SWEENEY TODD OBCR vs. Film Soundtrack - "God, That's Good!" • Video Ramblings

Okay so, I got a little bored over the Labor Day weekend and did this.  Yes, sometimes having a YouTube Channel is a dangerous thing…  :)

Thanks for watching!

Totally Random Birthday Marching Band Rambling!

My buddy Lisa and me,

pre- half-time show!

Nice pants, right?!

Okay so first of all, it's not really my birthday anymore, but close enough!
Birthdays facilitate things -- being thankful for your time on the planet, being thankful for your friends, family and "back-in-the-day" sentimentality.  This blog will center on that last one -- sentimentality. That means I'm gonna ramble a little bit.

I got a wild hair a few days ago and listened to a bunch of tunes on my ipod from when I was in college in the marching band. Long time ago. But I was a horn player in the "Mighty Sound of the South" -- the University of Memphis (back in the day, it was just Memphis State University) marching band -- 200+ players! Geek?  Yeah. But a way to gain a further appreciation of instrumental music in general? Hell. Yes.

While surfing the playlist, I was drawn to 1988, when the members of the MSofTS were given the sheet music for "Mambo" from West Side Story. So, in the spirit of sentimentality, here's a recording of that song, recorded by us college kids, in our sizable but acoustically unforgiving rehearsal space on campus.

Can I just talk about Stephanie J. Block for a minute? • Thank you.

Hello again theatre peeps, and Happy Holidays!  You know what the Holiday season brings -- among many other things, it's also typically when I ramble on about random stuff, so here goes…

I love Stephanie J. Block, aka, Broadway Crush #1.  I know, big surprise.  Why you ask?  Well, the first time I saw her was when she came through St. Louis with the first National Tour of WICKED as Elphaba in 2005.  That show is what prompted me to see more theatre.  I just thought to myself, "I enjoy this too much to not do more of it".  The rest is history.  Okay.  Not really history, but you get my point…

TONY AWARDS AFTERGLOW

In celebration of the big winner tonight…  Oh…  last night…  I felt compelled to post another song from THE BOOK OF MORMON -- the opening number called "Hello!".  Congratulations to all of the Tony Award nominees and winners!

Yay, theatre!!

Patter Songs Kick Ass • "Model Behavior" from WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

Okay so, this week I got my OBCR of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN in the mail.  I posted a blog about it when I saw it in the Big Apple, and at the time I wasn't completely sold on David Yazbek's music and lyrics.  Well, after listening to the recording (a few times), I like it much more than I did.  It's grown on me -- you know how that happens sometimes.  It was assumed that there wouldn't be a cast recording at all -- closing early and everything -- but the powers that be decided to go for it.  Luckily.  But the song that left one of the biggest impressions in NYC is still my favorite -- a fantastic little patter song called "Model Behavior".

In this number, Pepa (Sherie Rene Scott), who's just been through a painful break-up, has come home to an answering machine bursting with messages from her best friend Candela (Laura Benanti), a fashion model.  See, she is desperately trying to reach Pepa because not only is Candela in love…  again…  but is afraid her newest boyfriend may be a terrorist.

Laura Benanti (Candela)

WOMEN ON THE VERGE

OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

It's a great tune with some interesting music and orchestrations.  I would suggest listening with earphones.  I know I know, but seriously -- you can hear the bassline better.  This song confirms my belief that patter songs are a lovely thing, and Laura Benanti is a goddess…

Enjoy!

BONUS TRACK!!

I just think this number, "On The Verge" is cool too.  That's all.  More bassline love, and the harmonies, and that subtle string action in the background around 1 min. and 48 sec. --  love…  Enjoy this, too!

Yes, this is a Rambling on Contrapuntal Goodness • CURTAINS

Okay, so here's a bona fide rambling -- but I can't help it.  It's about counterpoint!  You guys know I love this stuff.

Contrapuntal moments are something I get chills over.  There's a beauty in a show called CURTAINS that I've been listening to lately.  

I saw this show in April of 2007.  Just a word of advice to anyone seeing a show in the Big Apple -- after checking out the theatre discount websites (my favorite -- broadwaybox.com), also try to check out the box office in person.  I went by the box office for CURTAINS and the first words out of my mouth were, "what discounted seats do you have?".  I ended up with a seat in the first row, just left of center for 57 bucks.  The seat was discounted because it was considered "partial view" -- a couple of times during the show, the conductor was elevated on a little platform to have a little dialogue with the actors onstage.  I swear I could have reached over and tapped him on the shoulder -- it was great!  The stage was a little high though…

Theatre Etiquette Time

Okay, I've held off long enough. Theatre etiquette time.

A few folks have told me that the name of this blog would suggest someone who will only see shows at the Fox or "highbrow" intellectual stuff. Nope. Don't get me wrong, I love the Fox -- it's an absolutely beautiful space, but good heavens it's big. (That's what she said…)  I like small intimate theatres. And as far as intellectual shows go, I'm still waiting for someone to explain Bertolt Brecht to me. I mean, I think I get it, but the only Brecht show I've seen was a tad over my head, and not the greatest production in the world, so I left the theatre a little confused.

Anyway, a more appropriate title for this blog could be "St. Louis Theatre Etiquette Police".  When my friends suggested I start a blog, we thought it would mostly consist of a little good-natured berating of St. Louis audiences for their random atrocious behavior. Little did I know I'd actually start kind of reviewing shows, which I have fallen in love with doing, but tonight, I feel compelled to call out some stuff.

