Search - Broadway's Best at Pops on DVD

A 'must' for the family collections of Boston Pops Orchestra

Midwest Book Review | Oregon, WI USA | 09/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Boston Pops Orchestra under such legendary conductors as Arthur Fiedler, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart is an American musical icon. Now WGBH Boston Video has produced a DVD edition of "Broadway's Best At Pops" showcasing memorable moments enhanced with candid interviews with renowned conductors and Broadway personalities drawn from some 35 years of public television musical history. "Broadway's Best At Pops" features such luminaries as Ethel Merman, Ray Bolger, Kristin Chenoweth, Pearl Baily, Bonnie and John Raitt, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Gregory Hines, and dozens of others. Superbly recorded, the DVD format of "Broadway's Best At Pops" has such bonus features as an additional twenty-five minutes of interviews with John Williams, Michael Feinstein, Barbara Cook, and others; printable selections from original Boston Pops Orchestra concert programs, and extended performances not seen on the original television program because of on-air time constraints. with a complete running time of 76 minutes (plus the extra 25 minutes of additional bonus footage), "Broadway's Best At Pops" is a very highly recommended addition to community library DVD collections and a 'must' for the family collections of Boston Pops Orchestra enthusiasts and fans."

A FIVE STAR WINNER

Hamish B. Maclean | England | 11/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all I want to admit that I have been a Boston Pops fan for many years. As I live in England I have only have managed to see the orchestra twice when they visited these shores - once conducted by Arthur Fiedler and once conducted by Erich Kunzel. These were wonderful occasions and it made one feel one should move to Boston straight away to join in the fun at Symphony Hall. This DVD illustrates my point beautifully with highlights from 'Evening at Pops' TV broadcasts by WGBH over a 35 year period. The theme is 'Pops on Broadway' and all the performances are wonderful. If I had to pick favourites they would be Tommy Tune,Gregory Hines, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald and the magnificent Ethel Merman.

But the daddy of them all is the tribute to Leroy Anderson and his arrangement of George Gerswhin's music for 'Girl Crazy'. One is treated to some wonderful video editing when three separate recordings conducted by Arthur Fiedler, John Williams and Keith Lockhart are woven into one tour de force performance. Great stuff and it highlights the glorious rapport the orchestra has had over the years with their famous conductors. The DVD is worth it for this performance alone.



I would like to end by making two requests:-



1.To WGBH TV Boston - please can you issue more Boston Pops DVD.



2.To RCA records - Please could you reissue in CD format the two albums

of Chet Atkins with the Boston Pops. I have worn my LP'S out."

PHENOMENAL

Bob Brooks | Milan, IL | 09/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is phenomenal. There are so many wonderful performances. If you missed the PBS special, you must get this. As they say on the video, these performers are used to maybe a 20 piece orchestra when they perform on Broadway. When they get a really good 90 piece orchestra (The Boston Pops) backing them up, they really let it loose. Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, West Wing) does an unbelievable version of a song from Candide, which is one of the most difficult songs to sing in the Broadway song book, and she blows the audience away. Don't miss this!!!!!!!!"

Everything you'd expect and more

DVD buff | Austin, TX USA | 06/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"BROADWAY'S BEST AT POPS is a truly remarkable collection of performances. These are the best of the best, in terms of stars, songs and performances.



There's plenty of great stuff here that you'd expect to see on a DVD of this type -- Ethel Merman, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Grey, Carol Channing, Tommy Tune, Barbara Cook and Bernadette Peters. But there's also a lot of surprises. Kristin Chenoweth's "Glitter and Be Gay" is phenomenal (perhaps even better than the concert version from the CANDIDE she did a few years back). Elaine Paige makes a rare American appearance, singing the role that made her famous twenty years before. Audra McDonald is, as always, spectacular, but she is less well-known than many of the performers here. Bonnie Raitt and John Raitt's "Hey There" is breathtakingly good, and what a pleasant surprise to see Ray Bolger included here.



But there is one moment on this DVD that far surpasses everything else, and it's probably the biggest surprise here: Tyne Daly singing "Trouble" from THE MUSIC MAN. As she says in her intro, as a child she imagined herself playing Professor Harold Hill, rather than Marian the librarian. And her performance is flawless!



I only wish we could get entire episodes of EVENING AT POPS on DVD. Until that happens, though, this is a must-have for any fan of Broadway and the Boston Pops."