Somewhere in the mid-90s, Andrew Lloyd Webber changed direction, musically. I usually split and categorize his shows as either from 1968(?)-1993 and 1998-Present or, his first quarter-century work and his second quarter-century work. I was less interested in the project, thinking, another Cinderella story? There are so many! Looking into it a bit, I decided to give the album a listen. Lloyd Webber, to my delight, decided to release a full 2-CD recording that includes (most of the) London cast. On my first listen, I noticed something unusual: this doesn’t sound like his recent work at all. Stephen Ward? Woman in White? Beautiful Game? Love Never Dies? Nothing of the sort!

Lloyd Webber dives right in with an 8-Minute opening number that introduces several themes and is intriguing enough. In the intro, after the title “Bad Cinderella” theme, ALW starts channeling Lionel Bart’s Who Will Buy. David Zippel’s whimsical Buns ‘n’ Roses lyrics sound natural, humorous, and modern. ALW mirrors this humor and modern style with big choral harmonies, trumpet fanfare for days and days and days, and a real departure from his Victorian obsessed style we’ve all grown accustomed to. Sarah Brightman, in her 5th appearance in an ALW album (after Cats, Song & Dance, Requiem, and, of course, Phantom of the Opera), makes a cameo during the opening number, much to my surprise.

The “title” track “Bad Cinderella” is a strong second number. It meets my ALW standard for power ballads. And the interlude between it and the intro (“It Has To Be Her”) tickles my musical funny bone.

One highlight for me is the dizzying-harpsichord-with-no-time-signature track “Unfair.” After the sisters go at it for a couple minutes (Zippel’s writing really shines here), Victoria Hamilton-Barritt delivers a stand-out, disturbingly wonderful solo in the second half of the track. I especially enjoy when she transitions to the “bad cinderella” theme near the end, then the bongos enter, and the step-mother goes on a psychopathic rant and you can hear her spitting out her poisonous vocals, the tempo increases, there’s a key change, the sisters join in, and the song finishes. Hamilton-Barritt’s diction/delivery is to die for.

Unbreakable is Cinderella’s second solo. ALW channels his Joseph-and-the-Amazing-Technicolor-Dreamcoat-Close-Every-Door-On-Me-Vibes, and Carrie Hope Fletcher holds her ground as a force to be reckoned with on the West End.

Act 1 ends(? I assume?) with a slightly drawn out number called Beauty has a Price. The track is decent enough. ALW does this thing where sometimes the melody vocals are echoed note-for-note by a synthesizer and the song becomes very linear feeling.

Act 2 opens with a long waltz/ball scene. Fletcher sings her solo I Know I Have a Heart. A decent power ballad with a weird structure in the chorus. The chord progression doesn’t feel very natural. Almost like a computer program wrote it. I don’t know. This aural discomfort continues through the Act 2 Scene 2 bit and I Am No Longer Me.

I know I have a heart because you broke it is a bit cheesy, isn’t it?

Moment of Triumph re-captivates me. Hamilton-Barret swoops in and saves the score of Act 2. The song turns into a nice trio(?) (quartet?) with overlapping wails from the sisters.

As is expected for an ALW act two, many of the songs are reprises or variations on the Act One pop ballads. However, The Vanquishing of the Three Headed Sea Witch is a nice and quite bizarre melody with a driving minor tune. Similar energy as Beauty Underneath from Love Never Dies. Near the end it drags on a bit when he sings a long percussion-less bridge. The track has a fun and novel melody, exciting energy, and a crazy ending last note that I could never sing in a million years.

The show ends with a cute gay twist. And Fletcher performs a lovely reprise of I Know I Have a Heart in Cinderella’s Soliloquy. The Wedding Party is surprisingly modern for ALW. The percussion section offers us a rich collection of latin and hip-hop beats. This number is a nice segue to the finale. The finale starts with a creepy slow xylophone solo of Unbreakable and we learn that Cinderella has disappeared. Ivano Turco reprises Only You, Lonley You, and Cinderalla returns unexpectedly, the two of them reconcile and an underlying clarinet(sax?) leads us to the end with a cute short dialogue between the two leads.

I’ll admit the very last moments of the album are a bit lackluster. But, like Phantom of the Opera’s ending, it’s much better (and makes more sense) when you see it in a theatre. All in all, though, this is a really great score and it ranks very high compared to his last couple decades of works. I am happy that ALW has contributed a version of Cinderella to the world of theatre.

