Sundown CD Reviews

I found the biggest surprise of the year, theatrical recording-wise at least, while listening to the recently released recording of Sundown while Stairmastering at Harlem's New York Sports Club. Although not the best place to listen to a musical about the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the fact that its country music-inspired score cut through the hip-hop blaring overhead and completely captivated me should speak volumes to the strength of the score and its performers.

Written by composer Peter Link (King of Hearts, Salvation) and lyricist Larry Rosler (who, with Joe Bravaco, also wrote the book), the show is more tuneful and emotionally resonant than many shows to hit the Great White Way in recent memory.

The show has seen a few productions already (the Lyric Stage in Irving, Texas, and Virginia's Barter, as well as a staged reading at New York's York Theatre Company), and the recording is a studio cast recording featuring Broadway actors Steve Blanchard (currently the Beast in Beauty and the Beast) as Doc Holliday, Judy McLane (currently Tanya in Mamma Mia!) as his lady love Kate Fisher, and Patrick Ryan Sullivan as Wyatt Earp.

If your knowledge of the gunfight is limited (like mine is) to the Star Trek episode "Spectre of the Gun," Sundown recounts the classic tale of the old west, wherein Doc Holliday joined forces with Wyatt Earp and his brothers to battle the Clanton Gang in Tombstone, Arizona. Told from the point of view of Doc Holliday, the show manages what other Western shows tried and almost achieved (such as Johnny Guitar) or flat-out failed miserably at (such as Urban Cowboy) and that is, to tell a tuneful tale set in the mythic west that consists of three-dimensional characters that have a reason to sing - and do so with more than passable songs to boot! (Indeed, the sensual pick-up number "One More Drink" sung by Joe Lutton and Judy McLane perfectly captures the spirit and playfulness that was missing from Urban Cowboy.)

Musically, Sundown recalls a harder edged Big River, thanks to rollicking character numbers like "Fly In The Ointment" and "Politickin'," which stand side by side with beautiful ballads like "Bridges" (beautifully performed by Judy McLane) and the title song (a plaintive 'end of the trail' number sung by Doc Holliday). While the CD is hampered at times by arrangements featuring far-too-obviously synthesized instruments, the material in general and the performers in particular make for an incredibly strong and highly listenable album. For more information and to listen to samples, visit www.sundownmusical.com.

By Jonathan Frank, Sound Advice @Talkingbroadway.com

“Sundown takes its audience back to the Wild West as it retells the story of the Doc Holliday and the Tombstone showdown between Holliday, the Earps and the Clantons. this musical (here heard in a studio recording) approaches its subject with a musical earnestness that can’t help but affect the listeners.

“Peter Link has written a score that mixes to beautiful effect country-western strains with a pop sensibility and even soaring melodic lines reminiscent of opera. Larry Rosler provides lyrics that rhyme cleverly and illustrate character succinctly. The book for the piece comes from Joe Bravaco and Larry Rosler and can only be truly commented on by audiences who have seen the piece in its two productions, at Lyric Stage in Texas and the Barter Theatre in Virginia.

“What listeners will comment on is the richness and effectiveness of the score.. From the moment strings and synthesizers sound in the elegiac opening number, "Arizona Morning", Sundown transports the listener back some 120 years and to the plains and vastness of an unconquered west.

“In "Fly in the Ointment", Link creates an intricately ominous number for the Clantons, McLauries and Earps, where banjos seem to be propelling the characters to their final gunfight. In "Politickin", Rosler creates some of his most comic lyrics as Holliday and Virgil Earp urge Wyatt to take a more gentle approach to the problems in Tombstone. "Bridges" demonstrates the two writers at their most lyrical as Kate, Holliday’s romantic interest, looks back on the journey that’s brought her to Tombstone. For the show’s title number, Link has written an ethereal piece that interestingly and effectively blends country western sounds with the leisurely cadences found most in New Age music.

“Steve Blanchard and Judy McLane demonstrate their deftness with the demands of the score – particularly in their bittersweet ballad late in the second act, "Another Time."

Sundown has grown richer with each subsequent listen. I eagerly anticipate having the chance to encounter the musical on stage.”

