Mar 27: Holy Week

Jesus the Stranger - William Hardy, Clinton Derricks-Carroll, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (ABC Records)
Hosanna - Frederick Owens; Glen Carter, Jesus Christ Superstar [London Revival Cast] (Sony)
This Jesus Must Die - Bob Bingham, Jesus Christ Superstar [25th Anniversary Reissue] Disc 1 (MCA)
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us? - Shannon Mercer; Rosalind Plowright; William Ferguson; Christopher Purves; BBC Symphony Orchestra&Chorus, Not the Messiah (He's a very naughty boy); A Comic Oratorio by Eric Idle & John Du Prez (Madison Gate Records)
Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem - John Gustafson; Ian Gillan, Jesus Christ Superstar [MCA Original Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Decca)
The Temple - Glenn Carter, Jesus Christ Superstar [London Revival Cast] (Sony)
Alas for You - Stephen Nathan, Godspell [Original Off-Off-Broadway Cast] (Arista)
John Nineteen: Forty One - Orchestra, Jesus Christ Superstar Disc 2 (Verve)
Gethsemane (I only want to say) [Jesus Christ Superstar] - Steve Balsamo, Now & Forever - Disc 1 (Universal)
The Arrest - , Jesus Christ Superstar Disc 2 (Decca)
King Herod's Song - Joshua Mostel, Jesus Christ Superstar [25th Anniversary Reissue] Disc 2 (MCA)
Come On Down - Alex Bradford, Vinnette Carroll, Sheila Ellis, Clinton Derricks-Carrol, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (ABC Records)
Finale - Hunter Parrish;Uzo Aduba;Nick Blaemire;Celisse Hend - Hunter Parrish; Uzo Aduba; Nick Blaemire; Celisse Henderson; Mor, Godspell [2011 Broadway] (Ghostlight MP3)
Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down - Clinton Derricks-Carrol, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (ABC Records)

Mar 20: Anything You Can Do...

A re-airing of one of my favorite episodes, pitting one sex against another

Mar 13: West Side Story

Something's Coming [West Side Story] - Company, Sondheim on Sondheim [Original Broadway Cast] Disc 1 (P.S. Classics)
Maria - Larry Kert, West Side Story [OBC] (Columbia CK 32603)
Jet Song - Jets Cast; Nicholas Warnford; Orchestra, West Side Story [Leicester Cast] (Curtain Call) Cool - Kurt Ollmann, West Side Story [Deutsche Grammophon Highlights] (Deutsche Grammophon)
Tonight - Betsi Morrison; Mike Eldred, West Side Story [2002 Nashville] (Naxos American)
One Hand, One Heart - Richard Muenz, Dawn Upshaw, Leonard Bernstein's New York (Nonesuch)
Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story": Mambo: Presto - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Somewhere - The Leonard Bernstein Album (1993) ()
Gee Officer Krupke - Schlong, Punk Side Story (Hopeless Records, Inc.) Gee, Officer Krupke! - Def Jef; Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes; Paul Rodriguez; Salt-N-Pepa; The Jerky Boys, The Songs of West Side Story (RCA)
America [West Side Story] - Charlotte d'Amboise, Debbie Shapiro, Women, Jerome Robbins' Broadway (RCA)
I Feel Pretty - Carol Lawrence, West Side Story [OBC] (Columbia CK 32603)
Tonight Quintet - Jim Bryant; Marni Nixon; Rita Moreno, West Side Story [Expanded Original Soundtrack] (Sony Classical/Legacy)
A Boy Like That - Chita Rivera; Carol Lawrence, West Side Story [OBC] (Columbia CK 32603) I Have A Love - Maria Kesselman, The West Side Story Collection (X5 Music Group)
Somewhere - Audra McDonald, How Glory Goes (Elektra/Asylum)
Finale - Josefina Scaglione; Matt Cavenaugh; Company, West Side Story [2008 Broadway] (Sony Masterworks Broadway)

Coming up on the Broadway Matinee...

