This recording is arguably one of Sondheims greatest! The Frogs, which appears here with a brilliant cast (Nathan Lane, Brian Stokes Mitchell among others) is one of Mr. Sondheims oddest pieces of theater. Although it was recently revived on Broadway with a new book by Mr. Lane and that recording is probably better, the entire first half of this recording (which is The Frogs) is brilliant for nostalgias sake and for the amazing expierence of the music itself. Mr. Sondheim has created such music for The Frogs! Very grandiose and stunning!

But it is really the final four tracks on the album (The Evening Primrose) that shines. The Evening Primrose is also an interesting Sondheim show but this one is quite possibly worth the price of the album itself. This recording (the only LEGAL one i know of) of the show is... well... perfect. The music is Sondheim at his best, the singers (Neil Patrick Harris plays the lead) are terrific and it just sounds glorious!

The Frogs might be an interesting and entertaining reason to purchase this album but it will The Evening Primrose that will make you scream with joy!

I've read all the reviews below, and I'm dismayed to find only these specific references to "Parabasis: It's Only a Play":

>The score is a gem, and the only song that leaves me puzzled is the Parabisis, "It's Only a Play."

>"It's Only a Play" is built on the kind of meandering airy dissonances that remind one of what music students are often expected to write, but in this case of the highest order.

I think "It's Only a Play" as good as any song I've ever encountered, certainly the most incisive environmental song ever composed--it should be required listening for everyone who voted for George Bush. Understand me: When I call it incisive, I mean its "dissonances" (and its consonances) as well as its lyric. It depresses me that there is always someone ready to dismiss the truly sophisticated and accomplished as "academic". We must squash anything that transcends the mediocre. Besides the above there is this:

>The choral stuff sounds like student work

I don't know what music school you were enrolled in, pal, but students at the (fairly prestigious) schools I attended who could write with the authority Sondheim demonstrates here were pretty damn rare.

On the other hand, I was interested to learn from some of these reviews (some others) that Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters had recorded a complete "Evening Primrose", particularly interested because I was moderately disappointed with these "Evening Primrose" performances.

Again: Buy this for "Parabasis: It's Only a Play", and if you don't like "Parabasis: It's Only a Play", consider that circumstance your fault, your personal shortcoming.

If you're looking for the Mandy Patinkin "Dress Casual" CD (as an alternative or supplemental "Evening Primrose" recording), note that Amazon has it listed, for some reason, under "classical music".