CDs Now Available:

Barbara Dickson: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall
(Music Video Distributors - new CD/DVD set)
Scottish singer and actress Barbara Dickson (Blood Brothers, Spend Spend Spend) live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987. Selections include "Caravans," "I Think It'S Going To Rain Today," "It's Money That I Love," "Maccrimmon's Lament," "As Time Goes By," "Another Suitcase In Another Hall," "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "Pride (In The Name Of Love)," "I Know Him So Well," "For All We Know," "Don'T Think Twice, It'S Alright," "I Know Him So Well [with Elaine Paige]."

Dee Dee Bridgewater: Dee Dee's Feathers
(Sony Masterworks/Okeh - on CD/mp3/iTunes)
Collaboration of Dee Dee Bridgewater and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, founded by artistic director and trumpeter Irvin Mayfield. A modern vision of New Orleans with traditional songs.

Pinocchio TV Cast
(Masterworks Broadway/ArkivMusic - new on CD-R/mp3/iTunes)
1957 television musical starring Mickey Rooney, Fran Allison, Stubby Kaye, Martyn Green. Songs by Alec Wilder and William Engvick. "Opening / Listen to Your Heart," "Happy News," "Pinocchio's Song," "Lullaby," "The Fox's Pitch," "Listen to Your Heart," "The Jolly Coachman," "Listen to Your Heart [Reprise 1]," "Lullaby," "Listen to Your Heart [Reprise 2]," "The Birthday Song," "Listen to Your Heart [Reprise 3]," "Happy News [Reprise]." Pre-ordering at ArkivMusic. At Masterworks July 7; ArkivMusic and digital outlets August 14.

DVD/Blu-Rays Now Available:

The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes Ultimate Collection
(Time-Life - on 22 DVDs)
"No one has seen the first five seasons of ‘The Carol Burnett Show' since they were first aired." Features 45 episodes plus over 20 hours of bonus material on 22 DVDs, all housed in a deluxe collector's box. Exclusive bonus features include: backstage tour of Studio 33 where the show was filmed; exclusive interviews with Alan Alda, Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and many more; rare Carol TV specials; newly produced featurettes ; bonus sketches; never-before-seen bloopers and outtakes. Also includes a 40-page guest book with autographs from Carol's guests, friends, and fans, production photos, and notes from Carol herself. Order at https://timelife.com.

The Front Page Blu-ray
(Kino - new on Blu-ray)
1931 film version of 1928 play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Mastered in HD from 35mm elements preserved by LOC. Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, George E. Stone, Matt Moore, and Edward Everett Horton. Directed by Lewis Milestone. 100 minutes. short documentary on the film preservation efforts of the Library of Congress; audio commentary by film historian Bret Wood; 1937 radio adaptation starring Walter Winchell, presented by Cecil B. DeMille (60 min.); 1946 radio adaptation starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O Brien (30 min.).

Recordings RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

Hamilton OBC
(WMG/Atlantic Records - new on 2 CDs)
Lin-Manuel Miranda score. 2015 Broadway show. Cast includes Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Javier Muñoz, Leslie Odom, Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, Phillipa Soo, and Carleigh Bettiol, Andrew Chappelle, Ariana DeBose, Alysha Deslorieux, Sydney James Harcourt, Neil Haskell. 46 tracks. Disc 1: "Alexander Hamilton," "Aaron Burr, Sir," "My Shot," "The Story of Tonight," "The Schuyler Sisters," "Farmer Refuted," "You'll Be Back," "Right Hand Man," "A Winter's Ball," "Helpless," "Satisfied," "The Story of Tonight (Reprise)," "Wait For It," "Stay Alive," "Ten Duel Commandments," "Meet Me Inside," "That Would Be Enough," "Guns and Ships," "History Has Its Eyes On You," "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)," "What Comes Next," "Dear Theodosia," "Non-Stop"; Disc 2: "What'd I Miss," "Cabinet Battle #1," "Take a Break," "Say No To This," "The Room Where It Happens," "Schuyler Defeated," "Cabinet Battle #2," "Washington On Your Side," "One Last Time," "I Know Him," "The Adams Administration," "We Know," "Hurricane," "The Reynolds Pamphlet," "Burn," "Blow Us All Away," "Stay Alive (Reprise)," "It's Quiet Uptown," "Election Of 1800," "Your Obedient Servant," "Best of Wives and Best of Women," "The World Was Wide Enough," "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story." Released digitally on mp3 and at iTunes

Love Birds Original Edinburgh Cast
(SimG Records - new on CD)
Score by Robert J. Sherman. New musical currently playing at Edinburgh Fringe. Ruth Betteridge, Greg Castiglioni, John Guerrasio, George Knapper, Jonny Purchase, Joanna Sawyer, Anna Stolli, Rafe Watts, Ryan Willis. "Prologue," "Mary Poppins," "Tinpanorama," "Sadie Macaw (Part 1)," "The Bird With The Broken Heart (Nobody Knows)," "Valentine," "Sadie Macaw (Part 2)," "Old Fashioned Guy," "The Flipper Flap," "Old Fashioned Guy (Reprise)," "The Sharpest SmilE," "Paint A Rainbow," "Crunchy Crackers," "On Cloudy Days," "Love Birds," "Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow," "Love Birds (Finale)." At Dress Circle.

