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Bells Are Ringing
2001 Broadway Revival Cast
Starring Faith Prince and Marc Kudisch
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
20 Tracks
Read an off-site Synopsis of the show at TheatreHistory.com.
OK… let's get one thing straight. I am not a Bells are Ringing fan. Well, I mean, I never heard of the show until a little while ago. I've never heard the OBC and I've never seen the movie. Anyway. I bought this CD because I liked the sound clips on DAAM! The Unofficial Marc Kudisch Website. I found the music enjoyable but not particularly riveting, and the CD has since been traded in at a used CD store. (After making an *ahem* archive copy. Purely for the purposes of this review, of course.)
I never really expected to love it, and I don't. But I do like it. The music is catchy and upbeat. While the plot of the musical seems pretty corny, and some of the songs are kind of silly, it's still a good listen. Fans of Marc Kudisch or Faith Prince definitely want to check this one out. Both leads deliver a really great performance. This is also a good choice if you're looking to add some more cheerful CDs to your collection… one can only go through POTO, Jekyll and Hyde, Sweeney Todd, and the like so many times without desperately needing some musical Prozac!
In all seriousness, what this CD amounts to is a really first-rate recording of a musical that is only halfway decent. The performers are great. A couple of the songs are catchy. If I were you, and you saw it in the bargain bin, I'd get it. Faith Prince/Marc Kudisch fans, pick this one up. Random people? Give it a listen, and decide for yourself.