May 8, 2013
Mama, A Rainbow
Mothers in Musicals

May 15, 2013
Pre-empted for Musicfest Northwest

May 22, 2013
Harold Rome

May 29, 2013
Happily Ever After
Another visit with fairy tales on stage and screen

June 5, 2013
Mark Twain Musicals
Big River, the Apple Tree, and Connecticut Yankee are only a few of the musicals taken from Mark Twain's writings

June 12, 2013
Fathers of Fathers
Great songs about great dads


June 19, 2013
Gone Sailing
So many songs in the theater evoke the image of water and ships


June 26, 2013
Disney on Broadway
Disney didn't invent the movical, but certainly solidified its place on Broadway


July 3, 2013
Freedom and the Flag
Songs mainly about American freedom

July 10, 2013
Marry Me A Little
The state of marriage, blissful and otherwise

July 17, 2013
In a Very Unusual Way
Love takes many forms in stage songs

July 24, 2013
Driving Melodies
Stage songs taking place in an automobile

July 31, 2013
Jones & Schmidt
Music from the creators of The Fantasticks and 110 In The Shade

August 7, 2013
Cole Porter
A collection of fun songs from the genius lyricist and composer Cole Porter.

August 14, 2013
Working
Laborious songs, including from the Stephen Schwartz musical Working

August 21, 2013
Baby Mine
From conception through toddlerhood, babies are a subject of several theatre songs


August 28, 2013
Dancing

Mar 6: Stephen Schwartz

We Beseech Thee - Cast, Godspell [2001 National Touring Cast Recording] (DRG)
Simple Song - Barbara Cook, It's Better With A Band
Corner Of The Sky - John Rubinstein, Pippin OBC
It's an Art - Original Cast, Working [Original Cast Recording] (Varese Sarabande)
Lion Tamer [From the Magic Show] - Kristin Chenoweth, The Stephen Schwartz Album (Varèse Sarabande)
Where Is the Warmth? - Patti LuPone, The Baker's Wife [Original Cast Recording] (Original Cast Record)
In Whatever Time We Have - Darius de Haas; Kelli Rabke, Children of Eden [Original Cast Highlights] (RCA Records)
Defying Gravity - Idina Menzel; Kristin Chenoweth, Wicked (Decca)
Colors of the Wind [From Pocahontas] - Judy Kuhn, Classic Disney, Vol. 3 (Disney International)
The Bells of Notre Dame - Cast, On the Record Disc 2
God Help the Outcasts [From The Hunchback of Notre Dame] - Heidi Mollenhauer, Classic Disney, Vol. 5
Deliver Us/River Lullaby - Eden Riegel; Ofra Haza, Prince of Egypt
Just Because It's Magic - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Drew Carey, Geppetto
That's How You Know (As Used in the Film Enchanted) - Amy Adams, Enchanted [Original Soundtrack] (EMI Music Distribution)
On the Wings of a Swan - Kristoffer Cusick, Lost
From May 18, 2011

Feb 27: William Finn

You're Even Better Than You Think You Are [Live] - Cast, Make Me a Song, the Music of William Finn [Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Ghostlight)
Stupid Things I Won't Do - William Finn, Infinite Joy: The Songs of William Finn (RCA)
Gordo's Law of Genetics - John Jellison; Keith Byron Kirk; Kristin Chenoweth; Liz Larsen; Mary Testa; Michael Mandell, A New Brain (RCA Victor Records)
I Have Found [Live] - Cast, Make Me a Song, the Music of William Finn [Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Ghostlight)
Infinite Joy - Betty Buckley, Elegies: A Song Cycle (Varese)
Change - Cast, Make Me a Song, the Music of William Finn [Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Ghostlight)
I Speak Six Languages - Deborah S. Craig, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Sh-K-Boom)
Pandemonium - Company/Jose Llana, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Sh-K-Boom)
Prayer of the Comfort Counselor - Derrick Baskin, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Sh-K-Boom)
Mister, Make Me a Song - William Finn, Infinite Joy: The Songs of William Finn (RCA)
Love Me For Who I Am - Alison Fraser, In Trousers [Original Cast Recording] (Original Cast Record)
Tight-Knit Family - Cast, March of the Falsettos [Original Cast] (DRG)
Unlikely Lovers - Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Janet Metz, Heather MacRae, Falsettoland [Original Off-Broadway Cast] (DRG)
The Music Still Plays On - Penny Fuller, A New Brain (RCA Victor Records)
Anytime (I Am There) - Carolee Carmello, Elegies: A Song Cycle (Varese)
Heart and Music - John Jellison; Keith Byron Kirk; Kristin Chenoweth; Liz Larsen; Malcolm Gets; Mary Testa; Michael Mandell; Pe Fuller, A New Brain (RCA Victor Records)
From Feb 2, 2011

