," "Migratory V." Album produced by Tommy Krasker. Philip Chaffin and Elizabeth Armstrong, executive producers. Also pre-ordering at PSClassics.com.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADs Now Available:

The King and I new Broadway revival cast - Digital
(Decca/Broadway - on mp3/at iTunes)
Lincoln Center cast recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein score. Kelli O'Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Ashley Park, Conrad Ricamora. "Overture," "I Whistle A Happy Tune," "My Lord And Master," "Hello Young Lovers," "The March Of The Siamese Children," "A Puzzlement," "The Royal Bangkok Academy," "Getting To Know You," "We Kiss In A Shadow," "A Puzzlement (Reprise)," "Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You," "Something Wonderful," "Western People Funny," "I Have Dreamed," "The Small House Of Uncle Thomas (Ballet)," "Song Of The King," "Shall We Dance?," "Finale Ultimo." Recorded April 19 & 20, 2015. Digital booklet included with album download. Music Director/conductor Ted Sperling leads the 29-pieces orchestra. CD to be released following week.

Nicholas Rodriguez: The First Time... Digital
(P.S. Classics - on mp3/at iTunes)
Debut solo album. "I've Never Been in Love Before /," "Amor, Amor, Amor," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?," "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "Sooner or Later," "Waters of March," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "Sometimes," "He Comes For Conversation," "That's All," "Brave," "Jolene," "You'll Be in My Heart," "A Case of You." Currently pre-ordering at PSClassics.com.

Something Rotten! OBC digital
(Ghostlight - new digital album on mp3/iTunes)
Wayne Kirkpatrick/Karey Kirkpatrick score. Cast includes Christian Borle, Brian d'Arcy James, Brooks Ashmanskas, Peter Bartlett, Heidi Blickenstaff, John Cariani, Brad Oscar, Kate Reinders. "Welcome to the Renaissance," "God, I Hate Shakespeare," "Right Hand Man," "God, I Hate Shakespeare (Reprise)," "A Musical," "The Black Death," "I Love the Way," "Will Power," "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top," "Welcome to the Renaissance (Reprise)," "Hard to Be the Bard," "It's Eggs!," "We See the Light," "To Thine Own Self," "Right Hand Man (Reprise)," "Something Rotten! / Make an Omelette," "To Thine Own Self (Reprise)," "Finale." CD to be released July 17.

DVD/Blu-Rays Now Available:

1776 Director's Cut Blu-ray
(Sony Home Entertainment - new Blu-ray)
Director's cut, restored from the original camera negative, of the 1972 film adaptation of the Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone musical. William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden, John Cullum, David Ford, Roy Poole, Ron Holgate, Ray Middleton, William Hansen, Blythe Danner, Virginia Vestoff, William Duell. Newly restored and remixed 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray bonus features include all-new commentary with director Peter H. Hunt, William Daniels and Ken Howard; extended cut of the film; deleted and alternate scenes with commentary (alternate versions of some scenes, lines from the Broadway script dropped from the film, and "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men"); four never-before-seen screen tests including William Daniels and Howard Da Silva; original theatrical teaser & trailer; commentary with Peter H. Hunt & Peter Stone; archival screen test.

BOOKs Now Available:

An Actor's Companion: 99 Bits of Craft
(TCG - Paperback Book)
By Seth Barrish ( actor, director, composer and musical director, co-founder and co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group). Preface by Anne Hathaway. Collection of practical acting tips, tools, and exercises. 160 pages.

Cinderella: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
(Hal Leonard - Paperback Book)
13 easy piano selections from the soundtrack to the 2015 live-action Disney feature inspired by the classic fairy tale. Some music by Patrick Doyle. Songs include "Strong," "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (The Magic Song)," "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," "The First Branch," "A Golden Childhood," "La Valse Champagne," "Rich Beyond Reason," "The Slipper," "Valse Royale," "Who Is She."

Heisenberg
(Bloomberg Methuen - Paperback Book/Kindle Edition for download June 8)
Play by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), currently being presented by Manhattan Theatre Club featuring Mary-Louise Parker.

Judy & Liza & Robert & Freddie & David & Sue & Me... a memoir
(St. Martin's Press - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By Hollywood agent Stevie Phillips. Represented Liza Minnelli, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, George Roy Hill, Bob Fosse, Cat Stevens, and David Bowie. Film and Broadway producer as well. 288 pages.

Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Collabro: Act Two
(Sony Masterworks - new on CD)
British boy band, winners of Britain's Got Talent, sing songs from Broadway and the West End. Michael Auger, Richard Hadfield, Jamie Lambert, Matt Pagan, Thomas J Redgrave. "All I Want," "I Won't Give Up," "A Thousand Years," "I'll Be There for You," "I Dreamed a Dream," "Memory," "Who Wants to Live Forever," "Music of the Night," "No Matter What," "Circle of Life ."

Doctor Zhivago OBC recording
(Broadway Records - new on CD)
Score by Music by Lucy Simon, Michael Korie and Amy Powers. Cast includes Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt.

Show Boat San Francisco Opera
(EuroArts - new on Blu-ray/DVD)
Oscar Hammerstein/Jerome Kern musical based on Edna Ferber novel. 2013 San Francisco Opera production at War Memorial Opera House directed by Francesca Zambello (currently in limited release in theaters). John DeMain, conductor. Heidi Stober, Michael Todd Simpson, Bill Irwin, Patricia Racette, Morris Robinson, Angela Renee Simpson, Harriet Harris, Kirsten Wyatt, John Bolton. 177 minutes. Also available to be ordered directly at sfopera.com.

Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Honeymoon in Vegas Musical Selections
(Hal Leonard - Paperback Book)
Songs from the Jason Robert Brown score presented in vocal lines with piano accompaniment. "Anywhere but Here," "Betsy's Getting Married," "Come to an Agreement," "Forever Starts Tonight," "Friki-Friki," "Higher Love," "I Love Betsy," "Isn't That Enough?," "A Little Luck," "Never Get Married," "Out of the Sun," "When You Say Vegas."

The Metropolitan Opera 2016 Wall Calendar
(Universe Publishing - Wall Calendar)
Features color photographs of scenes, stars, and performances from such operas as Rigoletto, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, La Boheme, and II Barbiere di Siviglia.

On Sondheim: An Opinionated Guide
(Oxford Univ Press - new Hardcover Book)
" Ethan Mordden takes the reader on a tour of Stephen Sondheim's work, arguing for the importance and appeal of the composer-lyricist in American theater and, even more, in American culture." Each musical has a dedicated chapter, plus there are articles on Sondheim's life and his major influences, and comprehensive bibliographical and discographical essays. 224 pages.

The Sound of Music (BFI Film Classics)
(BFI - Paperback Book)
By Caryl Finn. Covers the iconic musical numbers, arguing for their central role in the film's longevity and mass appeal, the unique emotional bond audiences establish with the film, the film's prehistories, its place amongst the tumultuous political, social and cultural events of the 1960s, and its spirited afterlife among fans around the world.

Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song
(Routledge - Paperback Book)
By David A. Jasen. Resource tool to identify Tin Pan Alley's major publishers, composers, lyricists, singers, dances, and bands. Entries arranged alphabetically and include names, birth & death dates, brief biographies, and bibliographical listings. 384 pages.

The Wizard of Oz 2016 Calendar
(Browntrout Publishers - Wall Calendar)

OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Listed, but not pre-ordering as of this moment:

Gwen Verdon: A Life on Stage and Screen
(McFarland & Co - Paperback Book)
By Peter Shelley. First full-length biography of the American dancer, singer and actress Gwen Verdon. Covers her life and career, as an individual and also in her collaborations with choreographers Jack Cole and Bob Fosse. Includes a brief appendix with information about DVD and video availability. 277 pages.

Previously sold out, new limited stock found:

Illya Darling
(Kritzerland - new CD)
1967 OBC recording of Manos Hadjidakis/Joe Darion score. Melina Mercouri, Orson Bean. With the songs in correct show order and properly titled, plus two previously unissued tracks from the album session: opening number "Po, Po, Po" and "Birthday Song." Limited edition of 1,000. At Kritzerland.com

Anya
(Kritzerland - new on CD)
Original cast recording of Robert Wright and George Forrest score for the musical version of Anastasia. Constance Towers, Michael Kermoyan, Lillian Gish, Irra Petina, George S. Irving. New liner notes by Walter Willison (Two By Two). Limited Edition of 1000 copies only. At Kritzerland.com.

Kritzerland is crowd-funding at Indiegogo.

Also see last week's recap