Martin Guerre (1999 UK Tour Cast)
It was supposed to be the last in Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's trilogy of worldwide hits followingLes MisérablesandMiss Saigon, butMartin Guerrehad a bumpy road between its West End debut in 1996 and its aborted attempt to open on Broadway in spring 2000. This 1998 recording of the U.K. touring cast is vastly different from the original 1996 album (now out of print), with a simplified plot, almost entirely new lyrics, and new singers (including Stephen Weller, Matthew Cammelle, and Joanna Riding, who played Julie in the 1993 London revival ofCarousel).Best known from a 1982 French film (as well as an Americanized remake,Sommersby), the story is based on a documented court case from 16th-century France in which a man claiming to be Martin Guerre apparently returned to the village and wife he had left years earlier, but no one was sure if he was the same man they remembered. This musical version bypasses the mysterious elements of that plot in favor of a passionate story of love, friendship, and religious persecution, reinforced by three powerful new songs--"Live with Somebody You Love," "Without You as a Friend," and "How Many Tears." VeteranLes Mispatrons will enjoy the familiar soaring melodies and rousing choruses, but the show's passions often become overheated, and because it's sometimes difficult to totally sympathize with these variously flawed characters, ultimatelyMartin Guerreis not as emotionally involving as Boublil and Schönberg's earlier works. Still, this recording is notably superior to the original version, and with the show's immediate future in limbo, this might be the last word onMartin Guerrefor a while. Accordingly, those interested in the current state of musical theater--and of course Boublil and Schönberg fans--will want this album.--David Horiuchi