Gift Ideas for the Theatre Lover

Impress the theater-lover in your life by giving a recently released showtune CD or theater book. #1 on the list would probably be the soundtrack recording from the new movie version of Dreamgirls . The early buzz from those who have seen previews of the movie starring Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover is that it's sensational. (And if nothing else, it'll give Sidetrack a couple hours worth of Dreamgirls videos to supplement the one they've been playing forever.) You have your choice of a one-disc “Highlights” version or the two-disc “Collectors” edition. If you want to compare Jennifer Hudson's rendition of “And I Am Telling You I Am Now Going” to the original by Jennifer Holliday, you can pop for the newly remastered, “Special Edition” of the 1982 Original Broadway Cast recording.
(Buy CD)

While we're revisiting classic musicals of the ‘70s and ‘80s, there's the cast album of the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line that's been a big hit since it opened in October. Also from the ‘80s is Sunday in the Park with George. This Sondheim musical got a hugely successful revival in London this year and the new London cast recording of that show is supposed to be the most complete version yet. You can round out your ‘80s appreciation with The Wedding Singer – a new musical set in that decade. It has a terrific opening number (“It's Your Wedding Day”) as well as Adam Sandler's ballad from the movie “Grow Old With You” and my favorite, “Come Out of the Dumpster.”

Another new musical, that opened on Broadway this Fall after a huge success off-Broadway, is Grey Gardens . The off-Broadway cast recording – with mostly the same cast as the one that opened on Broadway – is available now. If your givee is more of a jazz/swing lover, a recording you can both enjoy is Harry Connick Jr.'s Harry on Broadway . It's a two-disc set that includes the new revival cast recording of Pajama Game on one and the songs Connick wrote for the 2001 musical, Thou Shalt Not.

This year was a little light on great theater-oriented coffee-table books, but there are two you might look at. The Color Purple: A Memory Book is a keepsake companion book to the Broadway musical which will open at Chicago's Cadillac Palace next Spring. If you're feeling especially generous, you might stick in a pair tickets to the show as well.
(Buy Book)

There's also a new companion book for Avenue Q – with a fuzzy cover that matches the fur of the puppets in the Broadway musical that's a young-adult version of Sesame Street. The book includes photos, original illustrations, the complete script and song lyrics, interviews with the cast, games, and other "educational" activities to prepare readers for life after college. If your recipient doesn't have the original cast CD, which includes songs like “It Sucks to be Me,” “Everyone's a Little Bit Racist,” If You Were Gay” and “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love),” add that to the package as well. Or, just buy the CD. It's still about the funniest cast album ever.
(Buy Book)

The best places to find all this stuff in greater Boystown are the Border's on Clark and Diversey or Broadway and Lawrence.