New Studio Cast Recording featuring Tony Award-winners Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, Norbert Leo Butz, Tony Award-nominees Patrick Wilson, Judy Kuhn, Liz Callaway, Danny Burstein and opera sensation baritone Nathan Gunn.

Written in 1947, Rodgers & Hammerstein's ALLEGRO was preceded by OKLAHOMA! (1943) and CAROUSEL (1945), and followed by SOUTH PACIFIC (1949) and THE KING AND I (1951), a period when R&H were at their creative zenith. An original musical, it tells the story of an earnest country doctor, Joseph Taylor, Jr., following his life from cradle to adulthood, and his journey - both literal and moral - from small town to big city, and back again. The score is unconventional: fragments of song move in and out of the action like passing thoughts; melodies flit by in one scene only to take hold and blossom in the next. Major songs are given to minor characters, while the central character has comparatively little solo work; at the same time, a chorus provides spoken commentary and sings aloud their inner thoughts. Original director/choreographer Agnes de Mille's extended ballet sequences are reflected in intriguing orchestral pieces alongside such songs as "The Gentleman is a Dope," "So Far," "A Fellow Needs a Girl" and the spirited title song.

More than four decades after its Broadway debut, the Roundabout Theatre's 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade is a glorious showcase for soprano Audra McDonald, and an eloquent statement for an underrated and neglected work. Based on N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker, 110 in the Shade tells the story of a Texas town stuck in a blistering heat wave. Lizzie (McDonald), the daughter of a local widower (Broadway veteran and TV star John Cullum), has resisted all suitors, including the sheriff (Christopher Innvar), until a potential huckster named Starbuck (Steve Kazee) arrives in town promising to bring rain ("The Rain Song"). Just like Marian the librarian, Lizzie thinks she sees right through the scam ("You're Not Fooling Me"). McDonald shines in her solos ("Love, Don't Turn Away," "Old Maid"), but Cullum, Innvar, and Kazee also get their moments either in duets with McDonald ("A Man and a Woman," "Simple Little Things," "Is It Really Me?") or by themselves. 110 in the Shade is obscure compared to Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's most famous work, The Fantasticks--none of its songs ever entered the popular culture like "Try to Remember"--but it's a beautiful, evocative score that is tailor-made for McDonald's rich voice. It's also much more sumptuous than The Fantasticks, even in Jonathan Tunick's pared-down, Tony-nominated orchestrations. (Also nominated were McDonald, Cullum, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, and the show itself for Best Revival of a Musical.) P.S. Classics puts out its usual first-rate package, with color photos, introduction by Peter Filichia, synopsis, and libretto. --David Horiuchi

Broadway Cares: Home For The Holidays is a collection of holiday classics and winter favorites performed by the creme de la creme of Broadway. The brightest stars from the brightest boulevard of theater in the world light up the holiday season with their collective voice. The album also benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; America's leading industry-based nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization.