July 9, 2 | June 18, 11, 4 | May 28, 21, 14, 7 | April 30, 23, 16, 9, 2 | March 26, 19, 12, 5 | February 26, 19, 12, 5; January 29, 22, 15, 8, 1
CDs Now Available:
Marlene Ver Planck: Ballads Mostly
(Audiophile - new on CD)
"I Wish I Knew," "Witchcraft," "My Dream Is Yours," "Love Dance," "I Only Have Eyes For You," "It Amazes Me," "Baby Dream Your Dream," "There Will Never Be Another You," "The Rules Of The Road," "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life," "I Walk A Little Faster," "Listen To The Piano Man," "Why Try To Change Me Now," "You Fascinate Me So," "Why Was I Thinking Of Springtime."
Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Musical Mystery Off-Broadway cast
(Yellow Sound Label - new on CD/mp3/iTunes)
Sam Davis and Mark Waldrop score (for the musical with book by Charles Busch, based on the children's book series by Deborah & James Howe). Abe Goldfarb, Erin Maguire, Ashley Campana, John Garry, Prescott Seymour and Robert Anthony Jones. Produced by Michael Croiter. The award-winning musical played DR2 Theater in 2012.
Closer Than Ever York Theatre cast
(Jay Records - new on CD/Closer Than Ever (Original 2012 Off Broadway Cast) - Various Artists)
2012 York Theatre cast. Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire score. Jenn Colella, George Dvorsky, Christiane Noll, Sal Viviano. Music direction by Andrew Gerle. "Doors," "She Loves Me Not," "You Wanna Be My Friend," "What Am I Doing?," "The Bear, The Tiger, The Hamster," "And the Mole," "I ll Get Up Tomorrow Morning," "Miss Byrd," "Dating Again," "One of the Good Guys," "There s Nothing Like It," "Life Story," "Next Time/I Wouldn t Go Back," "Three Friends," "Fandango," "There," "Transition 2," "Patterns," "There Is Something in a Wedding," "Another Wedding Song," "If I Sing," "Back On Base," "The March of Time," "Fathers of Fathers," "It s Never That Easy/I ve Been Here Before," "Closer Than Ever."
DVD/Blu-Rays Now Available:
Andy Hardy Film Collection: Volume Two (1937-1958)
(Warner Archive - 5 DVD-Rs)
Remaining films in the Mickey Rooney series. A Family Affair (1937), with Lionel Barrymore (later replaced by Lewis Stone; Judge Hardy's Children (1938), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), with Judy Garland and Lana Turner; The Hardys Ride High (1939); Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939); The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942), with Donna Reed; Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942), with Esther Williams (film debut) and Susan Peters; Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944), with Bonita Granville; Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), with Bonita Granville and Lina Romay; and Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958). Volume 1 was released in 2012.
BOOKs Now Available:
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
(Crown - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition/
at eBooks
By Ken Ludwig. Introduction by John Lithgow.
Let Me Be Your Star
(Amazon Digital - Kindle Book)
By Rachel Shukert, writer, playwright and "Smash" blogger. "An inventive blend of memoir, cultural criticism, and wildly absurdist fan fiction (and including never-before-published material, suitable for sing-alongs!)" Eligible to borrow for free as an Amazon Prime member (free trial available now
).
Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:
Elaine Stritch at Liberty
(Kultur Video - on DVD)
Back in print. Emmy Award winning D.A. Pennebaker film/documentary for HBO: the Tony Award winning show filmed at London's Old Vic Theatre. 89 minutes.
Hands on a Hardbody OBC Recording
(Ghostlight Records - new on CD/mp3/iTunes)
Original cast recording of Trey Anastasio/Amanda Green score. Keith Carradine, Allison Case, Hunter Foster, Jay Armstrong Johnson, David Larsen, Jacob Ming-Trent, Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleone, Mary Gordon Murray, Jim Newman, Connie Ray, Jon Rua, Keala Settle, Dale Soules, Scott Wakefield and William Youmans. "Human Drama Kind of Thing," "If I Had This Truck," "If She Don't Sleep," "My Problem Right There," "Alone With Me," "Burn That Bridge," "I'm Gone," ""Uncontrollable Laughter"," "Joy of the Lord," "Stronger," "Hunt with the Big Dogs," "Hands on a Hardbody," "Born in Laredo," "Alone with Me" (Reprise), "It's a Fix," "Used to Be," "It's a Fix" (Reprise), "God Answered My Prayers," "Joy of the Lord" (Reprise), "Keep Your Hands On It"; Bonus Track cut song: "The Tryers." Also available direct from Ghostlight/Sh-K-Boom.
I Am Harvey Milk Original Cast Recording
(new on CD)
By Andrew Lippa. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, Andrew Lippa, Noah Marlowe, Laura Benanti.
Recorded live at the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus 35th anniversary concert in June 2013. Bay Area Rainbow Symphony orchestra. Pre-ordering at www.sfgmc.org
It's Love Again
(VCI Entertainment - new on DVD)
1936 musical film. Robert Young, Jessie Matthews. Directed by Victor Saville. Music by Sam Coslow and Harry Woods.
Maria Callas: Living & Dying for Art & Love
(Kultur Video - new on DVD)
2004 documentary, focusing on the 1964 Covent Garden Tosca, the last role Callas performed on stage. Appearances by Zeffirelli, Tito Gobbi, Maria Callas, Judi Dench, Plácido Domingo. Directed by Steve Cole. 56 minutes.
Sailing Along
(VCI Entertainment - new on DVD)
1938 musical film Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Jack Whiting, Roland Young. Directed by Sonnie Hale.
Stravinsky - The Soldier's Tale
(Kultur Video - on DVD)
1964 film. A soldier sells his beloved violin (which contains his soul) to the devil in exchange for riches. Sir Robert Helpmann plays the eight different roles of the Devil's disguises, with Royal Ballet ballerina Svetlana Beriosova and Brian Phelan. Music by Igor Stravinsky. Libretto by C.F. Ramuz. Directed by Michael Birkett. 49 minutes.
There Goes the Bride
(VCI Entertainment - new on DVD)
1932 musical film. Jessie Matthews, Owen Nares. Directed by Albert de Courville.
Anton Chekhov - Uncle Vanya
(Kultur Video - on DVD)
1963 UK film (shown in the U.S. on television). Laurence Olivier production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya performed by the Chichester Festival Theatre. With Michael Redgrave as Vanya, Joan Plowright, Rosemary Harris, Max Adrian, Lewis Casson, Dame Sybil Thorndike. Directed by Stuart Burge. Constance Garnett translation. 106 minutes. Black & white.
Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:
Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Volume One
(Applause Books - Paperback Book)
Editor William W. Demastes. Monologues, with introductions, from the Best American Short Plays series. 400 pages.
The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical
(Rutgers Univ Press - Paperback Book)
By Warren Hoffman. Examines "the racial politics, content, and subtexts that have haunted musicals for almost one hundred years from Show Boat (1927) to The Scottsboro Boys (2011)" and "the thematic content of the Broadway musical and considers how musicals work on a structural level, allowing them to simultaneously present and hide their racial agendas in plain view of their audiences."
Newsies: Stories of the Unlikely Broadway Hit
(Disney Editions - Paperback Book)
By Disney Book Group. Follows the show and the history, with contemporary and historical illustrations. 160 pages.