Feb 20: A Fine Romance

A Fine Romance [Swing Time] - Ginger Rogers; Fred Astaire, Ginger & Fred at RKO (2 of 2) (Rhino)
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off [Shall We Dance] - Fred Astaire, The Great American Songbook (Columbia/Legacy)
How Could You Believe Me? [Royal Wedding] - Mandy Patinkin; Kristin Chenoweth, Kidults (Nonesuch)
What You Don't Know About Women [City Of Angels] - Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley, Unsuspecting Hearts (Varese Sarabande)
You Could Drive a Person Crazy - Elizabeth Stanley, Kelly Jeanne Grant, Angel Desai, Company (Revival) (Nonesuch) I Think I Got You Beat - Sutton Foster; Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek: The Musical (Decca)
Hate Me, Please - Angela Richards & Jeremy Lloyd, Robert and Elizabeth (Angel Records)
Outside Of That I Love You - Cast, Louisiana Purchase (DRG)
Show Me - John Michael King; Julie Andrews, My Fair Lady [OBC] [2002 Bonus Tracks] (Sony SMK 89997)
Double Talk Walk - Orchestra, City of Angels [Original Broadway Cast] (Columbia) The More You Ruv Someone - Ann Harada; Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Avenue Q ( RCA Victor 82876-55923-2RE1)
Oh, Happy We - Barbara Cook; Robert Rounseville, Candide [Columbia Bonus Tracks] (Sony SK 86859)
An Old Fashioned Wedding - Thomas Hampson, Kim Criswell, Annie Get Your Gun [1991 Studio Cast] ( Angel CDC 7 54206-2)
Cherry Pies Ought to Be You - Andrea Martin; Ernie Sabella; La Chanze; Peter Scolari, Out of This World (DRG)
Nobody's Perfect - David Garrison; Karen Ziémba, I Do I Do [1996 Cast] (Varese Sarabande) I Wanted to Change Him - Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby! (Sony Classical)
I Am the One - J. Robert Spencer; Aaron Tveit; Alice Ripley, Next To Normal [Original Broadway Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Ghostlight)
Take Me or Leave Me - Idina Menzel, Rent [Original Soundtrack] Disc 2 (Warner Bros.)
I Can Do Without You - Doris Day; Howard Keel, Calamity Jane (Sony International)

Feb 13: So In Love

My idea Valentine's date is going to a live theater show. Of course, that's my ideal date any day. Here's wishing you happiness with someone special!

Some Enchanted Evening - Bryn Terfel, Something Wonderful: Bryn Terfel Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein (Polygram)
Sunrise - Mandy Gonzalez, Christopher Jackson, Company, In the Heights (Ghostlight 84428)
I Have a Love [From West Side Story] - Andréa Burns, A Deeper Shade of Red (PS Classics)
All the Things You Are (Very Warm for May) - Rebecca Luker, George Dvorsky, Jeanne Lehman, Cris Groenendaal, Broadway Showstoppers ()
So Many People - Anna Francolini; Sam Newman, Saturday Night [Original New York Cast Recording] (Nonesuch) I Could Write a Book - Peter Gallagher, Pal Joey [1995 Encores] (DRG)
I Love My Wife It Amazes Me - Cy Coleman
Can You Feel the Love Tonight - aerial ballet - Orchestra, The Lion King [Original Broadway Cast] (Walt Disney 861541)
If Ever I Would Leave You - Robert Goulet, Camelot [Original Broadway Cast] (Sony SK 60542)
Something Good - Rebecca Luker; Michael Siberry, Broadway in Love (RCA) I Got Lost in His Arms - Mary Martin, Annie Get Your Gun [1957 TV Mary Martin John Raitt] (Angel ZDM 0777 7 64765 2 0)
Song on the Sand (La da da Da) - Gene Barry, La Cage aux Folles [Original Cast] (RCA)
What More Can I Say - Michael Rupert, Falsettoland [Original Off-Broadway Cast] (DRG)
You Walk With Me - Jason Danieley; Romain Fruge, The Full Monty (RCA)
Once in Love With Amy [Where's Charley] - Ray Bolger, American Musical Theatre: Shows, Songs and Stars, Vol. 3 (Smithsonian) So in Love (Reprise) - Alfred Drake, Kiss Me, Kate [Original Broadway Cast] (Columbia/Legacy)

