Way Back to Paradise

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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Andrew Velez
McDonald's solo CD debut confirms the three-time Tony winner's place in the forefront of young singing theater artists. It displays the impressive range of her distinctive, opera-level soprano and her capacity for out-of-the-ordinary emotional expressiveness. Way Back to Paradise also exhibits McDonald's audacious spirit: Every selection is from the pen of a young theater composer. Songs such as Ricky Ann Gordon's musical setting of Langston Hughes's poem "Dream Variations" and Adam Guettel's "The Allure of Silence" are choice and challenging expressions from emerging new talents. McDonald's searing rendition of Michael John La Chiusa's bruising "Mistress of the ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Andrew Velez
McDonald's solo CD debut confirms the three-time Tony winner's place in the forefront of young singing theater artists. It displays the impressive range of her distinctive, opera-level soprano and her capacity for out-of-the-ordinary emotional expressiveness. Way Back to Paradise also exhibits McDonald's audacious spirit: Every selection is from the pen of a young theater composer. Songs such as Ricky Ann Gordon's musical setting of Langston Hughes's poem "Dream Variations" and Adam Guettel's "The Allure of Silence" are choice and challenging expressions from emerging new talents. McDonald's searing rendition of Michael John La Chiusa's bruising "Mistress of the Senator" is no less adventurous. Tangy, blues-tinged and powerful, McDonald's rendition of Guettel's "Baby Moon" is a promising preview of what this great talent will do someday when -- hopefully -- she tears into Porgy and Bess.
All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann
Broadway star Audra McDonald took an unexpected approach to her debut solo album, eschewing the usual practice of performing standards in favor of spotlighting a group of young theater composers in songs, many of them given their first recordings, written for her or for so far unproduced musicals. Jason Robert Brown, Jenny Giering, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, and Michael John LaChiusa contributed a variety of material, allowing McDonald to assume such characters as the wife of an accused murderer Brown's "You Don' t Know This Man" from the subsequently produced Parade, an expectant mother Guettel's "Baby Moon", and the "Mistress of a Senator" from LaChiusa's 1994 musical Hello Again. LaChiusa's "Way Back to Paradise" was a feminist anthem from Marie Christine, a show in which McDonald planned to star, while "A Tragic Story" was Guettel's setting of a comic poem by William Makepeace Thackeray, and "A Lullaby" was Gordon's melody to a text by James Agee. Thus, the material was diverse, if unfailingly theatrical. Nevertheless, this was an art project, with its restrained, piano plus chamber orchestra arrangements and seriously intended, dramatic songs. What kept it from being stuffy and fragmented was the commitment of McDonald's performances. Along with a stunning soprano voice, she proved very much a singing actress who invested each song with a believable character. She was better at passion than humor notably failing to bring out the ironic sting in Brown's "Stars and the Moon", but she saved Gordon's three settings of texts by Langston Hughes, even making them the structure on which the rest of the album hung. She deserved accolades both for the risky concept of the album and for its execution.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 9/22/1998
  • Label: Nonesuch
  • UPC: 075597948226
  • Catalog Number: 79482
  • Sales rank: 131,460

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Dream Variations (1:58)
  2. 2 Way Back To Paradise (2:27)
  3. 3 Come To Jesus (6:06)
  4. 4 You Don't Know This Man (2:13)
  5. 5 Tom (4:39)
  6. 6 A Tragic Story (1:25)
  7. 7 Song For A Dark Girl (2:38)
  8. 8 Baby Moon (4:15)
  9. 9 The Allure Of Silence (2:54)
  10. 10 Stars And The Moon (4:24)
  11. 11 I Follow (4:43)
  12. 12 Mistress Of The Senator (3:29)
  13. 13 A Lullaby (4:40)
  14. 14 Daybreak In Alabama (3:14)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Audra McDonald Primary Artist, Vocals
Emily Mitchell Harp
Dawn Upshaw Vocals
Martin Agee Violin
Belinda Whitney-Barratt Violin
Kenneth Bichel Keyboards
Kenneth Burward-Hoy Viola
John Campo Woodwind
Paul Faulise Trombone
Lawrence Feldman Woodwind
Gordon Gottlieb Percussion
Jeanne LeBlanc Cello
Jesse Levy Cello
Sharon Moe French Horn
Lee Musiker Piano, Celeste
Brian O'Flaherty Trumpet
Suzanne Ornstein Concert Master
Clay Ruede Cello
Russ Rizner-French French Horn
David Tofani Woodwind
Cenovia Cummins Violin
James Pugh Trombone
Anthony Kadleck Trumpet
Jeffrey Marchand Woodwind
Debra Shufelt Viola
Joel Pitchon Violin
Chuck Wilson Woodwind
Adam Guettel Vocals
Eric Stern Piano, Celeste, Conductor
Richard Heckman Woodwind
Naomi Katz Violin
Peter Donovan Bass
Tom Partington Percussion
Michael Roth Violin
Technical Credits
Bruce Coughlin Orchestration
Don Sebesky Orchestration
Robert Hurwitz Executive Producer
Tommy Krasker Producer
Terrence McNally Liner Notes
Joel Moss Engineer
Ric Wilson Mastering
Eric Stern Orchestration
Larry Hochman Orchestration
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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    beautiful voice; strong songwriting

    This is not recycled pop or the usual Broadway fare. McDonald's voice, charisma, and vocal acting is incredible, but it is supported by the strong compositions that she infuses with such emotion. 'Come to Jesus' is both disturbing in its subject matter and hopeful in a desperate kind of way. 'Song for a Dark Girl' is stark in its simplicity, but honest. 'Way Back to Paradise' is full of female fury, stored up and expressed by McDonald and Upshaw with explosive passion. 'The Allure of Silence' is quiet and passionate all at once. I recommend this album wholeheartedly!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Magnificent!

    Audra's voice is beautiful, her skill impeccable. From innocent and sweet to mature and longing, this album is a masterpiece of some of the best of Broadway, performed by one of the best of Broadway.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews