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My Favorite Broadway - The Leading Ladies

My Favorite Broadway - The Leading Ladies

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.99
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Prince, Eder, Kuhn, Mazzie, Holliday, Stritch and much more
Review: "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies" certainly gives you ample opportunity to choose from Column A and Column B throughout the evening. In this live concert performed at Carnegie Hall in September of 1998, Column A is hearing performers doing the songs with which they are most associated. From the evening's selections this would be Karen Ziemba & Bebe Neuwirth doing "Nowadays" from "Chicago," Priscilla Lopez singing "Nothing" from "A Chorus Line," and Nell Carter's "Mean To Me" "Ain't Misbehavin.'" True, they essentially sing these songs the way we heard them on the original Broadway cast albums, but when you are talking Faith Prince's rendition of "Adelie's Lament" from "Guys and Dolls," Jennifer Holliday singing "And I'm Telling You" from "Dreamgirls" or Elaine Stritch standing on stage and once again nailing "The Ladies Who Lunch," there is only reason to be happy. The performance that straddles the two categories would be Andrea McArdle, who starts off singing "Look for the Silver Lining" before moving to "Tomorrow" from "Annie." True, her voice is not what it was when she was a kid, but there is a certain poignancy in hearing the adult McArdle try to do the song for which she will always be remembered differently.

Column B is where you have singers doing songs they never performed on Broadway. After all, Liza Minelli is never going to play Mama Rose in "Gypsy," so this is here only chance to do "Some People," and since she refuses to slow down during the performance you can understand why. But then Linda Eder comes out and sings "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)" and we forget about Liza. In this column I would also put the show's Andrew Lloyd Webber medley, where Marin Mazzie & Judy Kuhn do "Love Changes Everything" ("Aspects of Love"), "Unexpected Song" ("Song and Dance") and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" ("Jesus Christ Superstar"). Finally, I have to put in the song that proves I do not know everything about Broadway musicals, because I do not know if Dorothy Loudon did "Ballroom" on Broadway, but from the way the crowd reacts when she comes out during the opening piano notes of "Fifty Percent," by guess would be that she did. It does not really matter because in a show like this there should be a song you have never heard before that you want to hear again, although it is really Loudon's performance that impresses here. Yes, it is rather sad that Julie Andrews introduces and closes "The Leading Ladies" without ever singing a single note, but that is a minor disappointment in a night of performances that certainly comes out ahead when you balance the scales at the end of the evening.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Prince, Eder, Kuhn, Mazzie, Holliday, Stritch and much more
Review: "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies" certainly gives you ample opportunity to choose from Column A and Column B throughout the evening. In this live concert performed at Carnegie Hall in September of 1998, Column A is hearing performers doing the songs with which they are most associated. From the evening's selections this would be Karen Ziemba & Bebe Neuwirth doing "Nowadays" from "Chicago," Priscilla Lopez singing "Nothing" from "A Chorus Line," and Nell Carter's "Mean To Me" "Ain't Misbehavin.'" True, they essentially sing these songs the way we heard them on the original Broadway cast albums, but when you are talking Faith Prince's rendition of "Adelie's Lament" from "Guys and Dolls," Jennifer Holliday singing "And I'm Telling You" from "Dreamgirls" or Elaine Stritch standing on stage and once again nailing "The Ladies Who Lunch," there is only reason to be happy. The performance that straddles the two categories would be Andrea McArdle, who starts off singing "Look for the Silver Lining" before moving to "Tomorrow" from "Annie." True, her voice is not what it was when she was a kid, but there is a certain poignancy in hearing the adult McArdle try to do the song for which she will always be remembered differently.

