Jekyll & Hyde's Christiane Noll and several Les Miserables veterans including J. Mark McVey and Nick Wyman have recorded the concept album of a new musical version of A Tale of Two Cities. This CD with a score by Jill Santoriello is currently available on-line and at Colony Records and Footlight Records.
A Tale of Two Cities is based on Charles Dicken's classic novel of the French Revolution. In the story, drunken, but good-hearted lawyer Sydney Carton loves the beautiful Lucie Manette who, in turn, marries the kind French aristocrat Charles Darnay. When the Revolution threatens Lucie and Charles' new family, however, Sydney, who resembles the latter, is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to perserve his friends' happiness.
The disc, with book, music and lyrics by Santoriello, contains 23 numbers:
"The Way it Ought to Be" — Defarges, Sydney Carton
"The Shadows of the Night" — Mr. Jarvis Lorry, Dr. Manette
"It Won't Be Long" — Ensemble
"Up in the Garret" — Ernest Defarge
"Who Are You" — Dr. Manette , Lucie Manette
"You'll Never Be Alone" — Lucie Manette
"No Honest Way" — Jerry Cruncher, John Barsad, Ensemble
"The Trial" — Attorney General, John Barsad , Ensemble
"Reflection" — Sydney Carton
"The Promise" — Dr. Manette, Charles Darnay
"All In My Mind" — Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette
"Round and Round" — Ensemble
"Resurrection Man" — Jerry Cruncher, Croneys
"Out of Sight, Out of Mind" — Madame Defarge
"If Dreams Came True" — Sydney Carton
"Until Tomorrow" — Ernest Defarge, Ensemble
"The Tale" — Madame Defarge, The Boy, Dr. Manette, Marquis St. Evremond, Ensemble
"Little One" — Sydney Carton, Ernest Defarge, Male Ensemble
"No One Else" — Jerry Cruncher
"The Bluff" — Sydney Carton, John Barsad
"Without A Word" — Lucie Manette
"Let Her Be A Child" — Little Lucie, Sydney Carton
"Finale - I Can't Recall" — Seamstress, Sydney Carton
Noll, who sings the part of Lucie Manette, starred as the virginal Emma in Jekyll & Hyde and can currently be seen Off-Broadway in the new musical, Call the Children Home. McVey is currently starring in Les Miserables as Jean Valjean with Wyman as Thenardier. Also featured on the CD are another Valjean, Tim Shew, who plays Dr. Alexander Manette, Natalie Toro, once an Eponine, as the knitting-obssessed revolutionary Madame Defarge, Paul Castree (Saturday Night Fever, The Scarlet Pimpernel), Peter Samuel (Parade) as Mr. Jarvis Lorry, Alex Santoriello (Chess, Les Miserables) as Sydney Carton and Andrew Varela (Les Miserables, King David) as Charles Darnay and the Marquis St. Evremonde.
There will be a reading of A Tale of Two Cities in New York City in January. Nick Corley (Elliot Ness in Cleveland) will direct with musical direction by Paul Gemignani.
Through the website, the CD is $15.95 plus shipping and handling. Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe produced the CD, which features orchestrations by Edward Kessel and Bob Krogstad. To order, visit the musical's official website at www.ataleof2cities.com.
— By Christine Ehren
