Listening to People You May Know

Many of the cabaret concerts covered on this blog are initiated by the songwriters themselves or by theatre companies specifically interested in showcasing new writing talent. People You May Know cabaret series is a collection of three actors-- Julia Burrows, Michael Deleget, and Leslie Henstock-- who choose three songwriters/songwriting teams to feature in each iteration of their concerts (their last was version 4.0).

People You May Know is an interesting glimpse into what it is about new work that inspires and interests actors, as the performers takes turns tackling some of the writers' songs and other songs that have influenced the writers' work. When it comes to the latter, sometimes this leads to a rousing cover of classics like "I Can't Make You Love Me," but other times it can lead to interesting new arrangements (usually by musical director Andrew Byrne) like a mashup of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "One and Only." Overall, the shows are great for any musical theatre enthusiast because they welcome new interpretations of newer work, with a fresh stamp by the performers themselves.

I had the pleasure of attending People You May Know 4.0, which featured personal favorite writers of mine: Michael Mahler, Will Van Dyke, and Joe Iconis. Below are some highlights, but feel free to watch all the videos from the show on People You May Know's Youtube channel or on their website (there's videos from past shows too!)

Michael and Julia singing Michael Mahler's "Couldn't You Stay":

Michael singing Will Van Dyke's "Settle":

Leslie singing Joe Iconis' "The Actress":

And because it's too manic and delicious not to share, Julia singing Joe Iconis' "Ammonia":

Gifts that Keep on Giving

So while the holidays are rapidly approaching, I still thought I would do a quick post with some gift suggestions for a musical theatre enthusiast, whether they are a composer, writer, or just fan of the genre.

The most talked about theater gift this season is undoubtedly Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece, Finishing the Hat, which I am currently in the process of reading. Anyone interested in the theater will enjoy the anecdotes, and any writer will absolutely see the value in the beautifully laid out lyrics and Sondheim's comments on them. It's a really gorgeous book, and both its content and respectful packaging really make this perfect for any book collection.

As mentioned in past posts, Sh-K-Boom has come out with some really amazing albums this past year from many of the composers mentioned in this blog. New releases include Joe Iconis' Things to Ruin and cast recordings for Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days and Michael Friedman's Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. New releases on the way include CDs of work by composers Will Van Dyke, Jonathan Reid Gealt, and Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel -- so you can pre-order any of those as well. Also, remember the code EMERGING10 will still get you 10% off your order on the website at checkout until 12/31!

If you have an actor/singer to shop for, get them some sheet music through NewMusicalTheatre.com. Also soon to be available is the first book of Ryan Scott Oliver's music, which is now available for pre-order here. Or go the extra mile and get tickets to the RSO launch party at Joe's Pub on February 7 for a special someone, and every ticket will get you a free copy of the book.

Another nice gift can come in the form of an experience. I love to buy my friends tickets to shows, and what better to get you in the holiday spirit than getting seats for Joe Iconis' Christmas Spectacular next weekend? Also coming up? A Will Van Dyke concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge on January 17. Quality time and a show? Everyone wins!