Column B is where you have singers doing songs they never performed on Broadway. After all, Liza Minelli is never going to play Mama Rose in "Gypsy," so this is here only chance to do "Some People," and since she refuses to slow down during the performance you can understand why. But then Linda Eder comes out and sings "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)" and we forget about Liza. In this column I would also put the show's Andrew Lloyd Webber medley, where Marin Mazzie & Judy Kuhn do "Love Changes Everything" ("Aspects of Love"), "Unexpected Song" ("Song and Dance") and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" ("Jesus Christ Superstar"). Finally, I have to put in the song that proves I do not know everything about Broadway musicals, because I do not know if Dorothy Loudon did "Ballroom" on Broadway, but from the way the crowd reacts when she comes out during the opening piano notes of "Fifty Percent," by guess would be that she did. It does not really matter because in a show like this there should be a song you have never heard before that you want to hear again, although it is really Loudon's performance that impresses here. Yes, it is rather sad that Julie Andrews introduces and closes "The Leading Ladies" without ever singing a single note, but that is a minor disappointment in a night of performances that certainly comes out ahead when you balance the scales at the end of the evening.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Prince, Eder, Kuhn, Mazzie, Holliday, Stritch and much more
Review: "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies" certainly gives you ample opportunity to choose from Column A and Column B throughout the evening. In this live concert performed at Carnegie Hall in September of 1998, Column A is hearing performers doing the songs with which they are most associated. From the evening's selections this would be Karen Ziemba & Bebe Neuwirth doing "Nowadays" from "Chicago," Priscilla Lopez singing "Nothing" from "A Chorus Line," and Nell Carter's "Mean To Me" "Ain't Misbehavin.'" True, they essentially sing these songs the way we heard them on the original Broadway cast albums, but when you are talking Faith Prince's rendition of "Adelie's Lament" from "Guys and Dolls," Jennifer Holliday singing "And I'm Telling You" from "Dreamgirls" or Elaine Stritch standing on stage and once again nailing "The Ladies Who Lunch," there is only reason to be happy. The performance that straddles the two categories would be Andrea McArdle, who starts off singing "Look for the Silver Lining" before moving to "Tomorrow" from "Annie." True, her voice is not what it was when she was a kid, but there is a certain poignancy in hearing the adult McArdle try to do the song for which she will always be remembered differently.

Column B is where you have singers doing songs they never performed on Broadway. After all, Liza Minelli is never going to play Mama Rose in "Gypsy," so this is here only chance to do "Some People," and since she refuses to slow down during the performance you can understand why. But then Linda Eder comes out and sings "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)" and we forget about Liza. In this column I would also put the show's Andrew Lloyd Webber medley, where Marin Mazzie & Judy Kuhn do "Love Changes Everything" ("Aspects of Love"), "Unexpected Song" ("Song and Dance") and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" ("Jesus Christ Superstar"). Finally, I have to put in the song that proves I do not know everything about Broadway musicals, because I do not know if Dorothy Loudon did "Ballroom" on Broadway, but from the way the crowd reacts when she comes out during the opening piano notes of "Fifty Percent," by guess would be that she did. It does not really matter because in a show like this there should be a song you have never heard before that you want to hear again, although it is really Loudon's performance that impresses here. Yes, it is rather sad that Julie Andrews introduces and closes "The Leading Ladies" without ever singing a single note, but that is a minor disappointment in a night of performances that certainly comes out ahead when you balance the scales at the end of the evening.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: simply fantastic
Review: A one of a kind production, excellent performances. I just wish we had more shows like this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: watch this again and again
Review: A terrific show with many highlights. For me, the grouping of Love Changes Everything/Unexpected Song/I Don't Know How to Love Him--Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie, Judy Kuhn was goosebumps-inspiring. I also loved the humor of Life upon the Wicked Stage--Anna Kendricks and the Kit Kat Girls. Don't miss this one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LINDA! LINDA!! LINDA!!! LINDA!!!!
Review: All I can say is W.O.W! I had purchased this dvd because of Liza Minnelli whom I adore. But the star of the evening was LINDA EDER. She lifted the whole show to another height! Her voice was superb,I am a vocal teacher and she was FLAWLESS even to my ears. lol~ Her power and drive and passion towards performing really shows in this stellar performance! Way to go Linda! You have a fan for LIFE!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MusicFan04

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I bought a DVD player just so I could buy this disc...
Review: And it was worth it!

I LOVE this concert! There is scarcely a bad moment in it. Okay, Priscilla Lopez and "Nothing" do Nothing for me, Jennifer Holliday sings the only song she ever sings (though her guest performances on Ally McBeal indicate how wonderful a new disc by her would be) and, as usual, goes over the top with it, and Liza Minnelli has seen better days before and since this concert.

The remainder of the disc, however, is simply amazing. There are so many wonderful moments that it would be impossible to pick just one highlight of this concert.