Patti LuPone: Matters of the Heart
(Broadway Records - new on CD)
Originally released in 1999, reissued with all new packaging and photos. Studio recording of Patti LuPone's cabaret show, which originated on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in 2000 and toured. "Storybook/Love Makes the World Go 'Round," "A Cock-Eyed Optimist," "The Boy Next Door," "It's For You/A Wonderful Guy," "Where Love Resides," "Shattered Illusions," "Unexpressed," "Not a Day Goes By," "Playbill," "Air That I Breathe," "Sand and Water," "When the World Was Young/I Never Do Anything Twice," "I Regret Everything," "This Moment," "Real Emotional Girl," "My Father/Look Mummy, No Hands," "My Son," "Back to Before," "Hello, Young Lovers," "My Best to You."

Peter Pan (1955 and 1956) Collector's Edition
(VAI - new Blu-ray/DVD)
Mary Martin as Peter Pan in the live 1956 telecast, with Cyril Ritchard, Kathy Nolan, Sondra Lee, and Heller Halliday. From the original kinescopes. Produced for television by Jerome Robbins. Bonus feature: the 1955 telecast. Black and white, 235 minutes total. Also available directly from VAI. Also available, the 1956 on DVD alone.

Victor Herbert: The Only Girl
(Albany Records - new on CD)
Victor Herbert's three-act 1914 score, with Henry Blossom's lyrics. Light Opera of New York cast: Kyle Erdos-Knapp, Antoni Mendezona, Natalie Ballenger, Sarah Best, Sarah Mossman, Ian McEuen, Adam Cunnedy, Cameron Smith. "The clash between a young female composer and an egotistical Broadway librettist." Based on a play by Frank Mandel. New performance edition by Michael Phillips. Gerald Steichen, conductor. All music is presented, with a truncated version of Phillips' book.

Books RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:

The Blue Touch Paper: A Memoir (by David Hare)
(W.W. Norton and Company - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
Playwright and screenwriter David Hare's account of becoming a writer amid the enormous flux of postwar England ... from his university days at Cambridge to the swinging 1960s, when he cofounded the influential Portable Theatre in London and took a memorable road trip across America, to his breakthrough successes as a playwright amid the political ferment of the '70s. 368 pages with eight pages of illustrations.

How to Write About Theatre: A Manual for Critics, Students and Bloggers
(Bloomsbury Methuen Drama - Hardcover/Paperback/Kindle Edition)
By Mark Fisher (Scottish theatre critic for The Guardia, contributor to Variety). Foreword by Chris Jones (Chicago Tribune). Lessons from history's leading critics and examples from around the world; practical advice about how to celebrate, analyse and discuss the art form. 296 pages.

Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story
(DK - Hardcover Book)
Foreword by Elaine Paige. "Showcases the complete history of the musical on stage and screen, from its origins in ancient Greece to early twentieth century dance halls and vaudeville to the golden age of cinema productions to the record-breaking Broadway musicals of today." 360 pages with infographics, black-and-white and color photography.

Play Readings: A Complete Guide for Theatre Practitioners
(Focal Press - Hardcover/Paperback Book)
By Rob Urbinati. Examines considerations involved in readings: use of the venue, pre-reading preparations, playwright/director communication, editing/adapting stage directions, casting, using the limited rehearsal time effectively, simple "staging" suggestions, working with actors, handling complex stage directions, talkbacks, and limiting the use of props, costumes, and music. A variety of readings are covered, including readings of musicals, operas, and period plays. 224 pages.

The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Classic Broadway Shows Are Built
(Sarah Crichton Books - Hardcover Book/Kindle Edition)
By Jack Viertel. Paints a picture of how Broadway musicals are made, through all the phases of a typical musical theater story, from opening numbers to finales. A look at what Viertel has learned over the course of his career, with observations about the egotists, geniuses, and workaday professionals who have sustained this unique American art form. 336 pages.

Theatre World Volume 70: 2013-2014
(Theatre World Media - Hardcover Book)
Ben Hodges and Scott Denny, editors. Detailing more than 2,000 productions with more than 800 photographs. Cast lists, replacements, producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and plot synopses, the year's obituaries, a listing of all nominees and winners of the major theatrical awards, the longest-running Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, a listing of national tours, and a detailed index. 540 pages.

OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Added to October 6:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition
(Fox - Blu-ray/DVD)
Details to come.

Added to October 27:

Theatre World Volume 69: 2012-2013
(Theatre World Media - Hardcover Book)
Ben Hodges and Scott Denny, editors. Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and complete listings for 70 regional theatres, detailing more than 2,000 productions with over 800 photographs, each entry includes cast lists, replacements, producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and plot synopses. The year's obituaries, a listing of all nominees and winners of the major theatrical awards, the longest-running Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and a detailed index. Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre roundups written by accomplished theatre critics. Highlights of the season include Kinky Boots; Matilda the Musical; Tracy Letts in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Cicely Tyson in Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful; Pippin; David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim's Here Lies Love. 524 pages.

Updated:

Harbinger Records items in the works: John Kander 2-CD set with have a 60-page booklet; Steve Ross Sondheim album Good Thing Going; Hy Zaret with Leon Bibb and Ronnie Gilbert It Could Be a Wonderful World; Stacy Sullivan tribute to Marian McPartland Better Than a Dream; Barbara Fasano Busy Being Free; Mark Murphy album accompanied by Spiros Exaras; Cy Walter Centenary 2-CD set Sublimities with 40-page booklet; material from Eubie Blake; download only demos of Hugh Martin and Sheldon Harnick; several Cy Walter albums for download; new Sylvia McNair Sondheim album; Steve Ross' back catalog for download; Cy Coleman's Barnum album where he plays the score (and maybe more).