Amazon.com The title of Leaving Home is not just a nod to the Lennon-McCartney song it includes. It's also an indication that one of Broadway's brightest leading ladies, Rebecca Luker, is abandoning her usual repertoire in favor of folk-rock by the likes of Joni Mitchell ("River," "Chelsea Morning"), Janis Ian (a gorgeous "Getting Over You"), Carly Simon ("Boys in the Trees"), and Billy Joel ("You're My Home"). She doesn't ignore musicals altogether. She debuts two songs from forthcoming shows ("Ophelia" from Amanda McBroom's Will's Women and "Fine" from Bill Whitefield and Bill Castellino's Crash Club), and sings "Wick" from The Secret Garden with her former costar Alison Fraser, and "Cherish the Child," which was cut from Lizzie Borden (written by Christopher McGovern--who did the outstanding production, conducting, and arrangements here--and Amy Powers). Even the songs from musicals, though, are within the same folk-rock idiom, one that Luker obviously holds close to her heart. And even if they rarely require her to use the crystal-clear high range she's renowned for, most of the songs have probably never been sung by a lovelier voice. Chances are you've heard "She's Leaving Home" umpteen times before, but Luker's version will leave you awash in beautiful cascading waves of sound. --David Horiuchi
