Original Off-Broadway Cast: Tales of Tinseltown, CD (2024)

"It's Singin in the Rain meetS Hollywood Babylon." On a farm in Walnut Iowa, the abused but ambitious Ellie Ash aspires to screen immortality. Elmo Green, a scenarist from NYC, bicycles by. Hes immediately smitten by Ellie, who jumps on his bike”Hollywood bound. Soon they work with characters reminiscent of Ethel Merman (brassy Bertha Powell), Gene Kelly (fleet Danny Burke), Mario Lanza (lumpy Tony Toscanni), Erich Von Stroheim (producer/director Norman G. Neinstein), & Joan Crawford (vamp Lulu Beauveen). Soon, Ellie triumphs at N.G.N. Productions”the "Girl of a Thousand Sounds"”till columnist Adele DeRale exposes unseemly events. Separately, Ellie & Elmo climb up to the Hollywoodland sign, to possibly jump, then make an unexpected decision.What the critics said..."Damn near perfect! Attention Messrs. Shubert, Azenberg, Schoenfeld, et al. While Broadway bemoans the fact that there just arent any new musicals will run forever and make millions for everyone involved, composer Paul Katz and librettist Michael Colby have come up with what could be the new Fantasticks, Dames at Sea or other long-running, money-making, mega-hit. A musical extravaganza." - Ron Mullen, Backstage (NY)"Delicious satire! An ambitious pure Hollywood musical. Numbers that are laughter from the first syllable to the last." - D.R.J. Bruckner, N.Y. Times"Watch for it! This is a crowd-pleaser packed with talent. Paul Katzs music captures the schmaltzy and plunkety-plunk early movie tempo, never falsifying the clever libretto of every false value Michael Colby could conceive of. You will leave the theatre wreathed in smiles." - Marjorie Gunner (President, NY Outer Critics Circle), On And Off-Broadway"Enjoyable escapist entertainment! Colby has written lyrics that sound better than what has been coming out of Broadway lately." - Christine Dolen, Miami Herald"Wacky fun! Suggests Dames at Sea crossed with Carol Burnetts entire oeuvre. Delicious, tuneful, winning." - David C. Nichols, L.A. TIMES