Search - Stephen Cole :: The Night Of The Hunter (1998 Concept Cast)

Musical Theatre at its Best

Anthony Toohey | 07/31/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Night of the Hunter actually has a real, honest-to-goodness story, great music, great lyrics and a studio cast of sheer perfection. The CD succeeds perfectly in capturing the intense, emotional tug-of-war. If you are unfamiliar with the score or the show, take a chance and buy it. You'll be playing it over and over, I guarantee! Sally Mayes, Dorothy Louden & Ron Raines have never been better. Thumbs up all around!!!!"

Musical Theatre as it SHOULD be!

Anthony Toohey | 04/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The old saying about never judging a book by its cover proved entirely incorrect for this cd! I was immediately attracted to the dark and clever artwork and after listening to a selection of songs in the store, fell in love with the entire work and purchased it on the spot! Driven by a strong and haunting story, the cd showcases the impressive writing ability of Stephen Cole as he guides listeners through the dark tale of what I am sure will be a rivetting piece of theatre once realised on stage. As with all great musicals, there is an incredible depth and variety to the emotions of the story which is suitably enhanced by a wonderful score reflecting both the innocence and evil of the characters! At last we have something to look forward to in upcoming theatrical productions!"

THIS IS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF JUNK I HAVE EVER LISTENED TO!!

Prescott Breeden | Greenwich, CT United States | 02/15/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"the book is amazing, the movie is great, this "show" is nothing but garbage. the music sounds like intro music to the honeymooners or mr. ed (or any other old tv series)... when willa harper sings about how she is now a widow, has two children and barely any income to support themselves she is singing in a major key, I'm looking ahead. who the heck in a midlife crisis looks forward and is happy about it?! Preacher's music is all happy and really it's actually sub-cartoon music. Preacher is a skitsophrenic murdering pshycho-pathic maniac with a fake smile and all his music is like bugs bunny! its a joke. The guys who wrote this did not read the book very carefully cause preacher never holds hiss knife in the hand called love in the book, he only holds it in his left hand. quite frankly i have no idea how it ever got produced or even how they got permission to do it because the book is visualy just magic, really perfect subject matter for an opera, which i hear one is in the process of being written and is almost done. I can not warn you enough, STAY AWAY FROM THIS "SHOW"![.] ... the other reviews here speak volume cause obviously the guys who give it 5 stars are either in the cast or buddies of them, or something. where as myself and several others cringe at the mention of the musical. look for the opera in the next couple years, i've heard its absolutely astonishing and portrays what davis grubb really invisioned."