By Andy Propst, Americantheatreweb.com

“In my column of December 13, when there were 12 days to Christmas, I made suggestions on what you could give friends and relatives as gifts. Well, those were the good old days. More time has passed and -- let me guess -- you STILL haven't finished your holiday shopping. So here are a few more suggestions. Do you like to give CDs? There's the cast album to Sundown, composer Peter Link's new musical. Isn't it wonderful that more than 35 years after his Salvation debuted Off-Broadway, Link is still at it? What's more, after that early rock musical, he showed us that he's got range by writing show music in a classic vein (such as King of Hearts) and now, with librettists Joe Bravaco and Larry Rosler (who did the lyrics, too) he's written a genuine western.

“My buddy Melinda Newman at Billboard tells me that the music that I came to know as "country and western" is now simply called "country" -- but what do you call this country musical in a western setting? Darned good, that's what. The three collaborators have musicalized the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral where the Earps, the Clantons, the McLaurys, and Doc Holliday shot a peck of bullets at each other. It's quite a testosterone-filled score; it takes seven tracks before you hear a woman's voice (the always welcome Judy McLane). Just as that '50s TV series sang that Wyatt Earp was "brave, courageous, and bold," so is this score.”

By Peter Filichia, theaterMania.com

“A surprise greeted me when I opened an advance copy of "Sundown," a new musical about the legend of Doc Holliday. The score, with music by Peter Link and lyrics by Larry Rosler plus book by Rosler and Joe Bravaco, is lovely even though it borders on the country sound of which I've never been enamored. There are several wonderful ballads and solo tunes plus a super opening, "Arizona Morning." The show has been done at the Lyric Stage in Irvine, Texas, and Virginia's Barter Theatre after being developed in ASCAP's Musical Theatre Workshop and with two staged readings at New York's York Theatre Company. The recording is with a studio cast and they all sound fine. I would hope musical theater producers around the country pay attention to this piece and if the book is as strong as the score, it deserves productions. I'll be watching for this one here in Phoenix due to the connection with our state's history and one of its most colorful historic characters. "Sundown" looks promising.”

Grade: A-

”It has been too long since we had a new musical set in the glory days of America's Wild West. Answering this challenge, composer Peter Link (King of Hearts) has teamed with lyricist Larry Rosler to create a musical inspired by the legendary confrontation between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp and the Clantons. A cast of experienced stage performers delivers a string of country-flavored melodies with élan. Underrated leading man Steve Blanchard is Doc, Patrick Ryan Sullivan is a stormy Wyatt, and the sumptuous Judy McLane provides love interest as Kate. The show certainly sounds promising on this well-produced recording -- a project worth further investigation.”

By John Kenrick, musicals101.com

the cast recording of Sundown is a very pleasant experience and becomes more so with each subsequent listen. I am in no way a fan of country music, but I recognize well-written and well-produced songs, which these songs are. The songs that are very country in nature I think I would appreciate more in the setting of a performance, but they most certainly keep with the theme of the show.

What the score does offer is a wonderful mix of a country feeling, beautiful ballads, soaring melodies, clever lyrics, a true western atmosphere, and haunting orchestral pieces. My tastes tend to draw me toward the less country and more pop oriented songs like the infectious “Arizona Morning,” the haunting title song, “Sundown,” and the soaring ballads “Bridges,” and “Another Time.” There are a few wonderful orchestral pieces as well. I appreciated the special effects used in “Prelude to a Gunfight.” You could see the beating hearts of the men and the tumbleweeds as they blew by.

The recording features some wonderful performances, especially that of Steve Blanchard as Doc Holliday and Judy McLane as Kate Fisher. McLane excels on “Bridges” as she recounts her past relationships. The tone in her voice is beautiful. Their performances alone are worth picking this recording up.

I would be very interested to see another mounting of this musical. The score is very strong and has all the elements a good musical needs, which include a compelling story and a mix of good songs.

By Amy Somensky, Monsters and Critics.com

"Sundown is a musical about the cowboy legend Doc Holliday. With music by Peter Link and lyrics by Larry Rosler, this CD brings the listener back to the Wild West on a fun, heartfelt, and emotionally moving journey. Steve Blanchard as Doc has a fun and commanding voice that makes the listener immediately connect with him and Judy McLane has a beautiful western voice, particularly in her song 'Bridges'. Sundown captures the excitement, danger, and beauty of the Wild West at a time when legends were born."

By Ryan Emmons, nytheatre.com, The New York Theatre Experience, Inc.