Search - Lola Montez :: Cast Recordings

Lola finally gets it!

06/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you weren't in Australia in 1958 chances are you've never heard of this classic musical. Based on the scandalous Lola Montez in the Australian Goldfields it has some spirited songs, "The Wages of Sin", some lyrical ballads, "Be My Saturday Girl" and this original cast album finally making it to CD should be in any serious "musical" collector's library - and played often! Star Mary Preston later appeared in the first West End production of West Side Story.Bonus tracks include television versions of the songs."

Exciting, robust score

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 08/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"LOLA MONTEZ is a thoroughly-Australian musical, which first appeared in 1958 under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The story is based on the real-life firecracker Lola Montez and her adventures among the goldfields during the Victorian gold rush. The score penned by Peter Benjamin and Peter Stannard, is by admission based on the styles of OKLAHOMA! and PAINT YOUR WAGON, and is on the whole quite enjoyable. Mary Preston is quite fetching in the title role, with Jane Martin (the alternate Eliza in the original Australian company of MY FAIR LADY) in the female ingenue role. Martin Cole, Frank Wilson and Alan Hopgood round out the cast. This reissue from Bayview Records presents the stereo version of the original `58 cast album, with an additional number from the mono version (which varies slightly from its stereo counterpart). The remastering is fine but a little murky and muddy in places. An interesting addition to your cast album collection."