Kirshenbaum: Summer of '42

This cast recording, dating from five years after the show's one-month off-Broadway run, is about a match for the David Kirshenbaum score and the Hunter Foster book, all based on the Herman Raucher novel and screenplay. Kirshenbaum's music is close to Stephen Sondheim at various points, but that isn't a bad place to be -- there might not be a "big" tune here, but the score is reasonably inventive (though it may place a little too much emphasis on the comedic side of the testosterone-driven antics of the hero and his two friends), and the book has its clever moments. The cast members throw everything they've got into the material at hand, and the recording may actually be slightly superior to the score in that regard. Listening to this account, it's difficult to fathom why the production only ran for four weeks at the outset of the 21st century -- and easy to see why it has, despite that uncertain start, found a life in student and regional productions around the country. Rachel York and Ryan Driscoll are superb in the two leads, and their performances are worth the price of this set by themselves. As with other Jay releases, the annotation is thorough and the whole release handsomely produced.

Still in original shrink wrap.