Search - Will Chase, Malcolm Gets :: THE STORY OF MY LIFE (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

An exceptional score full of character insight

Mark Andrew Lawrence | Toronto | 05/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When THE STORY OF MY LIFE premiered in Toronto in November of 2006, people who saw it wished it had been recorded right there and then with the Toronto stars (Brent Carver and Jeffrey Kuhn) but that six-week run was actually just a try-out. The authors have since gone back and revised the show. The new version opene at the Goodspeed Opera House in the fall of 2008 and was pickd up for a Broadway opening at teh Booth Theatre in February 2009.



Now, opening any new show on Broadway these days is tricky unless you have a pre-sold name by being based on a popular book (WICKED) or film (SHREK, THE LITTLE MERMAID.) It is very difficult to get Broadway audiences to spend $100 or more to see a new original piece. This is why Broadway is currently flooded with revivals.



THE STORY OF MY LIFE had the added disadvantage of opening in the middle of an economic downturn that had forced the closing of 18 shows in a two week period in January 2009. With minimal advance sales, the show depended on the leading New York critics.



THE STORY OF MY LIFE opened February 19, 2009 after two weeks of previews. The preview audiences generally loved the show as did some of the second string critics, but the show was panned by the major papers, notably the reviewer for the New York Times, who found it owed a great deal to the 1981 Sondheim-Furth musical MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. (Perhaps in it's examination of a detroyed friendship, but STORY OF MY LIFE follows its own road. Besides which, it is rich enough theme to encourage further exploration.)



The producers assessed the damage quickly and opted to close after just 5 performances, investing their remaining money in making this cast recording.



If you are a fan of Sondheim's musicals, and if you enjoy scores that delve into character and are rich in emtional textures this is a score you will love. There is a detailed synopsis in the booklet but the songs (and dialogue) on the discs tell the whole story.



Malcolm Gets is a superb Alvin, but the real revelation hjere is Will Chase as the troubled author Thomas. (I confess a fondness for Brent Carver's Alvin in Toronto, but then I didn't get to see STORY OF MY LIFE in New York, and perhaps if I had I would have enjoyed Gets' performance just as much. No perhaps. I am sure of it.) Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations are deliciously spare. This is an intimate 2-character show that I suspect will soon be done in regional theatres and on University campus stages. Many of the songs will become standard audition material.



Take note that this is not the first score by Neil Bartram (and his bookwriting partner Brian Hill) and it certainly won't be their last. These are two immensely talented writers, and anyone who cares about the future of the lyric theatre will be well advised to watch and listen to what they come up with next.



There were some that said that STORY OF MY LIFE belonged in an off-Broadway house - that it was too small a show for Broadway. No - Broadway was to small for this show. But we have the cast album and that will assure a future life for this piece."

Delightfully Engaging

Denali.fire | NYC, NY | 06/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this on Broadway the night before it opened. I found its beauty in its simplicity. Each song tells a story. A story of Mrs Remington, (I had a Mrs Remington in grade school!) A story about the Butterfly effect. I use these two songs because you can hear segments on www.thestoryofmylife.com/ Listen to them and you will get but a taste of the glory of this show. With any luck it will have a national tour, probably in smaller theaters. The songs Soar. A 6 star recording."

Just When You Think Nothing Great Will Ever Come Along Again

Bethany Turner | Cortez, CO 81321 | 07/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the cast recording of The Story Of My Life primarily as a long-time Malcolm Gets fan. I had heard of everyone else involved in the production, but didn't know their work well, if at all. What started as a purchase to add to my Malcolm Gets collection has become, perhaps, my favorite musical of all time. I was not fortunate enough to see the production live, but the cast recording is so visual that I almost feel as if I have. I can see the look on Alvin's face at the end of 'Independence Day' when Tom says "Don't come." I can see Tom's disappointment in himself during 'I Didn't See Alvin'. And I can see the mutual catharsis of 'Angels In The Snow'. You will listen to this recording - beginning to end - over and over. You will pick your first favorite song (quite likely 'Mrs. Remington' or 'The Butterfly'), and then as you listen, you will go deeper. You will hear subtle lines from Alvin and Tom that you didn't realize were there. You will hear chords in Neil Bartram's brilliant score that make you nearly cry - because you know what's coming next. And then you will discover new favorites that took a little longer to reach you, because you had to understand the characters better before you could understand the song ('Here's Where It Begins', 'People Carry On', and 'This Is It' come immediately to mind).



I would challenge all potential buyers to stretch themselves - emotionally, artistically - and buy this recording. Malcolm Gets doesn't disappoint. No one does complicated, yet completely understandable and identifiable characters as well as Malcolm Gets. And I am now a great fan of Will Chase as well. The inner turmoil he presents with Thomas is heartbreaking, yet entertaining. Mostly, these two guys make you wish you had grown up with Alvin and Tom...but then, didn't we all grow up with an Alvin, and a Tom? Bartram and Hill have me hooked for life. The emotions they evoke through this beautiful, tragic, hilarious (the adjectives could go on and on) musical practically guarantee their future success and staying power.



I can't stress enough my love for this recording. If you are on the fence...just buy it. You will be glad you did."