Queen of the Mist (and chance to win a copy of the cast recording!)

I was pretty bummed to have missed The Transport Group's production of Queen of the Mist last winter, but I am excited that the performances will live on with the cast recording that was recently released by Sh-K-Boom. The gang over there was nice enough to provide me with a copy, and I am happy to report that Queen of the Mist is very much still alive in its recorded form, maintaining an exciting story that barrels (sorry... had to do it) on through, with much of the momentum attributed to a stunning performance by Mary Testa.

Telling the story of Annie Edson Taylor who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and lived to tell the tale, Queen of the Mist is a tale of ambition and its price. As to be expected from Michael John LaChiusa, the music is evocative and the songs serve as wonderful vehicles for storytelling. Even without having seen the production, the characters still shone through with their individual voices, with Mary Testa's being the most nuanced and star-turning. How a recording manages to captures how Mary Testa infuses Annie with humor and heart while also showcasing her callous determination really speaks to the work that was put into developing this show. The song "There Is Greatness In Me" is one of the ultimate "I Want" songs, if I've ever heard one.

In addition to letting me listen in on the cast album myself, the good people over at Sh-K-Boom gave me a couple of cast recordings to give away on this blog! So, I thought it would be neat to take this contest over to Twitter. Here's all you gotta do to enter for your chance to win a cast recording:

• Either look at my Twitter page and RT my tweet with the link to this blog post, or just tweet the following: "Win a copy of the Queen of the Mist cast album from @emergingmt. Details here: http://bit.ly/MYSqm9."
• You have until 11:59 pm on Friday (8/17) to get in your entry, and random winners will be chosen and notified on Saturday (8/18).
• Also, if you want any other updates on the blog or any future contests, feel free to follow me.

Good luck! Hope to see you in the Twittersphere soon.