The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

So glad you felt that way, Bill. While 18 musicians is in no way 30, Tunick did an exceptional, exceptional job with his new orchestrations. I can't see any Bacharach fan being disappointed by the sound of this revival, and I'm eagerly awaiting the recording!!

It's long been common practice for cast recordings to "sweeten" the pit orchestra with additional strings; I'm hoping Sony follows suit for the new PROMISES album. Seeing as how Tunick's major reduction to his orchestration was in the string department, adding some of these parts back woul...

It's no surprise but still unfortunate that PROMISES was snubbed for a Best Revival nomination in favor of two long-closed shows: FINIAN'S RAINBOW and RAGTIME. This precludes the show from getting a performance slot on the broadcast, which is a certain sales boost. On the plus side, PP grossed over ...

I totally agree with you, Kyle -- as I wrote in my "review," I think the shift to 1962 is utterly pointless (and driven totally by the Mad Men connection.) But the NY critical reaction proves that more than a few people get the Mad Men connection -- almost everybody did, and will, if they ...

You also can follow the links from Broadway.com to a full ten minutes of musical highlights from the show. This footage may well be the show's best weapon if enough view it; it really looks spectacular and displays the best of the show.

Had Rob Marshall's Encores! revival transferred to Broadway in 1997 (as was hoped by many involved in the production), PROMISES would have a very different reputation today. Instead, we've been given a fitfully entertaining revival which should please many here (read my comments on it in a below thr...

With PROMISES, PROMISES facing the professional critics on Sunday evening, I feel it's now an appropriate time to share my own thoughts on the production. Hope this answers some of the questions folks here have had about the show, and changes to it... Joe +++ The poster artwork suggests a sugary rom...

Hey Steve, "With A Smile" from the 1994 Japan-only CD release on the Nippon Columbia/Triad label, TRIBUTE TO BURT BACHARACH. It's a short but sweet 9-track CD with Japanese acts covering Bacharach tunes, and 2 new ones penned by Burt - "Mulino Bianco" (an instrumental performed b...

I'd cut Barnes a little slack. I hardly think Burt himself would have thought of himself as a revolutionary in 1968...a highly successful composer of "delightful" pop tunes, certainly. A few years down the road, Burt's place in the pantheon became much clearer, as a composer of the highest...

For better or worse, I believe many directors today look to leave their "mark" on a piece -- which is why they make changes to a show's text and/or score for revival. Rob Marshall did this with PROMISES in 1997, requesting the new song "You've Got It All Wrong" from Burt and Hal,...

Hi, In answer to your question, no, none of the original songs have been removed. That said, "Grapes of Roth" and "Christmas Day" are largely used as underscore/background music (though there is choreography to the opening portion of "Grapes"), especially "Christma...

Hey, friends, I'll try to answer a couple of these questions, but I'm indeed saving the rest for a full review... I was sitting in the orchestra center/house seat section. I do wish the producers hadn't reduced the orchestra...recent revivals of GYPSY, FINIAN'S RAINBOW, SOUTH PACIFIC and RAGTIME hav...

Saw the new PROMISES last evening. I'll post a full review closer to the show's opening; I don't think it's fair to completely evaluate the show even in a forum such as this one when they're only on their second (as of tonight, third) preview. But I did want to share some of the MAJOR changes made t...

Burt said he was working on ISALP "around" the same time as PP; I think it's clear that ISALP was written before work commenced on PP. Forty-some-odd years later, 1966 is "around" the same time as 1968, certainly from Burt's standpoint. No matter, though. If Burt, Hal and Neil Si...

Finally, news of Burt's new musical theatre project has surfaced... From Playbill On-Line: [Spring Awakening lyricist Steven] Sater is working on a new musical with pop-hit composer Burt Bacharach, whose 1968 musical Promises, Promises returns to Broadway this season. Sater and Bacharach have penned...