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!

Time Travel

With the launch of the new Facebook features today, it's becoming all the more apparent that the digital world is quickly expanding, and social networking in respect to musical theatre is no exception. In fact, I've seen grassroots campaigns flourishing over the past few years through the help of social media -- Kerrigan and Lowdermilk's very successful album Kickstarter campaign, the viral videos of University of Michigan MT students, and newmusicaltheatre.com, to name just a few -- and I've always been curious to see what the next big thing is going to be.

On January 11th, Mike Pettry and Heidi Heilig's musical The Time Travelers Convention is about to launch in a big way. Through Youtube, the musical will be performed as a kind of musical radio broadcast, and shortly following the launch, audio will be available to download both as a podcast and cast album.

The Time Travelers Convention was inspired by a convention held by MIT students in 2005. The musical tells the story of 3 nerdy high schoolers who, hoping to find a way to go back in time to change their pasts, begin planting invitations to a convention in library books in hopes that someone with access to a time machine in the future would see the note and attend. When a stranger actually shows up at the party, the 3 teens must then deal with the idea of the past and learn how to live in the present.

Besides having an innovative plot, the music is fun and you can listen to much of it here. Mike Pettry, in addition to being a great musician, also has a great selection of songs both from The Time Travelers Convention and his other projects available on his website.

I'm very curious to see what this January 11th premiere has in store. It's an interesting concept -- one that is especially intriguing given the time travel themes of the piece. After all, even though this is a digital launch, the idea of a radio play is quite traditional in many respects. Also, the resonant themes give the idea a great through line, and I am most curious to see if people are going to be inspired enough by the material in the digital ether to materialize the show in their theaters.

Who knows what the future holds.

It Won't Be Long Now

I try to refrain from writing about Broadway offerings, since I really want this blog to reflect all the talent that hasn't yet hit the Great White Way (and there's so much of it out there, I could go forever without even mentioning a Broadway show). And especially in light of some original new musicals closing on Broadway, I think it's becoming more and more apparent that success doesn't always need to be tied to a huge theater or expensive production. Still, I want this blog to be about the musical theatre that can be electric, all-encompassing, and I while I've had those moments in smaller venues lately, last night I was reminded that I could feel that way on a grander scale as well.

Lin Manuel Miranda is well on his way to being a musical theatre hit maker, making a huge Broadway debut with In The Heights and quickly moving onto other jobs working on the current revival of West Side Story and a musical adaptation of Bring It On. I had the pleasure of seeing In The Heights in one of its first previews and it's been my go-to show when I've had friends or family in town. It's been an instant crowd pleaser, and I've always been amazed at how it's resonated with so many different audiences, especially my friends who aren't especially interested in musicals.

Last night, I revisited the show when I got tickets for a dear friend's birthday, and I found myself excited to not only experience the show again but to share it with my friend as well. And upon another viewing, I was able to truly appreciate the intricacies of Miranda's well-crafted lyrics. Having seen the original cast, I thought it would be difficult to recreate the chemistry and energy of those characters, but the material holds up well with new actors and takes on new meaning with fresh faces. Though I understand criticisms of the show's lacking book and surprisingly traditional plot lines, watching the show last night really made me realize how the show is about Miranda's music and showcasing the world and characters he so skillfully whittles with words.

The precision of the rhymes manage to avoid cliche, never seeming cheesy but always seeming accessible. While some may argue that the subject matter deserves a vision that is more edgy, I find the buoyancy of every song important to immerse the audience in unfamiliar territory. It's easy to say the characters fit general archetypes, but the details with which they express themselves in song shows how music truly helps transcend language barriers -- take for instance how, regardless of how my mom kept asking why the abuela character kept singing about "color" (which was actually "calor"), she understood very clearly the complex theme of immigrating and building a home in unfamiliar territory.