Feb 6: Lebo M

A reprise of the great music of African vocal arranger and composer Lebo M



Wednesday, November 18, 2009 Grasslands Chant (Busa) - Lebo M., The Lion King [Original Broadway Cast] (Disney) The Lioness Hunt - Lebo M., The Lion King [Original Broadway Cast] (Disney) Song for the Children - Lebo M., Lion King, Vol. 1 & 2 Disc 2 (Festival) Lala (precursor to Endless Night) - Lebo M, Rhythm of the Pride Lands (Disney) Shadowland - Heather Headley/Tsidi Leloka, The Lion King [Original Broadway Cast] (Disney) Noyana - Lebo M, Rhythm of the Pride Lands (Disney) Mother Africa [Power of One] - Lebo M, Zimmer, H.: The Wings of a Film (Decca) Spirit Of Africa - Chorus, Congo (Sony) Windsong - Chorus, Mighty Joe Young (Hollywood Records) Back to the Species - Lebo M, Born to be Wild The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Lebo M., Lion King 1 1/2 (Disney) One By One - Lebo M The Circle of Life - Carmen Twillie, Lebo M, The Lion King (Walt Disney)

Jan 30: What a Wonderful Way To Die

Not trying to be morbid or depressing, some of these songs are just lovely or passionate. I chose this theme in anticipation of Lake City's Sweeney Todd and Civic's Next to Normal. I've also started stage managing Civic's production of On Golden Pond, which also faces issues of aging and Alzheimers (although when it was written, we didn't recognize the signs of Alzheimers). Theater continues to put perspective on life's issues.

Life's a Funny Proposition, After All [Little Johnny Jones] - George M Cohan, American Musical Theatre: Shows, Songs and Stars, Vol. 1 (Smithsonian)
Is Life A Boon - , Hansel and Gretel [NBC Television Musical Spectacular] (Sepia Records)
The Elephant Song - Goldye Shaw; Lillian Hayman; Mildred Natwick, 70, Girls, 70 [Original Broadway Cast] (Sony Classical)
There's a World - Aaron Tveit, Next To Normal [Original Broadway Cast Recording] Disc 1 (Ghostlight)
A Snake in the Grass - Bob Fosse, The Little Prince [Original Soundtrack] (Decca) You Gotta Die Sometime Radio Edit - Stephen Bogardus, Falsettoland [Original Off-Broadway Cast] (DRG)
Will I - Jonathan Larson, Rent [Original Soundtrack] Disc 1 (Warner Bros.)
Goodbye - Keith Byron Kirk, Elegies: A Song Cycle (Varese Sarabande)
Wonderful Way To Die (The Bone Room) - Soundtrack; cast Album, The Show Goes On - Jones & Schmidt (DRG)
What A Comforting Thing To Know - The Sherman Brothers, The Slipper and the Rose (Image Entertainment)
Overture - Orchestra, The Addams Family (Decca Broadway B0014280-02)
Cell Block Tango - Bebe Neuwirth, Denise Fay, Maime Duncan-Gibbs, Mary Ann Lamb, Tina Paul, Caitlin Carter, Chicago [RCA] (RCA)
Epiphany - Angela Lansbury; Len Cariou, A Collector's Sondheim Disc 3 (RCA Victor Broadway)
Dancing on Your Grave - Andy Jobe; Bill Nolte; Christopher Sieber; Darcy Pulliam; Ken McMullen; Lind Jobe; Michael X. Martin; Theara J. Ward, A Christmas Carol [Original Cast] (Sony)
The Gospel According to Shrdlu - Joe Farrell, Adding Machine ()
The Highest Judge of All - John Raitt, Carousel [1965 Broadway Revival Cast] (RCA) Epilogue (Finale) - Gary Morris, Les Miserables - Complete Symphonic Recording (Red Ink)
Fear No More - Michael Siberry, The Frogs [Original Broadway Cast] (PS Classics)
Flying Home [Songs for a New World] - Lauren Kennedy, Songs of Jason Robert Brown (PS Classics)

