Lorna Luft Live in Oz (Showtune) is a DVD of Luft’s February 2008 concert at The Factory Theatre, Sydney, in which she belts out a collection of standards, backed by a classy on-stage big-band led by Colin Freeman. Being Judy Garland’s daughter, Luft has a lot to live up to, but she proves on this set she’s a classy performer in her own right. Yes, there are touches of her mother’s famous tremolo, and she does sing some of her repertoire, but the shadow of Garland is mostly absent. Promises Promises, Time Heals Everything and We Don’t Cry Out Loud are some of the tunes Garland didn’t sing, which Luft puts her own personal stamp on. Extras include a backstage interview with Luft, and a video clip of Garland singing Lorna’s Song. Available online at WWW.SHOWTUNE.COM.AU/LORNA ****

Oh My Godmother! Is the original San Francisco Cast recording of a gay musical which does a switch on the Cinderella story, where two guys hook-up. Sub-titled A fabulous Fairy Tale, it has a fun and enjoyable 60s style score by Ron Lytle, with more key changes than a Barry Manilow album. Somebody For Everybody is a Cole Porter-ish list song with Gypsy musical quotes at the end. It’s funny and clever. Other songs to register are Where Did We Go Wrong? sung by the fathers of one of the guys when they think he’s falling for a girl, Bitch, and CinderAlbert. ***

The Broadway Musicals 0f 1930 (Original Cast OC6241) There might have been a shortage of cash in 1930, but there was no shortage of good songs as this CD demonstrates. The 20th release in Scott Siegel’s popular series, the concert includes I Got Rhythm, On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Ten Cents A Dance and Body And Soul, amongst others, sung by some of today’s finest Broadway talent; Nancy Anderson, Marc Kudisch, Mary Testa, and Emily Skinner, to name but a few. Check out Testa’s I Happen To Like New York, and Skinner’s I’ve Got A Crush On You. Broadway at its best. ****

Allegro (Sony Masterworks Broadway) Its been a long time coming, 62 years in fact, but finally the complete score of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1947 flop show has been released. One of the first concept musicals, the show’s original cast recording, which was released by RCA Victor, only contained 12 of the show’s songs. Now, on this new release, we can hear what we’ve been missing for all those years. It clocks in at 100 minutes, almost three times as long as the RCA disc. With a cast that includes Audra McDonald, Judy Kuhn, Liz Callaway and Patrick Wilson, a 50 piece orchestra, and liner notes by Stephen Sondheim, who worked on the original show, the recording is a must for every musical theatre tragic. *****

Rating
*Only for the enthusiast ** Borderline *** Worth buying **** Must have ***** Kill for it.