I felt a sense of pride coming out of the show, and I have to admit, though I HATE talkers in the theater, I love the way people can't help but respectfully 'ooh' and 'ahh' at choice parts. These are characters and songs that people relate to enough to want to interact with them -- and it never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps the best part was being able to share the night with my friend who said herself that it gave her a new appreciation of being a New Yorker, which, while not necessarily a ringing endorsement for the realism of the piece, is a sign that musical theatre continues to succeed in being transformative on the stage.

Anyway, for sticking with me through this gush-fest, I leave you with some videos of Lin Manuel Miranda genius: In The Heights' Tony performance of "96,000," Lin Manuel Miranda's Tony acceptance speech, and his recent Alexander Hamilton rap at the White House. Also, try to see Lin doing his thing when he returns to "The Heights" fort he last two weeks of the run, starting Christmas Day!

Where We Give Thanks

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to say a big thanks to all the readers this past year.This blog is quickly coming up on its 1 year anniversary, and I've been so thankful for your thoughtful discussions, comments, and emails. I look forward to continue to cover composers and hope you'll stick around and take part!

And in the spirit of Turkey Day, I leave you with the always elegant "Mark's All Male Thanksgiving" from William Finn's Elegies, sung here by Paul Lessard:

Aren't we all a little crazy when it come to love?

I first heard of Drew Gasparini when I saw this video from Emma Hunton's concert at (le) Poisson Rouge where he smoothly finesses a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" (with the always lovely Emma):

So imagine my excitement when I found out that he also writes music. And it's good.

Two of his musical projects (with books co-written by Louis Sacco) Crazy, Just Like Me and Circles, both explore human relationships, examining love, hope and human connection and feature gorgeous songs that slow big moments and emotions, prodding and finding greater meaning in them.

A couple of my favorites from Circles includes "What Remains" (sung here by Jennifer Damiano and Matt Doyle):

"Two Little Lines" (sung by Anna Ty Bergman):

Drew is also a recent addition to NewMusicalTheatre.com, where you can download his sheet music for songs like the following "My Year" (sung by Alex Ellis) and the hilarious "The Text Message Song" (performed in Cait Doyle's Hot Mess in Manhattan):

Was I enjoying myself or just wasting time?

Due to a work commitment, I'm pretty bummed that I won't be able to make Gaby Alter and Tommy Newman's concert for 29: A New Musical tonight at Joe's Pub. But if you have an open evening, you totally should. You can listen to the awesome music at Tommy Newman's site, and I can only imagine it will sound better live.

Here is a performance of one of my favorite songs, "Twenty-One," performed by NYU Tisch:

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Beautiful

I am so glad that I was able to attend Peter Lerman's show tonight at The Laurie Beechman in New York. It's been a little while since I've gone out to a show, and after listening to many of his songs (and having blogged about his music a little while ago), I've been dying to be able to hear them sung live.

I have to say that I really had a great time and found it to be a really lovely evening of some really nice songs. There was a subtle, quiet beauty to the whole affair. The music itself was entrancing, notes and lyrics gently carving out the landscapes that many of Peter's songs describe. Peter mentioned how he loves things that are old (as shown by the classic lucky Phantom of the Opera shirt he was wearing), and there's definitely a sense of time and place in all of his songs. Many of them describe ghosts and moments that may have already passed, but they're also filled with an appreciation and awareness that keep them poignant. All the songs stood on their own, but sometimes even a simple introduction or story from Peter's own life made them all the more intimate, adding yet another layer to already rich songs.

And as much as history and time play a prominent role in his music, tonight also showcased his pop sensibilities. After all, who else tells an anecdote about suggesting Ke$ha's "Dinosaur" or Eminem's "Stan" for his obligatory cover, and follows the story up with a cover of The Killer's "Human"?

If/when videos are posted, I will definitely post them. But in the meantime, go to his website and download his songs (I definitely left tonight with a new appreciation for "Out of My Hands") and enjoy the following music video of Peter Lerman singing "Abraham," which was the encore song tonight.