Andrea McArdle shows that she has matured into a beautiful and beautifully talented woman and, unlike, Ms. Holliday, gives a restrained performance of her signature song ("Tomorrow"). Rebecca Luker gives a classic performance of "Falling in Love with Love" and displays her amazingly pure voice to indicate why she is the actress of choice for revivals of musicals that require sweet-voiced heroines ("Showboat," "The Sound of Music" and "The Music Man").

In contrast, Marin Mazzie gives a very contemporary performance of "Bewitched" that shows off the beauty and power of her voice as well as the great stage presence that has made her performance in "Kiss Me Kate" so memprable and enjoyable. (When will she take home the Tony that this future Broadway legend so richly deserves? )

The other future Broadway legend, Audra McDonald, shows why she deserves the three Tonys she has already won. Her performance of "Down with Love" is stunningly and thrillingly sung. She holds her own against the classic performance of that song by Barbra Streisand, to whom she pays homage with her interpolations of "The Music that Makes Me Dance," "He Touched Me" and "My Man." She truly is a "force of nature."

The performance of "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" by child star Anna Kendrick with the women from the chorus of the "Cabaret" revival is brilliantly conceived and executed and is tremendously funny.

Karen Ziemba shows off her singing and dancing talents in all their glories with "I Wanna Be a Rockette" and her duet with the fabulous Bebe Neuwirth in "Nowadays"/"Hot Honey Rag" from "Chicago."

One of the few existing Broadway legends included in this concert, Dorothy Loudon, gives a heart-rending yet uplifting performance of one of the greatest "11 o'clock" numbers in Broadway history -- "Fifty Percent." I cry every time I watch her perform this sad but triumphant song.

But if I had to choose one highlight of this show, I would have to pick the Andrew Lloyd Webber medley performed by Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn. That I could pick this as THE highlight is particular testimony to the talents of the performers -- since I generally can't stand Sir Andrew's work. But each of these leading ladies makes the most of her individual number, and their overlapping singing of their three numbers is as apine-tinglingly beautiful as the final trio from "Der Rosenkavalier."

In sum, anyone who appreciates show music or the female voice must add this disc to his or her collection. And if you don't have a DVD player, get the VHS tape. And if you don't have a VCR, get the CD, though beware that some of the best moments -- including "Bewitched" and "Down with Love" are not included.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Worthy of PBS Fund Drive Material
Review: Certainly not my favorite Broadway. This is the sort of pastiche that seems to thrill certain East Coast city dwellers who dream of dressing up and going on stage and being STARS. Boring. Give me a good old drag show anyday. At least it is honest. ANOTHER ATROCITY, to quote one of the tired reviewers here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LEADING LADIES A REAL TREAT
Review: Finally, a broadway review with originality and classic performances! The theme of leading ladies performing their showstoppers was a great idea. However, I do not remember Linda Eder playing the male lead in "Man of La Mancha." Sorry, Miss Eder, if it were not for your husband, Frank Wildhorn, you would not be where you are today. Miss Eder, you have no emotional depth whatsoever. Other than that, the only other travesty was Julie Andrews making her entrance in her "Victor Victoria" tuxedo. Excuse me, Miss Andrews is famous for originating the role of Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady." The stage version of VV was an insult to her talent and the prime reason she has no voice left. The evening as a whole was mesmerizing. Andrea McCardle, Jennifer Holiday, Audra McDonald etc. were class acts. Take note, Miss Eder. The "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" number with the girls from "Cabaret" was dynamite. Karen Ziemba in the "I Want to be a Rockett" number; absolutely breathtaking. And saving Elaine Stritch for last: brilliant; a true legend to end the show. A DVD to treasure forever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THIS IS ENTERTAINMENT
Review: Funny how people who have nothing nice to say hide behind anonymous titles like "a viewer". That just tells me that you don't have the conviction to stand behind what you say. Anyway, I was there for the filming and this DVD is even more spectacular with the close ups and excellent dolby sound. I really thought that I had seen it all sitting there in my balcony seat watching such greats as Liza Minelli, Jennifer Holliday, and Nell Carter perform, but this DVD is as intimate as it gets. How can you get better than front and center at Carnegie Hall? This DVD, that's how.
Ignore the ignorant. If you enjoy Broadway, then you will treasure this forever. I promise.


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