Showtunes

1	The Orphan of Zhao Theme 0:59
2	At Madam Plum's From Peach Blossom Fan 2:35
3	The Top and the Ball From My Life as a Fairy Tale 1:49
4	What a Fucking Lovely Day! From Orphan of Zhao 1:22
5	Auntie Toothache From My Life as a Fairy Tale 2:48
6	It's Hard to Be the Emperor From Peach Blossom Fan 1:08
7	Sounds Expensive From Peach Blossom Fan 1:36
8	The Red Shoes From My Life as a Fairy Tale 1:43
9	Fan Dance Cha-Cha From Peach Blossom Fan 1:17
10	The Little Maiden of the Sea From My Life as a Fairy Tale 3:53
11	Ukulele Me! From Peach Blossom Fan 1:08
12	Train Song From Orphan of Zhao 1:17
13	The Little Hebrew Girl From My Life as a Fairy Tale 2:10
14	Shall We Sing a Duet? (Reprise) From Peach Blossom Fan 0:55
15	The Song of the Humble Serf From Orphan of Zhao 0:56
16	The Collar and the Garter From My Life as a Fairy Tale 1:40
17	Shall We Sing a Duet? (Reprise) From Peach Blossom Fan 1:38
18	Sorry, Wrong Show From Peach Blossom Fan 1:41
19	The Storks From My Life as a Fairy Tale 1:24
20	In the Spring, When I Was Young From Orphan of Zhao 2:02
21	the Ugly Little Duck From My Life as a Fairy Tale 3:41
22	And He Would Say... From Peach Blossom Fan 3:02
23	The World Is Not Made of Flowers From Orphan of Zhao 1:14
24	Behold the Lowly Centipede From Peach Blossom Fan 1:41
25	In China, Said the Moon... From My Life as a Fairy Tale 3:37
26	Hail! Son of Heaven From Peach Blossom Fan 1:06

Barnes & Noble

You'd think that this Gotham songsmith would have enough outlets for his material, what with a good half-dozen bands and demi-bands at his disposal -- but, as evidenced by this solo outing, you'd be wrong. Technically speaking, this disc offers up exactly what the title promises -- songs that Merritt composed for the stage, specifically for plays directed by Chinese auteur Chen Shi-Zheng. But in point of fact, the 26 pieces are less Sondheim-esque than much of the material that Merritt has turned out with the Magnetic Fields or the 6ths. He delves into playful surrealism (like "Ukulele Me!") that could pass muster on either Pee-Wee's Playhouse or a great lost Ween album. He crafts a square-dance-ready nugget of tumbleweed country -- that would be "Train Song," which comes across as doubly odd, since it's placed smack-dab in the midst of a Chinese opera. Heck, Merritt even channels the spirit of Rain Dogs-era Tom Waits on the woozy, purposefully stumbling "My Life as a Fairy Tale." But for all the offbeat instrumentation -- a palette of indigenous instruments like the Chinese jinghu (a two-stringed violin) and pipa -- there's no mistaking the creative force that's guiding them. That's particularly clear on "What a Fucking Lovely Day" -- the most weary, tragicomic, and, well, Merritt-esque track on the set. But even when he's putting aside his own bugaboos to tell the story of Hans Christian Andersen (the subject of Showtunes' final third), Merritt commands center stage, ever a showman, ever a diva. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Showtunes, indeed. This is a stretch for fans of Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Heroes, the Gothic Archies, or the 6ths. In fact, Showtunes is a stretch for fans of Stephin Merritt, period, but a welcome one. The 26 songs that make up this collection are culled from three collaborative productions between Merritt and Chinese theater director Chen Shi-Zheng. Merritt wrote the music and lyrics to The Orphan of Zhao, written in the 13th century and adapted by Chen Shi-Zheng in 2003. It was performed in 2003 at the Lincoln Center Festival. The Peach Blossom Fan was produced in 2004 and performed at Rand and Edna Disney/Cal Arts in Los Angeles, and My Life as a Fairy Tale, based on the life and stories of Hans Christian Andersen, and also performed at the Lincoln Center Festival. The last of these offered not only Merritt songs, but his sound design as well. While music here has less than nothing to do with rock & roll, it is also unmistakably Merritt. Those of you who admire the man's wit, his tender if brutal honesty, and his brilliance in marrying music to his peculiar use of language will be enchanted because of its uncanny synchronicity despite unusual instrumentation throughout. In fact, the listener is asked to make a huge jump here. You are asked, basically, to forget the productions these songs originate from, and hear this as an album: a Stephin Merritt album. Certainly there is the arresting cover, the short summations of the plays themselves, and the scant illustrations in the package; but nonetheless, other than the opening instrumental "Theme from The Orphan of Zhao," which is done on auto harp, pipa, and jinghu, as a dead-giveaway, the whole set comes off as startling. The way the album is arranged -- the songs are interwoven, not sequenced according to production -- offers the first real proof that this is, in fact, really a Merritt album. The instrumentation across the board is unusual -- particularly on the tunes from My Life As a Fairy Tale, which is scored for Stroh violin, marimba, yanquin, and steel drums, and includes vocalists Blair Brown and Fiona Shaw. The dramatic flair of these tunes nods to the black humor and truly ironic world view of a man possessed by the spirit of Oscar Wilde -- even more than usual. These pieces, almost to a tee, are full of dry wit and an acerbic tongue. Check out "The Top and the Ball" (from My Life As a Fairy Tale), "What a F*cking Lovely Day" (Orphan of Zhao), and "Sorry Wrong Show" (Peach Blossom Fan) for quick evidence. As for the singers, there are loads of surprises here, particularly on this last tune, where Dudley Klute is almost a deadringer for Nick Cave! On "The World Is Not Made of Flowers," (Orphan of Zhao), Jenny Bacon sings with an iconic yet convincing dramatic flair for Merritt's searing lyric: "Though I will be your judge and jury/crushing your skull won't quell my fury...If you smell a bullet/passing through your nose/red as a rose/Let it be mine....And while my anger still increases/I'll piss on all your little pieces." An achievement of Merritt's adapting his lyrics for the theater is in the economy of language; the excesses are carried by the music and the singers, rather than in the words. They are tight, spare, and more often than not, hilarious while still communicating the raw softness of the human heart. One can almost hear this as a reject from the 69 Love Songs material. Ultimately, this set may confuse and perhpas even infuriate some people. And then, of course, there are the rest who will be delighted, puzzled, and intrigued by the sheer originality of this recording. Showtunes is a step forward, a brave leap into art -- that remains popular art -- by one of the most mercurial and enigmatic songwriters out there. Thom Jurek

Entertainment Weekly

DVD visuals would help, but it still beats Andrew Lloyd Webber. (B) Will Hermes

Los Angeles Times

1/2 The music ranges as far as stylized Latin and Hawaiian, with wit and sophistication alluding at least vaguely to Gilbert & Sullivan, Weill and Sondheim. Steve Hochman