Phantom of the Opera

It's been 25 years since Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway. Here are some recordings you might not know about...



Think Of Me - Rebecca Caine, Phantom Of The Opera [1989 Original Canadian Cast] (Verve)
Angel of Music - Emmy Rossum; Jennifer Ellison, Phantom Of The Opera [2004 soundtrack] (Sony)
The Phantom of the Opera - Dale Kristien; Michael Crawford, In Concert (First Night)
Dialogue: Phantom - Michael Crawford, In Concert (First Night)
The Music Of The Night - Michael Crawford, Highlights From The Phantom Of The Opera: The Original Cast Recording (Verve)
Quello che tacete - Placido Domingo, Puccini: La Fanciulla del West (DG Imports)
Echoes - Pink Floyd, Meddle (Capitol Records) Poor Unfortunate Souls - Pat Carroll, The Little Mermaid [Original Soundtrack] (Disney)
The Dress Rehearsal Of Hannibal - Canadian Cast, Phantom Of The Opera [1989 Original Canadian Cast] (Verve)
Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh - Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom Of The Opera At The Royal Albert Hall (Decca Broadway)
Masquerade - Orchestra, ()
Overture - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera (Uptown/Universal)
Masquerade - Patrick Wilson/Emmy Rossum/Gerard Butler, Phantom Of The Opera [2004 soundtrack] (Sony)
All I Ask of You [Phantom of the Opera] - John Barrowman, Claire Moore, Greatest Love Songs From Musicals (MCI Musicals) I Gave You My Music - Colm Wilkinson, Phantom Of The Opera [1989 Original Canadian Cast] (Verve)
Twisted Every Way - Sierra Boggess, The Phantom Of The Opera At The Royal Albert Hall (Decca Broadway)
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again [Phantom of the Opera] - Sarah Brightman, Surrender: The Unexpected Songs (Polydor)
The Point of No Return - Kira Bronte; Michael Heath, Phantom of the Opera [1996 Studio] (Big Eye Music)
Masquerade reprise - Michael Crawford, Phantom of the Opera (Uptown/Universal)

Depression

Martin Luther King Jr

Review - NOW. HERE. THIS. Cast Album from Ghostlight Records

Thomas Merton, a poet and Catholic philosopher, developed a strong appreciation for Zen near the end of his short life. He told a friend about his key to happiness: the phrase "Now, Here, This." Not a command to "listen to this," but three distinct words as reminders:

• Now: this exact moment in time, NOT the past not future plans, but this tangible experience.
•  Here: (NOT hear) This place in space, not where we might go or where we've been or where we want to be, but the place you actually are.
• This: the thing we're doing, the senses we're using, not imagination but reality.

Now Here This - a way to live that will let us experience and truly appreciate life (while we have it.)

That philosophy is the title to a musical that played Off-Broadway in 2012, and now has a cast album released by Ghostlight Records. It comes across as a musical group-therapy session, moving from angst-ridden memories and quirky stories about personal insecurities towards a new-ageish acceptance of the choices made, experiencing and embracing the present. It’s certainly cheaper than group therapy, and probably funnier. 

The writers – Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, and Susan Blackwell – and their collaborator Heidi Blickinstaff not only star in the show, they essentially play themselves searching out this meaning-of-life thing. This isn’t their first time doing a super-meta musical; the even quirkier [title of show] was about them creating a show for the New York Musical Theatre Festival and its subsequent off-Broadway run.

