There can be no more an appropriate subject for a Broadway musical than the industry itself. Of late, Glee has shown that, more than ever, there is interest from industry insiders and teens alike in the daily trials of performers and musicians, in the same way that A Chorus Line and Fame did for previous generations.

However, one of the earliest 'shows about show business' was On Your Toes, which premiered on Broadway in 1936, and for the first time the 1952 Studio Recording of Rodgers & Hart's glorious score is available in digital format from Masterworks Broadway.

The story of On Your Toes deals with a young hoofer, the son of vaudevillians, whose mother persuades him to leave the “two-a-day” and join a serious dance troupe. A friend of the hoofer presents the troupe with a new work that tells a contemporary story through the medium of ballet, and in this the young man, the leading ballerina, and the troupe score a decided triumph. This studio recording, produced by Goddard Lieberson, is unique as it was the first to feature the full-length recording of the main ballet number, 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'. 

Jack Cassidy and Portia Nelson who feature on this studio recording, were to become regular contributors to Lieberson's studio re-creations of classic Broadway scores. This recording marked Nelson's debut for Lieberson, having recorded her debut album Love Songs for a Late Evening earlier in 1952, also for Columbia Masterworks. Cassidy, on the other hand, was already an established Broadway performer, and was about to star in Harold Rome's Wish You Were Here when this 1952 studio recording was made.

This is a recording of quality, not quantity, running at around 52 minutes. The transfer is top-notch, as is expected from this Masterworks series, and is a vast improvement on the public domain release of a few years ago, which was sourced from the original LP release. The original mono masters have been newly restored for this release, and give the score a fresh and detailed sound.

As is often the case with Studio Cast recordings, the material here comes across more as a series of 'singles' rather than a coherent story, and the relationships built through performance of the material on stage are not evident from the cast, but none of this 
detracts from the quality of the writing or performance.  Nelson brings warmth to her numbers, showing that whilst she was never considered to be a vocalist of the highest order, her acting skills mean that she is able to deliver a song with sincerity.

The highlight of the recording is 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue', which under the direction of Lehman Engel, arguably sounds better than the revival recordings of the 1954 and 1983 versions already available.

On Your Toes is available as downloads through all major digital service providers and as disc-on-demand, with the original cover art and liner notes via Arkivmusic.com and Amazon.com.

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Ian Gude