Never has a warmer voice come out of my speakers than Mimi Bessette’s. If your family can use a little help winding down before naps or bedtime, her Lullabies of Broadway Act II is the musical pairing for fluffy PJs and chamomile tea that you need.
Mimi Bessette is an actress with a pile of credits on and Off-Broadway and around the U.S., so showtunes are a natural choice. In 1990, Bessette released her first Lullabies of Broadway, and nearly 30 years later, she has followed up with Act II. The 16-song collection ranges from songs out of classic musicals (Guys and Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, etc.) across the years to more modern Broadway shows (Bright Star, Waitress), and is thoughtfully arranged so that songs from such varied sources feel like a natural collection.
Though it’s Lullabies of Broadway, the album opens with the only non-theatrical song of the bunch, “Rainbow Connection” from the Muppet Movie. It took me 10 seconds into this version to fall smitten. Bessette is accompanied by just a piano, but her soaring vocals make it feel bigger than the sum of its parts. It’s such a joyful song – I’m glad that Bessette decided to make an exception on the “Broadway” part of “Lullabies of Broadway” to include this beauty.
From there, it’s all theatrical music. The second track, “Clusters of Crocus/Come to My Garden” from The Secret Garden is a mother singing to her child, made lovelier by the addition of vocals by child performer Luca Padovan. This song reprises to close the album.
“Morning Glow” from Pippin adds a violin, mandolin and light percussion, which builds the depth of sound. The accompanying instruments across the album, primarily piano – but also including guitar, bass, clarinet, sax, viola, flute, in some track – have been carefully chosen to add richness, while maintaining a feeling of intimacy.
A couple of standouts for me are Track 4 and 5. “I Can’t Wait” from the Steve Martin and Edie Brikell musical Bright Star is a song of hope for a baby on the way, which shows off Bessette’s lovely folk-twang and adds a welcome male/father voice (David Lutken). “Everything Changes” is a soaring Sara Bareilles song from Waitress about the moment a mother sees her baby for the first time – “we were both born today,” she sings of the life changing moment every mother knows.
“Beauty and the Beast,” from both the movie and Broadway production, will be sentimentally familiar to nearly all listeners. Movie musical fans will also recognise “You Are Not Alone,” from the Anna Kendrick/James Cordon treatment in the 2015 Into the Woods film, and Bessette’s version points up the optimism of the “someone is on your side/no one is alone” message.
The tempo of the songs doesn’t vary greatly, as they are all meant to be lulling us towards rest, but “Moonshine Lullaby” from Annie Get Your Gun does pick up the pep a bit with a fun honky-tonk piano and harmonica.
The balance of the lullabies have in common themes of love, all of which can be sung from an adult to a child, and beautiful pictures painted by the lyrics. The closing song (before the “Come to My Garden” reprise), “More I Cannot Wish You” from Guys and Dolls is the perfect example of the lushness of Broadway songwriting – “Music I can wish you/ Merry music while you’re young/ And wisdom when your hair has turned to gray/ But more I cannot wish you/ Than to wish you find your love/ Your own true love this day.”
Sweeter dreams we can’t dream for our children than images like these, so richly brought to life by Bessette.
Lullabies of Broadway Act II is available on iTunes and from Broadway Records.
Disclosures: I have worked with Mimi Bessette professionally. This review is unsolicited and self-funded.
Read the rest of our Listening Ears On reviews for more non-annoying children’s music!
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Little Steps, Big Adventures by Tiptoe Giants
Hey Hey, Let’s Play by Nay Nay
Helpful Songs for Little People by the Teeny Tiny Stevies
Beyond the Little Star by Benny Time
Season One by The Vegetable Plot
Here Comes Science! by They Might Be Giants
Storytime Singalong Volumes 1 and 2 by Emily Arrow
Bunny Rumble by Bunny Racket
Keep It Real! by Caspar Babypants
Scratch ‘N’ Sniff by The Sticker Club
All the Sounds by Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats