Hype is something that, I find, seldom leads to anything of substance. We live in a society where everything is now the 'best', the 'biggest', the 'must see' event of the year, so I tend to feel pretty numb to such things, and approach anything that's being sold to me in this way with some trepidation. This is very much the case with new Broadway shows, as seldom do they live up to the publicity.

Once such show was Next To Normal, winning Best Musical Tony, yet left me pretty cold, despite everyone and their dog talking about it. So, when If/Then started attracting the same old lines, I thought we could be in for a repeat. The blessing here was though, that it was starring one of my favourite ladies of the moment... well, of the last 10 years actually.

Idina Menzel returns to Broadway for the first time since winning the Tony Award for Wicked in If/Then, an original Broadway musical which reunites Tom Kitt (music), Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics), and Michael Greif (director), the creative team behind the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical... you've guessed it, Next to Normal. If/Then is being produced by David Stone, who produced both 'Wicked' and 'Next to Normal'.

If/Then is an original new musical that follows Elizabeth as she rebuilds her life in New York, a city of infinite possibilities. This contemporary musical is set where choice and chance collide. In one moment, Elizabeth will lead parallel lives. This is the story of both.

The company of If/Then features Idina Menzel (Tony Award-winner for Wicked, original cast of Rent, Disney’s Frozen), LaChanze (Tony Award-winner for The Color Purple), Anthony Rapp (original cast of Rent), James Snyder (Cry-Baby), Jerry Dixon (tick, tick…Boom!, Once On This Island), Jenn Colella (Chaplin, High Fidelity), Jason Tam (A Chorus Line, Lysistrata Jones), Tamika Lawrence (Matilda), and Jackie Burns (Wicked). The production also features Joe Cassidy, Miguel Cervantes, Curtis Holbrook, Stephanie Klemons, Tyler McGee, Ryann Redmond, Joe Aaron Reid, Ann Sanders, Marc delaCruz, Charles Hagerty, Janet Krupin and Pearl Sun.

The show opened on Broadway on 30 March 2014, making it eligible for this year's Tony Awards. It didn't win any, but had 2 nominations for Best Score and Best Actress in a Musical for Menzel. When you listen to the cast recording, it should have won both, and another for Orchestrations, for these are the things that make this cast album one of the best of the decade, and probably the century so far. It's of no surprise that the album debuted at the highest position of a cast recording since Rent. The Menzel effect, perhaps.

But not just that. I'm a firm believer that a strong musical theatre score will cross the boundaries easily into popular music, and that there's a good percentage of music buyers today who buy 'good music', regardless of its genre. And this, my friends, is superb music.

Right from the off, this score oozes appeal. The opening 'What/If' number sets the scene perfectly, and introduces the players to you. The booklet contains all you need to know, and you will need it to follow the story, as there is nothing on the CD in terms of libretti. What there is on the CD is 23 tracks of quality and enjoyment. The whole cast is excellent, but top of the pack are Menzel and Rapp, reprising the partnership that was sealed in Rent. Their numbers soar. Special favourites were 'Always Starting Over' and 'You Don't Need to Love Me', but it's unfair to pick out individual tracks. Some of the company numbers, such as the opening, and 'A Map Of New York', are equals.

Orchestrations by Michael Starobin never disappoint, as always. Starobin is one of my favourite Broadway orchestrators (after Larry Blank and Doug Besterman, of course) and this is one of his strongest efforts.

I cannot recommend this cast recording enough, and if you find yourself on Broadway, go see what must be the hottest ticket in town.

10

Ian Gude