That device is back, this time as friends reflecting on their individual histories. Maybe it’s because I know these four people – not personally, but I feel I met them in [title of show]. Subsequently, they’ve put their personalities on the web through video podcasts, Twitter feeds, blogs, and even a documentary on recording this cast album, although the latter is more a wink and thank-you to the fans who put up the money to record the album through a Kickstarter online campaign. The video confirmed that although the four people in Now. Here. This. have the personalities and quirky sense of humor of the real Jeff, Hunter, Heidi and Susan, they are meant to be any of the millions of slightly off-kilter creative types, the kind of people who have busy minds, fragments of ideas floating all the time, imagining what-ifs. There are a lot of us out here, and Now. Here. This. grabs our attention, at least for the moment.

The best song of the bunch is “More Life” not only because it’s catchy but for setting up those big questions. What are we missing by not being present at this moment, in this place. Only a couple of the songs address that ‘here and now’ utopia; the majority of the music points out the road blocks, mostly as journeys from the past.

Jeff remembers the discovery that he can dazzle any school bullies into thinking he’s funny, instead of thinking he’s gay, which is a social death sentence in elementary school. Heidi is a budding diva craving attention from a busy family. Susan fills her life with activities to avoid a house that could have been on Hoarders. It doesn’t matter if the stories are fully real or, as Hollywood puts it, “Inspired by a true story.”  The performances come though the recording, especially the twists that crack the masks and gives the character some self-realization, (predictable as it might be). A big exception is Hunter’s story/song about hiding in an imagined life with his ideal boyfriend, which is so over-the-top random and confused that it seems more of a desperate attempt at imagination rather than the practiced imaginary world of so many who create a world to disappear into. It comes across like “My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada” from Avenue Q, but a lot less raunchy.

A theme in the show – and in life – is the desire for STUFF. A belief that getting that thing you desire will unlock the key to happiness. It’s present in the scene-setter “More Life,” and repeats in the all-too-true number “Members Only.” The title refers both to exclusive clubs AND a popular 1980s jacket brand. It acknowledges the teenage rite of passage of finding the RIGHT clothing to get accepted by the popular people. It’s amusing while being painfully real. “Then Comes You” is a sweet song of friendship, and the truism that when you accept yourself, it’s easier for others to accept you as well.

As soon as the songs begin drifting into the land of the new-age spiritual retreat, the quartet yanks us back into an odd story of a group sea excursion, sung in the style of an old Irish sailing ballad, with Jeff and Susan getting seasick mid-song. There’s a wee moral to the tale of the “Wilbert S. Pound” -- when life upends you, sulking and being miserable makes it worse, but finding SOMETHING to appreciate makes the time sail by. Pollyanna? Perhaps. That’s where these songs come up short. Listening to the complete album feels like a weekend retreat where the group leaves refreshed in their purpose and commitment, before the reality of life crushes in. As Heidi sings the sweet “This Time,” which suggests a person sets her own rules, chooses her own path, it sounds like such an easy thing to do that the sentiment dissolves into fluff.

The ‘documentary’ suggested that the collaborators were continuing to develop the show. If so, I’d like to see them add the struggles of experiencing the ‘Now Here This’ through life’s constant interruptions – interruptions that the reclusive monk Thomas Merton didn’t have to consider, such as the partnership of marriage, raising a family, paying the bills. For example, since this CD came out shortly before Christmas, it took a few days fits and starts to listen to it and write this review. As Stephen Sondheim put it in Into the Woods, “If life were only ‘moments,’ then you’d never know you had one.” The only song that comes close to exploring that is the unfortunately-titled song “That Makes Me Hot” – which attempts to show when experiencing the Now Here and This is EMBARRASSING. That’s not the same thing.

Hey, this is a musical, not an answer to the meaning of life. It’s supposed to make you leave wanting more. And there are some satisfying moments from the cast album, despite some crazy pop culture references, such as rhyming the came Clue with actor “Gerard Depardeiu.” The song I appreciate most is “Golden Palace,” which convinces me we shouldn’t set our heroes on a pedestal beyond our reach. Instead, have enough faith in ourselves and our own potential that we can mingle with our heroes at the level we’re at now.

