Adelaide's Lament (from "Guys & Dolls") - Faith Prince
Nothing - Priscilla Lopez
I Can Cook Too - Lea Delaria
Look For The Silver Lining/Tomorrow - Andrea McArdle
Some People - Liza Minnelli
The Man Of La Mancha - Linda Eder
The Weber Love Trio: Love Changes Everything - Audra McDonald/Unexpected Song - Marin Mazzie/I Don't Know How To Love Him - Judy Kuhn
Everybody's Girl - Debra Monk
Mean To Me - Nell Carter featuring Luther Henderson
Fifty Percent - Dorothy Loudon
And I'm Telling You - Jennifer Holliday
The Ladies Who Lunch - Elaine Stritch
Closing - Julie Andrews
One - Ensemble
A live concert at Carnegie Hall, My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies collects a top-notch cast in a kind of VH1 Divas for Broadway. While big names such as Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone are conspicuously absent, ... more »and Julie Andrews hosts but doesn't sing, there is still plenty of talent on display. The program mixes stars of the '90s (Bebe Neuwirth with "Nowadays," Linda Eder with the unusual yet appropriately bombastic selection of "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)"), along with stars of the '70s and '80s (Elaine Stritch with "The Ladies Who Lunch," Jennifer Holliday with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," Nell Carter with "Mean to Me"). Particularly welcome are Andrea McArdle's sweet, understated combination of "Look for the Silver Lining" and, of course, "Tomorrow," an appearance by Priscilla Lopez ("Nothing"), and a trio of Andrew Lloyd Webber love songs performed separately then woven together by Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie, and Judy Kuhn. Some of these performances might be nearly equal (or even slightly inferior) to the original recordings, but there are a number of gems, and the star power of the whole lineup is undeniable. If there's a downside here, it's that the 99-minute video program was cut to 61 minutes for the CD release. --David Horiuchi« less
A live concert at Carnegie Hall, My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies collects a top-notch cast in a kind of VH1 Divas for Broadway. While big names such as Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone are conspicuously absent, and Julie Andrews hosts but doesn't sing, there is still plenty of talent on display. The program mixes stars of the '90s (Bebe Neuwirth with "Nowadays," Linda Eder with the unusual yet appropriately bombastic selection of "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)"), along with stars of the '70s and '80s (Elaine Stritch with "The Ladies Who Lunch," Jennifer Holliday with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," Nell Carter with "Mean to Me"). Particularly welcome are Andrea McArdle's sweet, understated combination of "Look for the Silver Lining" and, of course, "Tomorrow," an appearance by Priscilla Lopez ("Nothing"), and a trio of Andrew Lloyd Webber love songs performed separately then woven together by Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie, and Judy Kuhn. Some of these performances might be nearly equal (or even slightly inferior) to the original recordings, but there are a number of gems, and the star power of the whole lineup is undeniable. If there's a downside here, it's that the 99-minute video program was cut to 61 minutes for the CD release. --David Horiuchi
"It's rare that I feel so cheated by an album, but I feel that the producers of Broadway Ladies hardly did anything right. First they cut Debra Monk and Dorothy Loudon from the video (I was at Carnegie that night--they were great). Then, they screw up the album by cutting some of the best performances that night, namely Audra McDonald's unbelievable "Down with Love" and Marin Mazzie's seamless "Bewitched." If they had included the over-long "I Wanna Be a Rockette" with Karen Ziemba they could have at least left a record of a Broadway oddity. Instead you'll get to listen to Julie Andrews talk (for goddsakes) and a sappy Andrew Lloyd Webber medly that sadly underuses Audra, Mazzie, and Judy Kuhn. But why would I want another (boring) rendition of the "mature" Priscilla Lopez singing "Nothing" when I have the orignal cast version? Or put myself through listening to the VERY mature Elaine Stritch braying "The Ladies Who Lunch" when she is so much better on the original? Ditto for Jennifer Holiday (what was that last note?) and Nell Carter. I learned one important lesson with this lousy recording--read the list of selections carefully before buying."
If you buy one CD -this should be it -for everyone
11/16/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This Cd has the most amazing array of talent I have ever heard on one CD. Ingenious idea to put these leading ladies and songs together. Best songs from the greatest Broadway shows and the divas to sing them. For the Broadway novice or officianado- this is sure to be a broadwy music classic."
What Happened?
02/04/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I was looking forward to buying the My Favorite Broadway CD after seeing the PBS broadcast. I was so disappointed when I received the CD. Could they possibly leave off any more? The cut out so many of the great songs and left all of the old dead ones like "And I'm Telling You" and "Adelaide's Lament". How often do we have to hear those songs? The worst part is how many great songs were left off like Marin Mazzie's "Bewitched" and Karen Ziemba in "I Wanna Be a Rockette". Above all the most missed is Audra McDonald singing the incredible "Down With Love". Of course there were some great songs like Webber Love Trio and "Nothing" sung by Priscilla Lopez, but there were just to many things taken out. My advice is skip the CD and go for the video. You wont miss anything that way."
"Leading Ladies" make a great CD...
bclasen | 12/23/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this CD soon after watching the "Great Performances" broadcast. I was surprised that some of the material was cut, especially extra songs by Audra McDonald and Marin Mazzie. However, what is here is very good for the most part, ranging from highs (Andrea McArdle, Webber Love Trio, Linda Eder) to the lows (Liza on "Some People"-yikes!-or Elaine Stritch trying to hit the final notes of "Ladies who Lunch"). Probably a better buy for Broadway collectors rather than the novice..."
My Favorite Broadway The Leading Ladies
Vincent Vitollo | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/12/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These wonderful talented ladies all performing in one great hall together. The stage had so many wonderful voices and the egos were left at the door. This made for one great beautiful show. Those women were wonderful along with the fablous musicians. This is one album which is at the top of the list. It is rare to get all these leading ladies on the stage at the same time. It was a great night for Broadway. I have to say that Julie Andrews was in perfect form and beautiful as ever."