THE ART OF  COLLECTING BROADWAY SHOW & OTHER ORIGINAL CAST LPS

The collectible basis for Broadway Shows and original cast LPs (we're not including cds or cassettes in this article) is to study a field that has no set rules for what is valuable and what isn't. Unlike our guides on 'Collecting Rare Film Music Soundtrack LPs', which center around the film composers, this isn't necessarily the case with original cast LPs.  First, you have to remember that original cast LPs were released in much smaller quantities than soundtracks because there were so many less people who saw the shows (unless it was something like  Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Sound of Music', 'King & I' or 'Carousel').  The shows were mainly seen on Broadway in New York City, as touring companies were mainly reserved for the biggest hits and much less effort was given to this area back in the 1950s.  Most of those touring companies limited themselves to the major cities: Los Angeles,  Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago. So, to reiterate, the potential sales of original cast recordings was very low, so to find a particular cast LP is a very difficult task.  If a particular Broadway show happened to 'bomb', then this really set the stage for disaster for the cast LP release if it was released at all.  Of course, from a collector's standpoint, this made for a very interesting dilemma in later years, if, for example, you happened to want a copy of Bette Davis' appearance in 'Two's Company'.  Even with two separate reissues, the original RCA release still commands upwards of  $1,000 in mint condition today. Even the reissues are priced in the hundreds of dollars, such is the charismatic allure of the legendary star to collectors.  Who cares that she doesn't really sing well, you can't mistake that Davis voice on the cast recording.  Pictured above are two other examples of rare Broadway show LPs which sell for $300 and more today--Butterfly McQueen (of 'Gone With The Wind' fame) in 1964's 'Athenian Touch', starring Marion Marlowe and Robert Cosden and released on an obscure Broad Way East Records label. Again, a novelty recording, based on the appearance of a 1930s star and released on a rare record label.  The other is 1953's 'Hazel Flagg' which was composed by the legendary Jule Styne and Bob Hilliard, starring Helen Gallagher, Benny Venuta, John Howard, Jack Whiting; and released on RCA Record label.  If anything appears to be a common thread for collectibility in this category, it seems that the RCA Record company does have quite a number of the 'Rare Broadway Show' LPs listed. In future columns, we will spotlight those original cast LPs that are the most valuable in market value. 

Perhaps more than anywhere else, there were a number of private issues, limited editions, non-commercial releases to various shows released. In some cases, these may have been studio recordings of the songs from the show that were presented to potential 'Angels' (investors in Broadway shows) to entice them to help fund a particular show.  Some have been only presented on reel tapes for the same reason.  Many of these pressings are so rare that it's difficult to even evaluate them, as prices might be made for some one-of-a-kind LPs.  On the other side, rarity doesn't necessarily make an LP valuable--if no one wants them, there is no value even for a one-of-a-kind release.  The show may have been a real stinker, and it deserved to die on the vine.  Other pressings are unusual because the majority of shows would 'open out of town' in places like Boston or Chicago or Philadelphia to test the pacing of the show, the likability of certain songs, or the appearance of various performers who brought charisma to the show. So these 'out of town' pressings may have someone on them or a song on them that never made it to the final version that opened on Broadway, making them real novelties and very valuable sometimes.  As a dealer, we've tried for over 30 years to catalogue many of these private pressings, but it's still an ongoing project with more additions every succeeding year.  To evaluate them is even more difficult.

A big factor in an original cast's value is the LP's condition.  Rather than repeating ourselves, the same basis for market value based on condition is given in the Ebay guide we've published as 'Collecting Rare Film Music Soundtrack LPs, Part 2'. Please refer to that for a Condition market value breakdown.

Other areas for collecting in the original cast LP market are what we term 'regional theatre' LPs which feature shows that may have only run in Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even some very obscure locations; but which had an original cast LP released.  The obscurity doesn't necessarily demote the market value of the LP, however.  We'll cite examples of that in a future edition too. Of course, one of the biggest areas of interest outside of New York is for those shows and cast LP recordings done in London, Paris, other parts of Europe, and other countries. A good example of a valuable release is the Japanese musical based on 'Gone With The Wind' which was titled 'Scarlett' sung in Japanese on a very nice 2LP Japanese release that now sells for upwards of $300 mint condition. Again, we'll provide some insight into some of the valuable titles in this area.   

Then we'll discuss the effect of reissues on the values of the original releases in a future edition.  In the meantime, you may wish to consider the purchase of the RTS Price Guide, 11th Edition, which gives you market values, composers, record numbers of over 8,000 listings in the soundtrack, Broadway Show/Original Cast, Television LP & 45 market including imports. We also provide some collecting guidelines there. Price is $10 postpaid USA to RTS, Box 93897, Las Vegas, NV 89193. And please check out our Ebay Store at 'RTS Rarities' for our current offerings in soundtracks, original casts, classical, jazz, radio recordings in LPs/CDs/cassette formats along with videos, books and other collectibles. 

Look for our next edition soon!