The ULTIMATE "Irma" album!
Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 04/06/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Released with the participation and blessing of star Elizabeth Seal, this reissue of the 1958 London cast album of IRMA LA DOUCE marks it's official CD premiere. In many ways, the London album of IRMA is superior to the later Broadway recording, but more about that later...
IRMA LA DOUCE opened at a tiny theatre club in Paris in 1956, with music and lyrics--reeking of classic Gallic charm--provided by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort. Starring Colette Renard in the title role, it's immediate success ensured that London audiences would also be treated to the enchanting melodies and heartwarming story (once the show had been suitably translated of course). For the 1958 London production, producers cast the firebrand Elizabeth Seal, who'd already proved her mettle as Gladys ("Steam Heat") in the original London run of THE PAJAMA GAME. Keith Michell played her lover Nestor, and Clive Revill was the wise barkeep. Ms Seal earned the 'Best Actress in a Musical' Variety Award for her performance. Two years later, the trio reprised their roles for the Broadway transfer where Seal triumphed once more, beating out Julie Andrews in CAMELOT, amongst others, to win the coveted Tony Award.
While the 1960 Broadway cast album has been available for many years (via Sony's Broadway Masterworks series), the earlier London IRMA has sadly languished in the vaults. No more. Sepia has remastered the album using crisp Cedar 24-bit technology, making the songs sparkle and glisten like never before. London's IRMA LA DOUCE album differs in a few ways from the Broadway counterpart, mainly the omission of the Overture in favour of Irma's plantive Act Two reprise of "Our Language of Love", and several incidental chorus bits which time restraints prevented from appearing on the Broadway set.
Filling out the remainder of the CD are the four songs recorded from the original 1956 Paris production, featuring Colette Renard; in addition to several charming selections from a 1967 French studio cast album with Zizi Jeanmaire (a one-time frontrunner for the role of Irma when the show was to move to Broadway) joined by her husband, legendary choreographer Roland Petit as Nestor.
Sepia has also lavished the booklet with many rare photographs from the London production, provided by Ms Seal and her husband, photographer Michael Ward. If you adore the score of IRMA this is an essential purchase. [SEPIA-1120]"
Worth the grisbee.....
Neil Elliot | W. Hollywood, CA | 05/03/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"So, this original British take on the French musical stands up well, and the same three leads cast in the Broadway version, in my opinion, take advantage of the time performed and the new take on the whole piece and give us a much richer view of the "millieu" and the "mecs". Two of the Americans working prior to their star status in the Broadway cast, incidentally, are Elliot Gould as one of the "mecs" along with Herman Munster/Fred Gwynne.
There are some changes in musical interludes and lyrics for the Americans, but to hear the smaller British version shows what producers saw in the first place. And Zizi Jeanmaire's French recordings with Roland Petit is one of the first examples of the dancer/singer used to their best advantage. Too bad the American film only used the music for the background (not shabby at all!) and didn't give us a chance to see the brilliant dancing and quirky singing of Shirley MacLaine.
If you're a hard core musical comedy enthusiast this recording is a fine addition to your collection."
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1