Product Description

Tony nominee Malcolm Gets (Amour, A New Brain, TVs Caroline in the City) and Will Chase (High Fidelity, Rent, Aida) star in this new musical that follows the contours of a lifelong friendship between two men, Alvin and Thomas, whose childhood bond threads throughout their adult years. THE STORY OF MY LIFE is a Broadway rarity: an intimate musical that candidly explores the simplicity of human need and the complexity of emotions under which it lies buried. Composer-lyricist Neil Bartram and librettist Brian Hill have created an authentic and affecting work, told through a series of songs in turn playful, touching and dramatic, and expertly orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick. One New York critic predicted, When the original cast recording comes out, see if you dont find yourself moved to Google the name of some long-lost friend with whom you simply lost touch. THE STORY OF MY LIFE inspires us to reconnect with those who were part of the earliest chapters of our own life stories.

Track Listing

1. Write What You Know 2. Mrs. Remington 3. The Greatest Gift 4. 1876 5. Normal 6. People Carry On 7. The Butterfly 8. Saying Goodbye (Part 1) 9. Heres Where It Begins 10. Saying Goodbye (Part 2) 11. Independence Day 12. I Like It Here 13. Youre Amazing, Tom 14. Nothing There 15. I Didn't See Alvin 16. This Is It 17. Angels in the Snow

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15329 in Music
• Released on: 2009-06-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

An exceptional score full of character insight
When THE STORY OF MY LIFE premiered in Toronto in November of 2006, people who saw it wished it had been recorded right there and then with the Toronto stars (Brent Carver and Jeffrey Kuhn) but that six-week run was actually just a try-out. The authors have since gone back and revised the show. The new version opene at the Goodspeed Opera House in the fall of 2008 and was pickd up for a Broadway opening at teh Booth Theatre in February 2009.

Now, opening any new show on Broadway these days is tricky unless you have a pre-sold name by being based on a popular book (WICKED) or film (SHREK, THE LITTLE MERMAID.) It is very difficult to get Broadway audiences to spend $100 or more to see a new original piece. This is why Broadway is currently flooded with revivals.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE had the added disadvantage of opening in the middle of an economic downturn that had forced the closing of 18 shows in a two week period in January 2009. With minimal advance sales, the show depended on the leading New York critics.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE opened February 19, 2009 after two weeks of previews. The preview audiences generally loved the show as did some of the second string critics, but the show was panned by the major papers, notably the reviewer for the New York Times, who found it owed a great deal to the 1981 Sondheim-Furth musical MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. (Perhaps in it's examination of a detroyed friendship, but STORY OF MY LIFE follows its own road. Besides which, it is rich enough theme to encourage further exploration.)

The producers assessed the damage quickly and opted to close after just 5 performances, investing their remaining money in making this cast recording.

If you are a fan of Sondheim's musicals, and if you enjoy scores that delve into character and are rich in emtional textures this is a score you will love. There is a detailed synopsis in the booklet but the songs (and dialogue) on the discs tell the whole story.

Malcolm Gets is a superb Alvin, but the real revelation hjere is Will Chase as the troubled author Thomas. (I confess a fondness for Brent Carver's Alvin in Toronto, but then I didn't get to see STORY OF MY LIFE in New York, and perhaps if I had I would have enjoyed Gets' performance just as much. No perhaps. I am sure of it.) Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations are deliciously spare. This is an intimate 2-character show that I suspect will soon be done in regional theatres and on University campus stages. Many of the songs will become standard audition material.

Take note that this is not the first score by Neil Bartram (and his bookwriting partner Brian Hill) and it certainly won't be their last. These are two immensely talented writers, and anyone who cares about the future of the lyric theatre will be well advised to watch and listen to what they come up with next.

There were some that said that STORY OF MY LIFE belonged in an off-Broadway house - that it was too small a show for Broadway. No - Broadway was to small for this show. But we have the cast album and that will assure a future life for this piece.

Delightfully Engaging
I saw this on Broadway the night before it opened. I found its beauty in its simplicity. Each song tells a story. A story of Mrs Remington, (I had a Mrs Remington in grade school!) A story about the Butterfly effect. I use these two songs because you can hear segments on www.thestoryofmylife.com/ Listen to them and you will get but a taste of the glory of this show. With any luck it will have a national tour, probably in smaller theaters. The songs Soar. A 6 star recording.

AWESOME! INSPIRING!
I stumbled upon this recording at Barnes & Noble on June 2, 2009, the day it was released. I listened to it in the car and was mesmerized by the beauty of the story, the lyrics, the music. No doubt that THE BUTTERFLY will become a Broadway standard just as One, One The Street Where You Live, Send In The Clowns, My Funny Valentine, etc. This is a not just a show, it is a piece of modern art at its finest. The story is original, yet it is one that everyone knows. The music is simple, yet full of detail.