As much as I dream of traveling to New York City and catching a show on Broadway, as a busy college student it does not seem to be in the cards (at least for the next few years). However, I can still satisfy my musical cravings with CDs of original cast recordings for all of my favorite shows. The Music & Media Collection has a wide variety of music genres available for check out or streaming, meaning there is something for everyone’s interest. For a musical geek like me, here are a few of my favorite Broadway picks from the collection:

By Sophia Wolf

Anything Goes
Call Number: M1500 .P67 A5
Anything Goes is set aboard the ocean liner S. S. American, where nightclub singer and evangelist Reno Sweeney is en route from New York to England. Her pal Billy Crocker has stowed away to be near his love, Hope Harcourt, but to his dismay, Hope is engaged to the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh.

Once Upon a Mattress
Call Number: M1505 .R621 O5 1993
Due to an unhappy curse, King Sextimus is unable to speak. Meanwhile, his terror-of-a-wife, Queen Aggravain, has taken over control of the kingdom. Most importantly, in an attempt to keep her son Prince Dauntless single, she has decreed that only a true princess that can pass her impossible test may marry him. Will the unrefined princess Winnifred the Woebegone finally be the one to pass the queen’s test?

The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Call Number: M1505 m.W54 U57 1993
Molly Brown is determined to rise from her country roots and marry a rich man. She finds one in Johnny Brown, who has just sold off his lucrative claim on a Colorado silver mine. Johnny again strikes it rich, this time in gold, making the pair Denver royalty. However, money does not ensure happiness and, with their union on the rocks, Molly travels to Europe — before making an eventful return trip on the Titanic.

By Sophia Wolf

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I believe that no one can rightfully say that it is too early to listen to Christmas music. The St. Thomas Music & Media Collections are a great place to access CDs or streaming audio for all of your festive favorites. As a self-proclaimed expert, who has been listening to Christmas music since November 1^st, here is one of my top picks from the Collections:

American Folk Songs for Christmas
Call Number: M1629.S44 .A54 1989

This compilation of less-commonly known Christmas songs represent a variety of folksongs that find their origins in European and British Isles Ballads, several African-American spirituals that express a deeply spiritual celebration of Christmas, as well as several classic, better-known Christmas favorites. This lively recording is sung & played by sisters Peggy, Barbara, and Penny Seeger, assisted by a group of children from the South Boston Music School.

Selected songs from this CD can also be accessed through:

Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound: American Folk Songs for Christmas (streaming audio)

By Sofia Wolf

As UST welcomes new students to campus – whether first year, international, or transfer students – the Music & Media Collections at OSF Library cannot wait to share the many resources we have available for these new (or returning) Tommies. Found in room 104A in O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library, the Music & Media Collections has over 25,000 physical DVD and CD titles available for check out as well as numerous streaming databases featuring academic films and interviews, documentaries, foreign films, major motion pictures, and everything in between. Viewing stations, listening/view rooms, and external disc drives available for check out make it easy to utilize our resources. If you have been to the Music & Media Collections in the past, make sure to drop by this semester to browse the many new titles that were added throughout the summer.