Here's to the Ladies

*~Named One of the 10 BEST Recordings 
of 2002 by USA Today!!  

12/31/02 - Listed among the likes of Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and Tracy Chapman, Christine Andreas's newest recording, Here's to the Ladies, was named one of the 10 Best Recordings of 2002 by Elysa Gardner of USA Today!

Download audio clips on the Multimedia page

Full Reviews of Here's to the Ladies on the Reviews page

"Not all ingénues grow up gracefully. But Broadway and cabaret star Andreas' tangy soprano has matured into an eclectic, appealing instrument that is well suited to most of the standards and showstoppers featured here."

- Elysa Gardner, USA Today

"Christine Andreas has accomplished the remarkable feat of making us recall each great star she honors on this album and then, at the same time, making us forget them as we listen to her fresh, new, exciting and often breathtaking interpretations of their songs.  Here's to the Ladies...is dazzling!"

- Jerry Herman, August, 2002

"A blend of lyricism and sweet sensuality that only the finest Broadway voices can conjure.  Although Ms. Andreas can be witty and playful, it is on the ballads (especially "They Say It's Wonderful" and "Bill") in which she delicately kills with the sheer beauty of her voice."

- Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Order Here's to the Ladies
from PS Classics

Christine Andreas's CD, "Here's to the Ladies," her tribute to the women who influenced her, from Martin and Merman to Lansbury and Cook -- with a touch of Gertrude Lawrence and Helen Morgan -- is available from PS Classics . She is accompanied by a 45-piece orchestra, with charts by Michael Starobin, Doug Besterman, Larry Blank, Chris Boardman and Lee Musiker.  

Here's to the Ladies: CD Liner Notes
By Christine Andreas
August, 2002

The house I grew up in was filled with music from morning 'til night.  If it wasn't the show tunes and standards spinning on the ol' 45 on the fridge, it was the sound of my mother's voice as she tended to her chores or to one of her eight kids...Mom gave me her greatest gift when she passed on her love of singing...purely, spontaneously and unselfconsciously...and then there was all that music...

Peter Pan was my first crush.  I used to lie awake at night on top of the sheets with the windows wide open waiting for him to fly through the window and for the fairy dust to fall.  So, imagine my disappointment when I learned that not only was Mary Martin not Peter Pan...she was a she...still she possessed the warmest, most kid-friendly voice I have ever heard.

Peter sobered me up, and I went into my other musical love affairs with my eyes wide open...and I was shameless in loving them all wholeheartedly for the rich worlds they laid at my feet to enter into and explore on my own.  I never felt competitive with my "ladies."  I never wanted to mimic them, emulate them or "outdo" them.  (Who could?)  I just loved what they created.

This attitude served me very well years later when I was chosen to recreate the role of Eliza Doolittle in the 20th anniversary production of My Fair Lady on Broadway.  The whole world was throwing the spectre of Julie Andrews at me.  How would I compare, the world asked, as I looked at two opposing flower girls squaring off on the pages of The New York Times.  This never phased me, it didn't apply...I adored her.  This role was a gift that no one could taint and my job was to find Eliza.

Ethel, on the other hand, terrified me.  She was elemental, like a flood.  Nobody was that big...were they?  I mean, where did that sound come from?  If I even dared to attempt an approximation, my little soprano throat would simply shut down.  But there was a sound in her voice that let you know she owned the stage on which she stood...she knew her worth.  She once said of herself: "I give the impression of being a strong person.  I think I am strong.  I can take care of myself professionally.  But just because I  can slam a comedy line or hold a note for the full chorus of a song...things that send thousands to their feet cheering and sending waves of adoration across the footlights...that doesn't mean I'm not as vulnerable as anyone else."  God Bless Her!

I confess I have never been happy being labeled a "soprano."  You see, sopranos often suffer from the prejudice that if your voice is higher or lighter in timbre, it will weaken the emotional impact of a song--some people actually think that!  But trust me, we don't all squeeze our palms together swaying back and forth with a vague look on our face when we sing.  I have always instinctively sought out voices that were colored by the intent of the lyric.  Soprano, shmano...never thought about it.  And that probably has everything to do with the influence of another wonderful woman.  She was described as "a torch-singer with a tear-stained voice."  How beautiful is that, and how true of Helen Morgan.  You would think the "soprano myth" would have been dispelled long ago by the clear, high, lyric-driven voice of this caring singer.

Here's another "aytpical" soprano.  Perhaps the "Callas" of musical theatre in that the wonder of her voice was the result of her personality and dramatics.  I was too young to realize that it was the beguiling charm of Gertrude Lawrence's voice that had me dancing around the kitchen floor at four years old...I just remember dancing.  Now, if these five ladies influenced my early heart, the next three started working on my head as well.  I was a blossoming performer by now, and how grateful I was to have Barbara Cook confirm for me that Broadway ingenues did not have to be wimps!!  She had such guts and humor.  She was never sappy.  She had humanity.  She was a real girl...who happened to sing really high and really beautifully.  She still does!

The 45 had been retired for years by now, but the hi-fi was getting a real workout as I endlessly lifted the arm to replay Angela Lansbury's singing "If He Walked Into My Life" from Jerry Herman's intoxicating score of Mame.  I couldn't get enough of it.  I kept listening to this remarkable singing actress...not to analyze her, just wanting to follow the depth of her emotions to new places inside myself.

And nothing could have spared me (or any other girl singer) from the influence of this phenomenon.  How many countless Broadway musicals would have been inspired by and written for her if she'd just stayed "on the boards" a little longer?  Streisand soared, dipped, chirped, sputtered...you never knew what was going to come out of her mouth...that was her magic.  Along with an amazing voice that left an indelible mark on whatever song it touched.  I mean, no girl with half a brain ever attempts her repertoire...which says something about me.  Still no tribute of mine would be complete without honoring that Funny Girl.

So there they are...Not being one who dwells on the past, I didn't expect to be so happily haunted by "my ladies."  I hadn't at all forgotten that little girl dancing on the kitchen floor, just some of the reasons why.  I am very much looking forward to bringing this CD to life in the next few years.  If you've had an enjoyable listen, keep you eyes and ears open and maybe you'll find "us" in a nearby concert hall in the near future.