New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ CineMedia Prmotions) Masterworks Broadway continues to explore the rich history of its unequaled Broadway and Off-Broadway catalog with the release of three rare cast recordings previously unavailable in the CD era - Originals - Musicals Comedy 1909-1935, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Inner City. All will be available as downloads through major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand with the original cover art and liner notes. Also coming this winter are two digital releases of recently out-of-print recordings: The 1946 Broadway revival of Show Boat, commemorating its 65th anniversary, and Tony-winner Tommy Tune's Slow Dancin'.
The January 18 reissue of Originals - Musical Comedy 1909-1935 is the perfect introduction to a lost world: the Broadway musical just as it was changing from a vaudeville-style entertainment to an art form. This unique collection from 1968 includes legendary names and recordings from the era: Blanche Ring's "Rings on My Fingers," Cole Porter himself singing "You're the Top" and Fanny Brice in "Second Hand Rose," along with Helen Morgan, Libby Holman, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Beatrice Lillie and the comedy team of Gallagher and Shean in the number that stopped The Ziegfeld Follies, "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean." Collectors will want to own this long-unavailable set and for younger listeners, it will be a fascinating piece of cultural archeology.
Long unavailable, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a charming jewel from the vanishing world of the off-Broadway musical. James Thurber's most famous short story inspired this completely original, remarkably clever and skillful 1964 musical that ran for only 96 performances, but was recorded by Columbia Records. The score is by Leon Carr, a composer best known for writing TV jingles ("Sometimes you feel like a nut ..."), with lyrics by Earl Shuman. Marc London, an actor who also wrote for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, plays Mitty, along with Emmy-winner Cathryn Damon (TV's Soap), Lorraine Serabian (Tony nominee as The Leader in Zorba) and the late Rue McClanahan. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will be available February 15.
March 15 brings the reissue of Inner City, the musical that rocked Broadway with its distinctly untraditional take on modern urban life. The raucous 1971 show was conceived and staged by Hair director Tom O'Horgan the same season he directed the Broadway premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar. Based on Eve Merriam's best-selling book The Inner City Mother Goose, it recounts children's tales with a contemporary urban vibe and has a lively, R&B-influenced score by Merriam and lyricist Helen Miller. Inner City introduced some amazing African-American performers including Linda Hopkins, who took home a Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Musical, along with Delores Hall, Larry Marshall, and Allan Nichols. Curiously, one of the production's associate producers was Harvey Milk, before he left New York for San Francisco.
