Lysistrata Jones: Album Reviews

The original Broadway cast recording of the short-lived musical Lysistrata Jones, released this week in stores, has received mixed but generally favorable reviews. The show closed January 8, after only 30 performances, but the cast reunited two months later, on March 1, to record the show for posterity. The creative team is Douglas Carter Beane (book), Lewis Flinn (lyrics and music), and Lewis Flinn and Dean Sharenow (album producers).

Jeff Kyler (Theatre Scene): An unlikely candidate for such treatment despite being one of the best reviewed musicals of the entire season, the show ran for just 30 performances last winter. Thank goodness someone saw fit to set this score to a permanent record. And with such a high quality treatment! That said, on its own, without benefit of the sassy, smart book by Douglas Carter Beane or the staging and choreography of Dan Knechtges, the score by Lewis Flinn at first listen is an iffy proposition. But after a few listenings, I have found the score to be quite entertaining and full of several little gems. … When I want high energy, fun music to make me smile, this disc will be a go-to for sure!

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): The vivacious top 40 sounds of Lewis Flinn’s songs for the recent Broadway musical Lysistrata Jones surge with youthful energy and sparkle with comic assurance. … For all of the theatergoers who became avid fans of this fizzy tuner during its run, the disc is sure to be a welcome addition to music collections, and for others, this contemporary retelling of Aristophanes’ play is filled with welcome surprises, both musically and lyrically. At the center of the recording – as with the production – is Patti Murin’s enormously charismatic and sure-voiced turn as the heroine. … In addition to the full-color booklet (wittily conceived as a school yearbook with photos, synopsis, lyrics and notes from the creatives, as well as snarky “penned-in” comments), the disc comes with a special bonus track: Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday’s gospel-infused cover of “Hold On.”

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