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Where's Charley? / Original London Cast

Cast
Release Date: 10/09/2007 
Label:  Emi Classics   Catalog #: 65071  
Composer:  Frank Loesser
Performer:  Jerry Desmonde,  Felix Felton,  Pamela Gale,  Pip Hinton,   ... 
Conductor:  Michael Collins
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Michael Collins Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
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This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.

Notes and Editorial Reviews

Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser.

Principal cast includes: Norman Wisdom (Charley Wykeham), Pip Hinton (Amy Spettigue), Terence Cooper (Jack Chesney), Pamela Gale (Kitty Verdun), Jerry Desmonde (Sir Francis Chesney), Felix Felton (Mr. Spettigue), and Jill Martin (Patricia).

Recorded in 1958.

Digitally remastered by Vic Lanza and Ron Hill.

There was a ten year gap between the American and London stage premieres of Frank Loesser and George Abbott's Where's Charley, mostly owing to the popularity in London of the non-musical original by Brandon Thomas, and the search for a suitable lead -- Ray Bolger had done the role of Charley Wyckeham on Broadway, in a production that ran a Read more then-very-substantial 792 performances (plus the feature film that followed). But it wasn't until 1958 that the musical reached the London stage, in a production that is preserved on the recording at hand. Norman Wisdom was worth the wait, as we hear throughout this album -- he makes "Once in Love with Amy" his own, in his inimitable style, with clever little nuances and vamps that come through beautifully on the recording. The rest is well-realized, with some fine comedic moments preserved in "Serenade with Asides" (sung by Felix Felton and Wisdom), which segues delightfully into the stunning "Lovelier Than Ever" (featuring Marion Grimaldi) -- and the latter leads to Pip Hinton's wonderful performance on "The Woman in His Room"; those four tracks alone are practically worth the price of admission, and the rest is only inches behind them in appeal. Producer Norman Newell was an expert at the making of cast recordings, and this is one of his more enduring efforts, which is saying a great deal. In 1993 it was very well transferred to compact disc, with excellent sound and very full annotation.

-- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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Works on This Recording

1. Where's Charley? by Frank Loesser
Performer:  Jerry Desmonde (Voice), Felix Felton (Voice), Pamela Gale (Voice),
Pip Hinton (Voice), Norman Wisdom (Voice), Terence Cooper (Voice),
Marion Grimaldi (Voice), Jill Martin (Voice)
Conductor:  Michael Collins
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Michael Collins Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
 Date of Recording: 1958 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Very good and the only recording November 18, 2012 By Elliot F. (GRANADA HILLS, CA) See All My Reviews "This is the only recording of Where's Charley available so its worth getting. Some of Loesser's music and some musical numbers appear to be added padding which don't have anything to do with the plot (Pernambuco) but probably made a good production number. Performances are good and sound is suprisingly good in very early EMI stereo. Now, if Warners would only re-release the film on DVD (which I haven't seen in over 30 years) with Bolger, that would be a treat." Report Abuse
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