I Heart ASSASSINS

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Second, I don't mean I literally love assassins -- that would be messed-up.  I mean I love the musical ASSASSINS.  It's the latest recording I've been listening to non-stop, and I wanted to share.  And, it's the holiday season, and I'm in Little Rock Arkansas with not much else going on so…

Here's the skinny:  ASSASSINS is a lesser known musical with music and lyrics by my hero, Stephen Sondheim, that takes a look at some of the more notable individuals who have attempted to take, or have taken, the life of a US President.  Debuting off-Broadway in 1990, it received a Broadway production in 2004.  I was first introduced to this gem via a staging at New Line Theatre a few years ago, and promptly bought the original cast recording.

2004 Broadway production

This black comedy of a show pokes holes in, or shoots bullets through, one of the great American myths: Anyone can grow up to be President.  Well, that's not really true is it?  For those who have found the American Dream out of their reach, perhaps a .38 Smith & Wesson is easier to come by.  This show doesn't glorify these successful and unsuccessful assassins, nor does it ask you to sympathize with them, but it does attempt to show you where they're coming from.  While they're considered enemies of society, they're also undeniably products of it as well.

Beautiful Chord Progressions Kick Ass

Okay so, I was listening to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA a couple of days ago, and had forgotten how much I love "The Music of the Night".

What?

Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman

© Really Useful Group

I'm not sure why so many people hate this show.  Maybe it's backlash against the success the show has had.  Maybe people just don't care for Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Maybe it's a prejudice against specters.  Maybe the hate comes from the women who have actually had to sing this stuff.  But again, I love spectacle.  A subterranean lake with tons of dry ice, elaborate costumes and a crashing chandelier?  I'm in.  The music is big with a butt-load of strings and french horns, which I also love.  I'm sure many consider it just a bunch of style over substance -- I can understand that, but whatev.  That's the great thing about theatre -- there's room for everything, right?  Did I mention the subterranean lake and lush orchestrations?

I Heart EVITA

So, I'm a little obsessed with EVITA (Thank you, New Line Theatre).  Yes, I know -- I'm quite late to the party.  I know this thing has been around for forever, but this happens every now and again (okay, it happens a lot) when I see a show that I've never seen before, and fall in love with the music and/or the story. In this case I fell for both.

I got the Original Broadway Cast Recording in the mail a few days ago, and have been listening to the piss out of it.  With very little dialogue, this rock opera has such a mix of styles I never get bored.

Okay, bear with me -- one of the first songs in the show, “Requiem for Evita/Oh, What a Circus”, is a great example.  In this song, Che (our cynical narrator) begins by reflecting on the hysterics that ensue in Argentina after the announcement of Eva Perón’s passing.

Okay, here we go...

- After the opening "Requiem", which is very requiemy... requiemesque... requiemish...? you hear for the first time the most recognizable leitmotif in the show at 3min. 03sec.

- Later, it goes into this kind of contemporary rock thing (well, contemporary for the 70's) at 5min. 22sec.  Che is angry...

- That goes right into this beautiful choral action a minute later at 6min. 22sec.

- And my favorite, they bust out into some orchestral splendor after which I immediately get chills at 7min 08sec. Yay tympani!!

- Oh yeah, and then Patti LuPone sings right around 8min., repeating the musical theme we hear Che sing at the beginning that's carried through that orchestral part.

The musical themes are so distinct that after a short while, when you hear them you immediately feel a sense of familiarity.  Like Les Miz or Sweeney Todd.  You know what those themes are connected to, and that always pulls me deeper into the story.  Love...  Not only that, but the show really seems to do justice to the weight of Eva's life, instead of relying on some cliche ending to bring it all together at the end -- like the unfortunate PIRATE QUEEN.

*sigh*  THE PIRATE QUEEN...  Oh well, that's another post.

Thanks for reading!   Until next time...

Soundtracks vs. Recordings and Other Ramblings

Yeah, those serious theatre folks can really get their panties in a knot about referring to cast recordings as soundtracks.  "Soundtracks accompany films. Cast Recordings refer to the recording of a stage show's songs.  The phrase 'Broadway Soundtrack' is a contradiction!  If live theatre had a soundtrack, it wouldn't be live theatre!  YOU MORON!!"  Yep, that's what they say...

So anyhoo, I recently bought the original Broadway cast recording of THE SOUND OF MUSIC.  I was actually looking for the soundtrack but they didn't have it.  I was a little apprehensive because the soundtrack was so strongly seared into my brain I was afraid I might be a little let down.  As mentioned a couple of posts ago, the realization that there would be no marionettes in the stage version was a bitter pill.  I got the cd anyway, thinking it would be nice to have the lesser listened-to 1959 original.

Did it sound different?  Sure.  But I really like it.  I mean you know, for the most part.  I'm still a little partial to Julie Andrews over Mary Martin, the tempos are a little slower and I miss the extra music breaks and kids singing along more during "The Lonely Goatherd", but whatever.  There are always little variations here and there that make listening to different versions interesting.  The songs still make me happy and there's such a nice full orchestra.

... ... ...

Aw hell, who am I kidding?  I'll probably order the soundtrack before the week is out.

:)