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Harbinger Records

I Love My Wife: A Musical / Beechman, Pendleton

$9.49
$18.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
COLEMAN STEWART
Artist
Beechman, Pendleton
Format
CD
Label
Harbinger Records
Released
Feb 14, 2020
Catalog #
HCD3601
UPC
632433360125

About

Another in Harbinger Records’ acclaimed series of Broadway Backers’ Auditions, I Love My Wife Backers’ Audition is a swinging romp about swinging singles with an equally swinging score by Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart. And it’s those songwriters who play the score and narrate the story. Singing duties are also shared by Broadway legend Laurie Beechman and Broadway mainstay Austin Pendleton. This merry quartet has a ball and so will the listeners.

The recording was made to send out to potential backers to entice them to invest in the show. Those who did found this intimate show (the musicians also played parts in the piece) to be a sleeper hit. It opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre on April 17, 1977 and entranced the critics. New York Times critic Clive Barnes enthused that the show was “bright, inventive, amusing and breezy.” It ended up playing a remarkable 857 performances.

Our recording also features bonus tracks from two other Cy Coleman shows, Atlantic City, with lyrics by Christopher Gore, and Home Again, with lyrics by Barbara Fried. The five songs excerpted from their demo recordings suggest the range of Coleman’s output in the 1970s.

And for I Love My Wife, informative liner notes by Coleman biographer Andy Propst explain it all. How two couples from the suburbs of Trenton, New Jersey, spend a rollicking Christmas Eve. These friends, with a little help of strong eggnog and other libations (some smoked), decide to explore a ménage-à-quatre. They make it as far as the bed when…Well, we’ll let Mr. Coleman and Mr. Stewart tell you the story. The songs, the story and the enthusiastic creators make this CD a joy to listen to. The 12-page booklet also contains photos from the original Broadway production.

I Love My Wife Backers’ Audition makes for a joyful listening experience and a bit of nostalgia for people of a certain age. A huge hit on Broadway, a rousing score, narration by the creators and performances of two of Broadway’s finest talents. What more could one hope for in today’s parlous times?

Tracklist 33 tracks

  1. 1 Act I: Introduction 01:27
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act I: Introduction
    Duration
    01:27
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  2. 2 Act I: Introduction to We're Still Friends 00:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to We're Still Friends
    Duration
    00:49
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  3. 3 Act I: We're Still Friends (Company) 03:29
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I: We're Still Friends (Company)
    Duration
    03:29
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  4. 4 Act I: Introduction to Monica 00:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to Monica
    Duration
    00:32
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  5. 5 Act I: Monica (Alvin, Monica, Four Guys) 02:01
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act I: Monica (Alvin, Monica, Four Guys)
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  6. 6 Act I: Introduction to A Mover's Life 00:44
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to A Mover's Life
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  7. 7 Act I: A Mover's Life (Alvin, Four Guys) 02:42
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act I: A Mover's Life (Alvin, Four Guys)
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  8. 8 Act I: Introduction to By Threes 01:53
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to By Threes
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  9. 9 Act I: By Threes (Wally, Alvin, Harvey) 01:33
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act I: By Threes (Wally, Alvin, Harvey)
    Duration
    01:33
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Austin Pendleton, Laurie Beechman, Cy Coleman
  10. 10 Act I: Introduction to Love Revolution 00:56
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to Love Revolution
    Duration
    00:56
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  11. 11 Act I: Love Revolution (Cleo) 01:56
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act I: Love Revolution (Cleo)
    Duration
    01:56
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  12. 12 Act I: Introduction to Someone Wonderful I Missed 00:38
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to Someone Wonderful I Missed
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  13. 13 Act I: Someone Wonderful I Missed (Monica, Cleo) 03:34
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act I: Someone Wonderful I Missed (Monica, Cleo)
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  14. 14 Act I: Introduction to Sexually Free 01:29
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act I: Introduction to Sexually Free
    Duration
    01:29
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  15. 15 Act I: Sexually Free (Alvin, Cleo, Wally) 02:15
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act I: Sexually Free (Alvin, Cleo, Wally)
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  16. 16 Act II: Hey There, Good Times (Harvey, Stanley, Quentin, Norman) 04:42
    Track
    16
    Title
    Act II: Hey There, Good Times (Harvey, Stanley, Quentin, Norman)
    Duration
    04:42
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  17. 17 Act II: Introduction to Lovers on Christmas Eve 00:38
    Track
    17
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to Lovers on Christmas Eve
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  18. 18 Act II: Lovers on Christmas Eve (Monica, Wally, Norman) 02:32
    Track
    18
    Title
    Act II: Lovers on Christmas Eve (Monica, Wally, Norman)
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  19. 19 Act II: Introduction to the Blessing 01:26
    Track
    19
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to the Blessing
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  20. 20 Act II: The Blessing 03:06
    Track
    20
    Title
    Act II: The Blessing
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  21. 21 Act II: Introduction to Everbody Today Is Turning On 00:51
    Track
    21
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to Everbody Today Is Turning On
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  22. 22 Act II: Everybody Today Is Turning On (Alvin, Wally) 02:50
    Track
    22
    Title
    Act II: Everybody Today Is Turning On (Alvin, Wally)
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  23. 23 Act II: Introduction to Married Couple 00:47
    Track
    23
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to Married Couple
    Duration
    00:47
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  24. 24 Act II: Married Couple (Alvin, Cleo, Wally, Monica) 02:16
    Track
    24
    Title
    Act II: Married Couple (Alvin, Cleo, Wally, Monica)
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  25. 25 Act II: Introduction to Reprises 02:26
    Track
    25
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to Reprises
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  26. 26 Act II: By Threes - Someone Wonderful I Missed - A Mover's Life - Sexually Free - Everybody Today Is Turning On - Married Couple (reprise) 04:59
    Track
    26
    Title
    Act II: By Threes - Someone Wonderful I Missed - A Mover's Life - Sexually Free - Everybody Today Is Turning On - Married Couple (reprise)
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  27. 27 Act II: Introduction to I Love My Wife 00:48
    Track
    27
    Title
    Act II: Introduction to I Love My Wife
    Duration
    00:48
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart
  28. 28 Act II: I Love My Wife (Alvin, Wally) 03:36
    Track
    28
    Title
    Act II: I Love My Wife (Alvin, Wally)
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Michael Stewart, Laurie Beechman, Austin Pendleton, Cy Coleman
  29. 29 When Jill Is Gone 02:04
    Track
    29
    Title
    When Jill Is Gone
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Cy Coleman
  30. 30 I Really Love You 03:22
    Track
    30
    Title
    I Really Love You
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Cy Coleman
  31. 31 All For Love 04:00
    Track
    31
    Title
    All For Love
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Cy Coleman
  32. 32 Wedding Song 01:00
    Track
    32
    Title
    Wedding Song
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Cy Coleman
  33. 33 When It Comes To Loving 02:05
    Track
    33
    Title
    When It Comes To Loving
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Cy Coleman
    Performer
    Cy Coleman