In 2011, superstar composer Burt Bacharach (“I Say a Little Prayer,” “What the World Needs Now,” “The Look of Love,” etc.) released his first stage musical since 1968’s Promises, Promises. Steven Sater (Spring Awakening) contributed lyrics on the score, titled Some Lovers and apparently based on O. Henry’s famous short story, “The Gift of the Magi.” For the world premiere recording, they enlisted a crowd of (mostly rising) Broadway talent to perform each song as a separate piece. In other words, each singer doesn’t portray a character through the entire show, but just sings on one track. Consequently, I have no idea how many parts there are or what exactly the story is. But this is one instance where I don’t care!
Some Lovers is a fantastic score that is at once recognizably Bacharach and open enough to be its own thing. Sater’s lyrics are simple, unlike his impressionist poetry in Spring Awakening. And the list of performers includes a few bonafide stars (Kristin Chenoweth, Lea Michele, Tracie Thoms, Jonathan Groff) among a long list of performers who have since become the new stars of Broadway (Ethan Slater, Conrad Ricamora, Ramin Karimloo, Ashley Park, Colton Ryan). Whoever cast this recording did a great job picking tomorrow’s stars.
I flat-out love this album! Every song, every performance is great. Strangely, the show has never seen a Broadway production! In fifteen years, surely someone would want to mount a new work by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater—especially a score this strong. It doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page! I can only assume that Bacharach’s name is linked with the sound of the sixties and therefore seen as a liability instead of a draw. But that’s crazy. This is a great musical score, and I want to see it performed, darn it! But at least I have this version of the songs, sung by the likes of Laura Osnes, Kristina Lenk, and Santino Fontana!