Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh

A GREAT line-up of actors and actresses. however with one or two bad picks, in my opinion. And they butcher some of the songs, though they had to to fit all these things into just three hours. A very, VERY good video nonetheless. :o)

I put the DVD into the machine yesterday morning without any idea what it was going to be like. Two hours later (three, actually, cause I kept repeating it) I walked out the room swaying from side to side, laughing cause I was think of the jokes there, and wholeheartedly impressed. It was the greatest show I had ever seen.

This is just one of those things that you JUST CAN'T MISS (that's why I'm forcing my other friends to watch it). Every single performer, from the host Julie Andrews to the singers to the dancers to the sound effect guys was absolutely fantastic. The show was just...absolutely fantastic. Bernadette Peters, Jonathan Pryce, Lea Salonga, Colm Wilkinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber (regarding to his little performance)are one of my many favorites. Greatest concert ever. Just...go and watch it. It' pays off. Seriously.

Following on the heels of the audio collection of Sir Cameron Mackintosh's 'greatest hits', with the same name and released in the 1980s, this video is a great record of a selection from some of the greatest musical productions from the late 1960s to now from a veritable who's who of West End and Broadway musical stars.

Highlights? Numerous - I'll stick to just a dozen (in the order they appear in the film):

1 I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face - Jonathan Pryce with Liz Robertson; done before Jonathan played Higgins opposite Martine McCutcheon (or at least when she bothered to turn up)

2 Suddenly Seymour - Ellen Greene & Teddy Kempner; no one was a better or more fragile Audrey than this

3 Unexpected Song - Bernadette Peters; Emma's song of love from 'Song and Dance'; a real belter

4 I Love A Lassie - Jimmy Logan as Harry Lauder; sweetly Scots and a nice change of pace

5 Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby? - Five Guys Named Moe Cast; a thrilling version of the Louis Jordan classic

6 How Many Tears? - Maria Friedman; sadly the only decent song in the revamped 'Martin Guerre'

7 Phantom of the Opera segment - Colm Wilkinson, Lisa Vroman, and Michael Ball; interesting to compare with Antonio Banderas as the Phantom in the ALW tribute video

8 Broadway Baby - Julia McKenzie and about everyone else who appeared in a Mackintosh production

9 Send In The Clowns - Judi Dench; truly touching, just as she did it in the National production

10 Losing My Mind - Michael Ball; a girl's song from Follies reinvented beautifully

11 Being Alive - Bernadette Peters; what a voice that lady has!

12 Les Miz segment; although truncated, always nice to see Colm Wilkinson, Philip Quast, Michael Ball, etc., reprising their roles in this fantastic production

Highly recommended. Any chance of a DVD release in the UK?

I loved this - almost all of the stars gave some of their best performances. Jonathan Pryce was great in both his roles, David Campbell, Hugh Jackman and Philip Quast did Australia proud (I have met Philip - he's as wonderful a person as he is an actor), Sonia Swaby was perfect as Nancy, and Elaine Paige gave Grizabella all she had and was great also. Some were a little dissapointing...Liz Robertson didn't quite make the standard as Eliza that Julie Andrews set, and Bernadette Peters wasn't as good as she normally is, she sounded really tired. I liked You've Gotta Have A Gimmick, and Poisoning Pigions in the Park, as well as the sections from CATS, Little shop of Horrors, the Phantom, Oliver and Les Mis - although they cut so much out of the songs by that stage that there literally were only half of them left. But, despite this, it was fantastic. I could watch this all day, it was so good.

I brought this show last Christmas and have since watched it a number of times. My particular favourite part is the "Cats" section near the end, and I have spent the past few months trying to identify those members of the cast that were also in the "Cats" video. I now know who at least four or five of them are :-) I also liked some other parts of the video as well, such as "Oliver", but the "Cats" section was my favourite.