Like a Box of Chocolates...

You just don't know what you are going to get and how good it is.

I saw the performances on this CD in the PBS special. This set of disks is to commemorate the success of one of musical theater's greatest producers, Cameron Macintosh (hence, the title of the show, Hey, Mr. Producer). Really, I got into watching the show, and decided that I had to get this CD for just deciding what shows to go out and investigate.

A little description of this performance. This CD is suppose to, as I have said, commemorate Macintosh's success in musical theater production and exhibits different shows that he had been involved in creating and...producing. Many shows include the famous current masterpieces such as Miss Saigon, Les Miserable, Phantom of the Opera to the classics of My Fair Lady, Oliver, Carousel, Oklahoma, and Little Shop of Horrors. Also many lesser known yet still great musicals like Godspell, Follies, Gypsy, Five Guys Named Moe, and Song and Dance are featured on this collection.

That is one of the great sides of this CD, the variety of what you get to hear. The ability to just sample all these musicals in order to choose is really nice to have. I have made many decision on what to buy and what not to when I listened to this CD.

Also the performers that sing all the tunes are really famous in their roles in musical theater. Well known stars such as Michael Ball (Les Miserable), Lea Salonga (Les Miserable and Miss Saigon), Colm Wilkenson (Les Miserable, Phantom of the Opera), Burnadette Peters (Gypsy, Song and Dance) and many others top the cast. Their talent and love for the stage really bring out the best of their singing. Also the "emcee" of the group is the well known Julie Andrews whom makes a surprise appearance in this show. No she doesn't sing, but isn't hearing her voice good enough?

Now onto the griping. I do enjoy the music, yet what I can not count on in this CD is the arrangements of the songs. I have heard some of these songs in the real musical that they are suppose to be presented in, and I do not appreciate the drastic changes they made in them. For example, I love the musical Godspell, and one of its songs are displayed in this show (Day By Day). Now I know it is a repetitive song, but in my opinion, they completely changed the whole mood of the song into a more HALLELUJAH chorus instead of the mellow 60's sounding pop song. It just doesn't feel right. And then following it up with a song that talks about cocaine and alcohol. I am really not thinking that they arranged the songs well either. Also at the end of the first half, Jonathan Pryce (Tony award winner for Miss Saigon) gives his performance of American Dream. Now I believe this is suppose to be a fun big production, but how they arranged it is just crude. Way too sexual in his "moans and fantasizing" (seriously, that's what it sounds like!) than I like to have my songs.

Most of the other songs that I know I don't have too much of a problem with. Mainly it has to do with the performance of the actor/actress. For example, I love the song On My Own from Les Miserable, but I really was mad when they cut down the song, but the way Lea Salonga presented the song with the crystal clear voice that she has, it remains one of my favorite songs in the collection.

Now, I am not quite a fan of the extra applauses in between each of the songs. They just seem to ruin the mood that is brought with the song. It just is really annoying to be listen to a great performance, be dazed, wake up with the applause, and have to get back into that little daydream. Now I know that this is a live performance, but that is just a little thing that I needed to note.

The sound quality, since it is a live presentation, was affected a little. Some songs are more noticable than others. It sounds like the microphone is right in front of their faces in parts and miles away in others. Orchestration wise, I was not at all stupefied by their performance, nor was I thinking that it was the worst accompaniment in the world. I would say that I am quite nuetral about the band.

Because of the big cast, some of the ensemble work was less effective because of the overpowering sound. I like to hear crisp notes, and when 100 people are singing at the top of their lungs at the same time, it gets kind of difficult to hear the enunciation of the words and notes. I preferred the solos and small ensembles because of the better quality than the other parts of the CD.

Overall I would say that it is worthwhile for anyone who wants to get into the musical theater side of music to check this collection out. You get introduced to many great singers and shows that it is really kind of cool. Those who have gotten their soundtracks already and unsure of what to get next, grab this for great sampling of musicals. If you are already settled in the musicals/Broadway department, don't bother with this collection. The real deal is much better.