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High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast)
Hugh Martin, Timothy Gray, Beatrice Lillie
High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast)
Genres: Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (16) - Disc #1

Original Broadway Cast of "High Spirits," mid-1960s adaptation of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit", starring Tammy Grimes, Edward Woodward, Beatrice Lillie, and Louise Troy.

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Hugh Martin, Timothy Gray, Beatrice Lillie, Tammy Grimes, Edward Woodward
Title: High Spirits (Original Broadway Cast)
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Mca
Release Date: 4/13/1993
Album Type: Cast Recording
Genres: Soundtracks, Broadway & Vocalists
Style: Musicals
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 008811076726

Synopsis

Product Description
Original Broadway Cast of "High Spirits," mid-1960s adaptation of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit", starring Tammy Grimes, Edward Woodward, Beatrice Lillie, and Louise Troy.

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CD Reviews

A "Masterpiece Manqué"
Paul F. Wilson | Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA | 04/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This long-forgotten gem, a musical version of Noël Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT about a writer who inadvertently conjures up the spirit of his late wife, has a score by Hugh Martin (MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS) and was directed by Coward himself. The score has several tunes which ought to have become pop standards -- "You'd Better Love Me," "I Know Your Heart," "Forever and A Day" -- and some great character songs "Something is Coming to Tea," "Go Into Your Trace," "Home Sweet Heaven." The small cast size and score designed for actors, not singers, makes it a natural for educational and community theatres. Seeing Beatrice Lillie in HIGH SPIRITS was one of the great theatrical experiences of my life. A recording can't do her justice, but this one does catch some of her timing and inimitable inflections. She was one of those stage stars, like Ethel Merman and Bert Lahr, whose stage personality was just too big to fit on screen. (She is the best thing in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, one of her very few film roles.)"
One of the great Broadway musicals
William Sommerwerck | Renton, WA USA | 07/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can you say about a musical with Tammy Grimes and Beatrice Lillie? How about that it would be good even without them, because Martin and Gray deliver one great song after another? Only "You'd Better Love Me While You May" was a hit, but all the others (including the character and novelty songs) have instantly memorable melodies and ingenious lyrics.



Hearing Grimes sing "Home Sweet Heaven" and Lillie perform "Talking to You" are pretty much worth the price of admission. (At least, when the CD was still in print and reasonably priced.)



The London-cast version (if still available) had terrible re-orchestrations of the music, and is interesting only because it includes Noel Coward singing several of the songs, some of which contain unused lyrics.



Please note that the track listing has nothing whatever to do with this show -- it's for the soundtrack of the movie "High Spirits"."
A disc that's ripe for reissue and a show that maybe due for
Mark Andrew Lawrence | Toronto | 10/15/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps Noel Coward's BLYTHE SPIRIT didn't really need to be turned into a musical, as it is already a pretty entertaining litlle comedy, but the songs by Hugh Martin and Timothy Grey perfectly conjure up Coward's characters. Bea Lillie is perfection as Madame Arcarti, Tammy Grimes is bewitchingly sensual as Elvira. Did Coward (who directed the musical) help outa bit with the score? The song "Home Sweet Heaven" sure sounds like pure Coward!



ABC Paramount did the cast album. After the show closed it went out of print. MCA brought it back on CD but soon deleted it. Since most community theatres opt to do the original play instead of the musical not too many people know this score so naturally there wasn't a huge demand for it on CD. Perhaps Decca Broadway will reissue it? Hope so, as it's one of those very enjoyable 1960s scores that deserves to be better known."