John Caird - Jane Eyre: The Musical (Original 2000 Broadway Cast)
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Artist: John CairdComposer: Paul Gordon
Performer: Bill Nolte
Performer: James Barbour
Performer: Marla Schaffel
Performer: Mary Stout
Edition: Music CD
Format: Cast Recording
CD Release Date: 2000-11-21
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- The Orphan
- Children of God
- Forgiveness
- The Graveyard
- Sweet Liberty
- Secrets of the House
- Act One: Perfectly Nice - Original Broadway Cast
- Act One: As Good As You - Original Broadway Cast
- Secret Soul
- Finer Things
- The Pledge
- Sirens
- Things Beyond This Earth
- Painting Her Portrait
- In the Light of the Virgin Morning
- The Gypsy
- The Proposal
- Slip of a Girl
- Sirens (Reprise)
- Farewell, Good Angel
- My Maker
- Rain
- The Voice Across the Moors
- Poor Sister
- Brave Enough for Love
Music reviews of Jane Eyre: The Musical (Original 2000 Broadway Cast)
Music Review: Jane delights as usual!!
Rating: 4 Stars
I was thrilled when I heard that Jane had become a musical. Jane Eyre has been one of my favorite stories and heroines in all her forms, yet at the same time I don't hold things up to the book as Gospel truth. Paul Gordon did quite a good job with music and lyrics, however there is not the variety I was expecting, and after a while some of the songs can run together a bit. But there are some absolutely gorgeous standout songs. "The Graveyard" (sung by both Young Jane and Jane as a grownup) is a beautiful ballad about not being afraid of people's opinions, just do what you know is right and God will be your judge. "Perfectly Nice" (sung by Mrs. Fairfax to Jane just after her arrival) is a very funny song about (among other things) how glad Mrs. F is to have company, and how Jane should behave to be kept in good grace. "As Good As You" (sung by Rochester to Jane as a history of how he came to care for Adele) is a somewhat sad ballad of a not so perfect past riddled with heartache. "The Finer Things" (sung by Blanche) is a gorgeous soprano song (with several coloratura sections!!) which shows her as the shallow soul she is, yet at the same time gives her more depth of character than the movie versions have ever given her. "Sirens" (sung in counterpoint by Jane and Rochester) is a song where they are both trying not to show the love they are feeling for each other. A nice touch is at the end, where Bertha comes in with a lovely vocalese bit that sounds just like a mermaid's song. "Painting Her Portrait" (sung by Jane) is when she draws first a self portrait and then a portrait of Blanche Ingram, comparing herself to Blanche in all her beauty. "In The Light Of The Virgin Morning" (sung by Blanche and Jane in counterpoint as they both walk in the garden) is (on Jane's part) a lament about having to leave Thornfield, and (on Blanche's part) a somewhat triumphant bit when she believes she will marry Rochester and have all his wealth. "The Gypsy" (sung by Rochester in a hysterical falsetto) is when he dresses up as a gypsy woman and tells the woman their fortunes. The last line, where he slides from falsetto to his normal deep voice, is absolutely hysterical! "The Proposal" is absolutely lovely, both dialogue and singing. "Farewell, Good Angel" (sung by Rochester just after Jane leaves him) is a touching, bittersweet ballad (made me cry and I don't cry easily). "My Maker" (sung by Jane after she leaves Rochester) has a slow, gospel feel. "The Voice Across The Moors" (sung by St. John asking Jane to marry him, then Jane and Rochester) is when Jane hears Rochester's voice calling to her across the moor, hauntingly beautiful. "Brave Enough For Love" (sung by Jane and Rochester) is an incredible, emotional finale. Now on to the performers!!!
Marla Schaffel as Jane Eyre: Marla has an excellent mezzo soprano voice. She sounds mature enough for Jane and yet not too old. She expresses emotion just right, in keeping with Jane's quieter character. In sound she is something like Marin Mazzie.
James Barbour: James has an incredible voice, expressing emotion perfectly. In his lower register, he sounds something like Richard White in Maury Yeston's Phantom, and in his higher register he's like a deeper version of Doug Sills.
Jayne Paterson as Helen Burns: Jayne has a pretty, pleasant voice for her song ("Forgiveness").
Bonnie Gleicher as Young Jane: Bonnie has a very cute, sweet voice. I thought she did very well as Young Jane.
Elizabeth DeGrazia as Blanche Ingram: Elizabeth has a lovely soprano voice, and her solo is just beautiful.
Stephen Buntrock as St. John Rivers: Stephen has a pleasant, light tenor that fit my conception of St. John just right.
Mary Stout as Mrs. Fairfax: Mary was pretty good, although maybe a little too reminiscent of Angela Langsbury singing "The Worst Pies In London". :-)
I also appreciated the fact that Jane's Christianity was kept in the musical, that takes guts nowadays. All in all, Jane is most definitely worth a listen, especially considering there aren't too many clean musicals around recently.
Description of Jane Eyre: The Musical (Original 2000 Broadway Cast)
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Here's another to join the parade of page-to-stage musicals inspired by 19th-century fiction. This ambitious adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's haunting classic Jane Eyre for the musical theater seems to be part of a trend represented most famously by Les Misérables. It also reflects the increasing pressure to schedule an original cast recording release as close as possible to a new show's Broadway opening: in this case, in fact, the CD was both recorded and released prior to the show's opening in December 2000 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. But what's most significant for the artistic character of Jane Eyre: The Musical is found in yet another pattern: like a number of his colleagues, composer-lyricist Paul Gordon comes to the project from a pop music industry background (best known for his hit "Friends and Lovers"). And quite a few of the show's numbers benefit from Gordon's catchy craftwork, weaving melodies that are clearly destined to be whistled long past curtain. Yet the effect is sometimes too facile, not diving as deep as we would like into the emotional predicaments of Brontë's characters. You begin to crave a more deftly defined and imagined variety of sound worlds (especially for the darker aspects of Thornfield Hall) than what is hinted at. Gordon doesn't forge any new paths, but his melodic fluency does have its moments of payoff--especially in the moving final duet "Brave Enough for Love," which is also strong enough to stand on its own.
Gordon's predilections as a would-be son of Sondheim are nevertheless clear, and he's telescoped the story into mostly effective lyrics, with some thoughtful juxtapositions of material. Most importantly, he understands that this is more than a Gothic romance, foregrounding the central message of forgiveness that Jane learns as a girl. He attempts to explore the injured sense of self shared by both Jane and Rochester and sets them on a painful, mutual voyage of discovery.
The creative team also includes the veteran duo John Caird (book and direction) and John Napier (scenic design), who have collaborated on such epics as Les Mis and Nicholas Nickleby (not to mention the Las Vegas Siegfried and Roy extravaganza). And the show's creators seem to share a vision geared toward the more operatic end of the spectrum (it was opera composers, after all, who early on claimed 19th-century Gothic fiction for the stage, as in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor), with an actual parody of coloratura in one showstopper ("The Finer Things") given to Blanche Ingram. Fortunately, the two principals have large, richly expressive voices to encompass the large, complicated emotions of these characters. Marla Schaffel singswith unusual beauty and brings dimension to her Jane, while James Barbour (whose resumé includes Beauty and the Beast) is never really threatening as Rochester, but rather a tortured soul who is sweet-voiced even at his most cynical. Mary Stout is a stitch as the blustery Mrs. Fairfax. While the show has already undergone a lengthy evolution from its very first workshops, the viability of its final, fully staged realization has yet to be determined. But this cast recording conveys an authentic sense of the musical's atmosphere and emotional scope. --Thomas May
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