Search - Keith Herrmann, Alison Fraser, Scott Bakula :: Romance Romance (Original Broadway Cast)

A Great Album! Something for everyone!

06/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A wonderful soundtrack from Harmann & Hermann that is, as stated before, often overlooked. Though it should be a part of any serious cast recording fan's collection. I discovered this show about 15 years ago and have always been delighted with it. It has four actors in it, but it is basically a two person show lyrically speaking - with the same actors playing the leads in both acts, each of which is a separate story.

The first act - the little comedy - is based on a short story of the same name set in 19th century Vienna. Two wealthy socialites, bored with their past relationships, try to discover true love incognito and find each other while both in disguise. Wit and humor are showcased in songs like "Goodbye, Emil" and "A Rustic Country Inn", while others like "The Night It Had To End" will rip your heart out.Act two - summer share - is based on a story called "Pain de Menage" and is set in the present. Here four friends, two couples, are in a summer share. Two of them are up late talking while their spouses have each gone to bed. Through the act, they discover and try to fight off the feelings they have for each other. Many of the musical themes carry through from the first act, but with a more modern sound. Again humor ("Plans A & B", "Think of the Odds") is intermixed with tension ("How Did I End Up Here", "Words He Doesn't Say").As a side note - this show (and the soundtrack) starred Scott Bakula (from "Quantum Leap") and I believe he earned a Tony nomination for it. It also saw a short availability on video through the Clairol on Broadway series, along with Nunsense. Mr. Bakula wasn't in the video, however - he had already moved on.Lastly, as an intangeble, this musical is great for singing along with! Unlike so many musicals in the recent years which focus on spectacle rather than music, Romance Romance has a beautiful simplicity that always keeps it close at hand in my soundtrack collection."

Great Musical - Great Performances

DVD Fan | San Francisco | 06/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Saw this musical on B'way in summer 1989 (front row!!). The musical had several Tony Award nominations that year - but lost out to Phantom of the Opera and Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods (this was a pretty good year for musicals).



The show was nominated for (1) Musical - lost to Phantom (2) Book - lost to Into the Woods (3) Music and Lyrics - lost to Into the Woods (4) Actor (Scott Bakula)- lost to Michael Crawford in Phantom (5) Actress (Allison Fraser) - lost to Joanna Gleason in Into the Woods.



The show was very charming and the leads (Bakula and Fraser) were very appealing and had great chemistry on stage. The cast recording really does capture the on stage performances very well. I have the cassette of the cast recording and have enjoyed it for years.



A little more history on the show... it was a transfer from an off-Broadway production that originally starred Alec Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin was unable to do the Broadway run and was replaced by Scott Bakula (pre-Quantum Leap). The show was subsequently videotaped from some other production (not on Broadway) with two other actors in the lead roles. I saw the video of the show on Bravo several years ago - it is still a charming show but not up to the caliber of the original Broadway leads.



If the video was available, I would purchase it as the show really does still shine.



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