Music : Personals: The Comedy Musical Revue (1998 Original London Cast) |
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Rating:  - * Personally, I liked Personals! ... Personals is a clever weave of modern situations, childish adult behaviour and moving emotions. Having directed this great musical revue twice for the 1992-93 season of Olympic Theatre Arts (Sequim Washington) for an AIDS benefit it was exciting to find that this fun musical comedy was finally recorded to be shared with anyone who has not had the opportunity to attend a production of this show. The cast of this production present this revue brilliantly with just the right amount of sparkle, pathos and desperation. I strongly recommend this show to any production company needing a modern revue which will not only showcase the talents of your performers, but also challenge your audience to try to keep a straight face. Buy this, play this and memorize the words before you set out into the dating scene. Or for that matter, before re-entering the dating scene. Rating: - * Awesome Show ... I was in the Australian Premiere of the show and loved it, the sketches and the monologues were hilarious.The cd itself is also fantastic with the songs a variety of genres and tempos. Imagine my Surprise and Some things don't end, the two nicest songs on the cd. Well worth a listen to! Rating:  - * SWM seeks CD with great show tunes and fun ... The show itself may not come Broadway, but for those who have seen it, the musical is a pure fun look at the lives of those who seek love in the personals. The CD does not include every song from the musical but picks out the best ones. If you've seen the play, you'll love the CD. If not, you probably won't enjoy the quirky personalities and songs that much. Rating:  - * Cute, but a bit lacking ... PERSONALS is a musical comedy revue about modern dating. I've never seen the show, so my review is only on the songs, not the sketches and monologues also included in the show. The book and lyrics are by David Crane, Seth Friedman, and Marta Kauffman. The composers are various: Stephen Schwartz (GODSPELL, CHILDREN OF EDEN, POCOHONTAS), Alan Menken (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), William Dreskin, Michael Skloff, and Seth and Joel Phillip Friedman. Given that Crane, Kauffman, and Skloff went on to create the smash TV series FRIENDS, also based largely on the dating scene, one would expect an evening of non-stop hilarity. In some ways, the songs deliver, but almost every one has a flaw. Some times, it's the music: "Moving In With Linda" has a unique concept (a guy moving in with his new girlfriend finds unexpected baggage - his ex-girlfriends), decent lyrics, but Schwartz's music isn't very memorable. Ditto for "A Little Happiness" (a man finds himself blissfully happy in a kinky relationship) by the Friedmans. On other songs, the fault lies with the lyrics: "Second Grade" has great music and a nice concept (three guys recall how much easier it was when they idolized their elementary school teacher), but the lyrics fail to delve into the subject with any depth. Some times, it's a combination problem: "I Could Always Go To You" has a good concept (about two women who have consoled each other over the years through all their doomed relationships ... except one), some fantastic lyrics and decent music, except that the interludes between verses are virtually unbearable. The best song of the show is probably the poignant "Michael," in which a woman asks her ex-husband to marry her again. The other song that seems to work pretty well as a whole is "A Night Alone," in which a guy chooses the comfort of boring familiarity over the excitement of unknown possibilities. All six members of the cast are fine singers and actors, but there are no stand-out performances. In summary, PERSONALS is worth a few listens, but it's not an album that will spend a lot of time in my CD player. Rating: - * My Personal Favorite ... I was in London on vacation for a week and had the opportunity to watch Personals, which had been recommended to me by a friend. (Thanks a buh-jillion, Jen!) I knew that if I didn't purchase this cd I'd have to stay a few months longer to catch the show several hundred more times until a serious case of "Last Song Syndrome" overwhelms me, and effectively leads me to the unfortunate demise of insanity. Thank the heavens there is a soundtrack! Now I can bring the musical back home with me and conveniently go crazy there! The songs reach out to you, speak to you, tickle you (a lot!), make you cry and evoke several other feelings I'd rather not mention (check out track 05! rowr!). Overall, I'd have to say this cd is a MUST BUY not only for theater enthusiasts such as myself, but anyone else who's fallen in love, fallen out, is still in the process of falling in love, has yet to fall in love, or has a fetish for little people (you'll understand when you listen to it, hehe! Mr. Bleany, you da man!). And if that still doen't convince you that this is a worthwhile purchase, maybe this will: it's from the creators of the widely-acclaimed Friends sitcom. C'mon, don't tell me you're still not drooling and lapping your lips! On a more serious note, though,the songs do offer deep and extremely witty insights on this human phenomenon we affectionately allude the heart to. So go buy the cd now! Ney, go buy it five minutes ago! You won't be dissapointed. And after that, go watch the show to complete the experience!:) |
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