We live in a world where ALW and Sondheim are still writing musicals. Take a moment and soak it in. ALW should be proud of this album and I think it’s one of the top cast recordings from the last year or two.

The anticipation of this album release has been very real for me for more than a year now. I was so excited to listen to this back in 2020, and for obvious reasons it got postponed, and I was left with only the “If” music video to scratch my Diana itch. I did not set any expectations for this production as I am not familiar with David Bryan’s works: Memphis, Toxic Avenger.

First I’d like to note that we’ve finally arrived to new Original Broadway Cast Recordings, and my heart couldn’t be happier. Despite my distaste for a few tracks, I think this is a lovely album overall. It’s a challenge to make a musical biography not look like a parody. Diana is painted in a good light, despite the shortcomings of the score.

But! The album is not great in some moments. Here are some low points for me:

As I Love You – Te Amo? Te quiero? – his song makes me very uncomfortable, which might be the emotion they’re trying to evoke(?), but man, it’s a rough listen. It’s 2 minutes of cringe that is hard for me to sit through. The keyboard synth and her voice breaks and the lack of melody. It’s all terrible.

I Will – This song falls flat from square one. The lyrics do not help save this melody. The first verses are fine enough, but then… “I will make him love me” with the MARACAS oh gosh it’s terrible. The lyrics and melody “I will… I will… I will…” is not interesting or unpredictable. The bridge builds a bit of intrigue. Then the chorus enters. “I will… I will…” It builds a bit, softens, many extra syllables are thrown in until the very end. I’m left not wanting more after the very last:

IIIIIIIIII WIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLL.

The Dress – My biggest complaint is the percussion section only drums on the down beat 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 and then there’s this higher pitched “fuckity-fuckity-fuckity.” This song is a mess to listen to.

Officer’s Wife – Again with the percussion. It’s so boring. Like, I get it, it’s regal, but the whooole song… The chorus swings in near the end of the song to try to save it but fails to do so.

Snap Click – Chess did this better with Press Conference. Worth pointing out the delicious percussion section around 2:45:

versus:

Not to worry! The album has plenty of highlights:

World Fell In Love – An exciting song, big horns, big choral bits. Pretty good representation of what Bryan’s score sounds like.

Pretty Pretty Girl – Great melody. This song stands out to me.
Hidden gem is the 40 sec Pretty Pretty Girl reprise before Words Came Pouring… and speaking of…

Words Came Pouring Out – Fun track. Decent follow up to Pretty Girl, which I consider a major highlight of this album. The tune is catchy when you are listening, but it doesn’t stick for very long. Not bad though and the chorus does a great job in this number.

Him and Her / Just Dance – What a beautiful track. I think the lyrics are super corny and not very creative in the first half of this track. But it’s such a lovely melody. If you can hold out through the first couple minutes, this song flourishes into a gorgeous quartet(?)+chorus. Bryan transitions every 30 seconds with key change but each time this happens another harmony is added when the chorus joins. But when Just Dance… starts, I can’t help but close my eyes and sway back and forth with my arms extended like a hippy at a festival. The Just Dance part has plenty of key changes, it’s a bit impressive how often he does this. Laurence O’Keefe is revoked of his how-many-key-changes-you-can-fit-in-a-song crown. This is one of my favorite tracks.

The Main Event – What a great ensemble number. Reminds me of a poppier version of certain songs from Chess. With the call and response with the press, etc. Near the end, I will be honest, of the song I just got up and started dancing.

If – At the end we are met with If (Light of the World.) The song ends abruptly and loudly and is followed by a quick outro that is a bit lackluster and short. But the song itself is fantastic.

I’ve listened to it thrice, and I enjoyed enough to guarantee that I’ll listen to it again soon. Diana is certainly original score. In a changing theater market, Diana is one of the first new original productions to test the post-covid audience. It will be interesting how the Netflix special and the re-opening on Broadway will fair for the show. We will see soon!

I remember the day she died. I know she loved the theater and in another dimension where Diana is alive, she would likely appreciate Jeanna De Waal’s graceful portrayal of her.




Edit: After many, many more listens, I can confirm that my favorite tracks are: Him and Her/Just Dance, Main Event, Words Came Pouring Out(!). Runners up are Pretty Girl, If. Also, the fact that this music reminds me of Chess is a compliment to the shows dedication to 1980 UK vibes.