Track Listing

1. Light On My Feet
2. Fountain In The Garden
3. One More Beautiful Song
4. Friday At Four / Bobby's Song
5. Charm Song
6. Paris Through The Window
7. Mona
8. Making Up Ways
9. Under Separate Cover
10. Gauguin's Shoes
11. Follow Your Star
12. Better
13. Scintillating Sophie
14. Next Best Thing To Love
15. Broadway Boogie Woogie
16. One (Excerpt From A Chorus Line)/Better (Reprise)/I Choose You/Light On My Feet (Reprise)
17. Say Something Funny
18. When The Dawn Breaks
19. Self Portrait

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123431 in Music
• Released on: 2001-02-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards" runs the famous observation by Kierkegaard, but in a sense it also applies to the making of this "musical about musicals," which draws on the life and work of Ed Kleban. Though already assured of a place in musical theater's pantheon for having written the lyrics to the pathbreaking A Chorus Line, Kleban was far more than a one-hit wonder. In fact he composed both music and lyrics for a variety of musicals that never got produced, leaving a trunk of songs behind unheard at his untimely death in 1987 at age 48 (just a few days off from his "favorite holiday," Valentine's Day). These are the basis for A Class Act, a show put together by Kleban's friend Linda Kline and Lonny Price (best known for the role of Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along). Instead of a posthumous "tribute" simply piecing together unrelated songs willy-nilly, the concept here--first unveiled at the Manhattan Theatre Club before moving to Broadway in February 2001--is far more intriguing. It uses a flashback frame to retrace the high and low points of Kleban's personal and professional life, which is punctuated by several near-breakdowns (and a bona fide one, during college, which led to his epiphany that he was meant to spend his life as a songwriter). The show integrates songs from widely different projects into the narrative, their topics ranging from the tricks of the songwriting trade to divorce and self-scrutiny, as each number crystallizes a particular moment of insight. Kleban's craft, especially when experienced in this context, is imbued with a personal, quirky touch, and it's impressive: there's a Sondheim-like cleverness and poignancy to much of the word play (Sondheim himself reportedly has expressed open envy for "Better," which gives a lift to act 2's opening), an inventive use of conversational rhythms, and a natural flow to the melody that becomes genuinely memorable in songs like "Next Best Thing to Love" (a ballad for Kleban's platonic soul mate, Sophie, movingly performed by Randy Graff) and "Say Something Funny." Ronny Price brings a vulnerable yet likeable demeanor as the Kleban character, thereby offsetting the role's tendency to self-pity and kvetch. By the final summing up of "Self-Portrait," with Kleban's returned ghost surrounded by friends, the payoff feels not sentimental but earned. It's a thoughtful addition to what is after all an impressive line in musical theater--the "meta"-musical--but also a loving, specific portrait of a lost era of show biz in the making. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews

A fantastic tribute to Ed Kleban
Overshadowed by "The Producers" and "The Full Monty" during it's season on Broadway, "A Class Act" never really got the chance it deserved. I was driven to buy the CD after reading "A Chorus Line and The Musicals of Michael Bennett". Ed Kleban (along with others) simply popped off the page in this memoir. I found myself curious to listen to music of this man who was hired to write ONLY lyrics for "A Chorus Line". "A Class Act" proves that Kleban's music was not only tuneful and memorable, but timeless and touching as well. There are songs in "A Class Act" that share the root of their greatness with songs from "A Chorus Line". Ed Kleban's lyrics, with sentimental truth at their core, are incredible. He could've (and would've) done much more for musical theater if he'd only lived a little longer. The musical is doubly touching, because this is his true life story, with his own music and lyrics. "Under Separate Cover" is a fantastic artful piece about a separating couple. "The Next Best Thing To Love" is a story of best friends that we can all relate to. "Paris Through the Window" can bring anyone to tears. Lonny Price, Randy Graff, Carolee Carmello... could it get better? A true gem.

BEST MUSICAL EVER!!!!!
I have seen many musicals and this is by far the best. Not the typical characters. But still Love it. And for any one that says this is corny or fake. i know for a fact that the whole musical is A TRUE STORY. Everyone in it is real. Buy the CD, See the show! Its WELL worth the money.... I hate to say it but i like it BETTER then a Chorus Line. Favorite songs: Under Seperate Covers, Light on my feet and gauguins shoes,!

I WANTED TO LIKE IT!!! I REALLY DO!!!!!!!!
I have tried my very best to enjoy this album... this show! I even decided to spend [the money] to see this show to try to get to like it. No such luck. It's toooo corny. It's tooooo fake and tries to be emotional but it ends up trying TOO hard and the result is sappiness.

I hate to say this... but there's a reason Ed Kleban's music was not successful: It is not superb. By any means. It's respectable but not catchy or intelligent. The songs are too pretentious to be enjoyable. The song, "Paris through the Window" tries to be like Sondheim's "Finishing the Hat". It wants to be a deep, meaningful, song. But PTTW is dull and pointless. It does nothing to advance the plot and does nothing for the cd. There's very little energy in the songs (with a few exceptions such as anything with Carolee Carmello and "Better")

The cast is superb. They have earned this album three stars. They make the songs slightly more enjoyable... except Lonny Price. I'm usually a fan of Mr. Price, but his voice is often painful to listen to.

I want to like this show. It's an admirable attempt to bring an unknown composer's work to the nation's attention but I think they've tried to hard and have overshot their goal.