Search - Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager :: They're Playing Our Song - Original Broadway Cast

They've been playing this song a long time!!

nina esposito | Bronx, New York | 12/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was 4 years old when this play hit broadway. My parents went to see the play and brought home the album. My sister and I use to listen to it over and over again. What a wonderful display of what broadway can really do!! On a recent trip to broadway, fast forward 24 years, I was reminded of my experience with these songs and thought to look for the CD on line. I am beyond happy that I have found it and order 3 copies . . one for my mom, my sister, and me!! They will continue to play their song in my home for years to come and hopefully my future children will learn to love it just as much as I do without ever seeing the play!! This album is truly a classic . . .there is not one song that I don't love!"

Tuneful Little Broadway Gem

Cowboy Buddha | Essex UK | 08/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An excellent no-frills musical from the 1970's with an impeccable pedigree - music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and a script by Neil Simon (allegedly based on the actual Hamlisch/Sager relationship). The stars were Robert Klein and a dazzling Lucie Arnaz (daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz). The only other cast members were three boys and three girls - basically backup singers and dancers - who had the habit of suddenly appearing from within the scenery to act as the leads' alter egos.



The plot was simple enough - egotistical and mega-successful composer takes on a new lyricist - a kooky, insecure incurable romantic still bruised by a recently ended affair. Of course, the two are totally different and dislike each other on first sight. But anyone who has ever seen a musical knows they are destined to end up together.



This musical with just two characters worked because of the rapid-fire dialogue, the fast-paced direction, the clever sets, the larger than life performances, and the songs. I'm always surprised that songs from They're Playing Our Song have not become standards because it is such a solid and inventive score. The uptempo title song and others such as "Workin' It Out" had the same sort of catchy hooks as the disco music of the time. But better than that, the show was filled with soulful and reflective ballads such as "Fallin'", "If He Really Knew Me", "Just For Tonight", and "I Still Believe In Love". In fact, the score is much stronger - and stands much better on its own - than the one from Hamlisch's other great success A Chorus Line.



Lucie Arnaz lit up Broadway with her performance in this show and it's easy to hear why on this CD. A lesson current producers could learn from They're Playing Our Song is that a musical doesn't have to be big to be good.



By the way, there is also a recording available of the London cast in which Tom Conti conclusively proves that the Brits are no better at doing American accents than Dick Van Dyke was at being a cockney in Mary Poppins!"

"Fallin'" for this cast album isn't very hard to do!

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 11/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG is one of the more delighful musicals penned during the 'wilderness years' of the late-70's. It starred Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein as two unlucky-in-love song writers who end up falling in love with each other.The score, by Carole Bayer Sager with music by Marvin Hamlisch (A CHORUS LINE) bridges the gap between pop and traditional Broadway music, and includes the numbers "Fallin'", "If He Really Knew Me", "Right" and the Title Song.Lucie Arnaz spins gold with all her numbers but is most charming in "Just For Tonight" and the 11 o'clock number "I Still Believe in Love".This musical played a sell-out Broadway season before being mounted in London as well as in Australia, with the latter production starring Jacki Weaver."