Search - Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Richard Hayes :: The Nervous Set (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

The Nervous Set (1959 Original Broadway Cast)
Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Richard Hayes
The Nervous Set (1959 Original Broadway Cast)
Genres: Pop, Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (17) - Disc #1

As fans of musical theater, we're used to offbeat projects, but this long-forgotten show takes the cake--and it's completely entrancing. The opening number alone makes nasty fun of the then-popular beatniks and is immediat...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Richard Hayes
Title: The Nervous Set (1959 Original Broadway Cast)
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Drg
Original Release Date: 1/1/1959
Re-Release Date: 2/26/2002
Album Type: Cast Recording
Genres: Pop, Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
Style: Musicals
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 021471902020

Synopsis

Amazon.com
As fans of musical theater, we're used to offbeat projects, but this long-forgotten show takes the cake--and it's completely entrancing. The opening number alone makes nasty fun of the then-popular beatniks and is immediately followed by "New York," a list song enumerating all the awful things about the city. Rarely has so much bile been spilled on the New York stage--but perhaps that's because the show originated in St. Louis. Tommy Wolf's finger-snapping score and Fran Landesman's biting lyrics are very compelling, especially because it's hard to tell when they're serious and when they're drily sarcastic. The energetic cast, which includes Larry Hagman (best known as JR in Dallas), is backed by a jazz quartet, and the result often sounds strangely contemporary. And then you have some numbers, such as "Night People," that are almost Sondheimian. What a strange, wonderful little show this is. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

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CD Reviews

Dig that beat...
Eric L. Magnus | Olathe, KS USA | 02/27/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)

"A fun recording to have on CD. Very beatnik oriented musical from 1959 with such interesting names in the cast as Tom Aldredge (Into the Woods, Passion) and Larry Hagman!? The song "New York" is a lot of fun. The best of the rest the score include "The Ballad of the Sad Young Man" sung by Tan Seitz and "Laugh, I Thought I'd Die" sung by Richard Hayes. Larry Hagman has one song, "Travel the Road of Love" and although he doesn't embarrass himself, thank God "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Dallas" were still be come. He definitely did not inherit his mother's singing ability. In fact, I think his mother was performing in "The Sound of Music" during the short run of this show."
An underrated gem!
Constant Reader | Richmond, VA | 06/03/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs in this musical are simply wonderful! Canny, passionate, "beat," and sardonic. The story, its characters, and the lyrics are classic Greenwich Village of the late 1950's. This CD features talented singers and actors (including a very young Larry Hagman),a great lyricist, lush and complex music. To reiterate, it's just WONDERFUL! I ruined my LP long ago, and am THRILLED to find this CD replacement."
One of the oddest OC albums I've encountered
Richard LeComte | Tuscaloosa, AL | 03/24/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's fascinating to discover what passed for sophisticated in 1959 as the musical sought new forms. This album is a cultural landmark, of sorts -- a show that broke a lot of barriers and paid for it with a short run. The songs have the feeling of Nichols and May improvisations. Certainly it's worth picking up for people who want complete OC collections, especially since it wasn't available in vinyl in the 1970s except for lots of cash at out-of-print record shops in Manhattan (remember them?). And you can't pass up Larry Hagman singing. Still, the score simply doesn't match up to the evident aspirations of the writers; it anticipates "Company," but Sondheim's songs are so much better than the ones here. Still, there are a couple of gems, including "Night People" and "A Country Gentleman.""