So if you’re looking for a profound musical experience, this CD isn’t it. If you’re looking for lovely background music, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a good time with some unique songs that want to be listened to and thought about, this might be it.

Ranking on the Art, Humor, and Entertainment scales:

Art: middle to low. The words stumble through the music, instead of both working together. But the thoughts are worth considering.

Humor: Middle to high. It’s closer to slapstick comedy, with probably too many 1980s pop culture references (Wikipedia will probably have a few visits to the Ed Grimley entry) but several moments are laugh-out-loud outrageous.

Entertainment Factor: High. Listening to some of Jeff Bowen’s wordy phrases is hard work, but the joy of the performance comes through. It’s not only the way the four voices blend, it’s the way their personalities blend. This CD will be treasured by students and young adults who are themselves on the creative and quirky side, feeling their way in this odds-beating existence called “life.”

Carols for a Cure 2012

All of the Carols for a Cure CDs are available at the BroadwayCares.org online store: broadwaycares.stores.yahoo.net. I'll admit that not all of the tracks are winners, but the ones that I like are probably different than the ones you'd find favorites. For example, I'm not a fan of celeb blogger Perez Hilton but you might find him and his "Perez Hilton Christmas" hysterical. Kudos to album producer Lynn Pinto, Rock-It Records, and everyone involved in this series. As I said on the show, half of these songs come from past years. Here's the complete playlist: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Cast of I Love You You're Perfect Now Change, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Dominick The Donkey - Cast of Peter and the Starcatcher with Greg Hildreth, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Good Queen Wenceslas - Cast of Mystery of Edwin Drood with Chita Rivera, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Call Your Mom - Aaron LaVigne and the Cast of Spider-Man, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science) You Don't Have To Be Alone On Christmas - Cast of Chaplin, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
The Holly and the Ivy - Cast of Mary Poppins, Carols for a Cure 10 2008 (Rock-It Science)
Deck The Halls - Cast of Les Miserables, Carols For A Cure 4 2002 (Rock-It Science)
Away In A Manger - Cast of Beauty & The Beast, Carols for a Cure 6 2004 (Rock-It Science)
It Come Upon A Midnight Clear - Cast of CATS, Carols For A Cure 2 2000 (Rock-It Science)
What Child Is This - Cast of Rent, Carols For A Cure 1 1999 (Rock-It Science) Holiday Reverie - Musicians Union, Carols for a Cure 10 2008 (Rock-It Science)
Los Tres Reyes Magos - Cast of Evita with Ricky Martin, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Silent Night - Cast of Smokey Joe's Cafe, Carols For A Cure 1 1999 (Rock-It Science)
The Wexford Carol - Cast of Once, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Keep The Home Fires Burning - Cast of Rebecca, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science) It Was Simple Then - Jenny Hill, Carols for a Cure 9 2007 (Rock-It Science)
Jolly Old St. Nicholas - Cast of Miracle on 34th Street, Carols For A Cure 14 2012 (Rock-It Science)
Too Fat To Fit - Cast of The Producers, Carols for a Cure 5 2003 (Rock-It Science)

Oct 17: Composer Spotlight Jason Robert Brown

Samples of Jason Robert Brown performing

She Cries - Brooks Ashmanskas, Songs for a New World (RCA Victor Broadway)
Just One Step - Jessica Molaskey, Songs for a New World (RCA Victor Broadway)
That's What He Said - Rufus Bonds, Jr., Parade [Brown] (RCA Victor Broadway)
All the Wasted Time - Lara Pulver, Bertie Carvel, Parade OLC (First Night Records) Shiksa Goddess - Norbert Leo Butz, The Last Five Years (Image)
I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You - Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes (Sh-K-Boom)
Prelude/High Fashion & Low Prices - Orchestra, The Trumpet of the Swan-A Novel Symphony for Actors & Orches (PS Classics)
Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You - Norbert Leo Butz; Sherie René Scott, The Last Five Years (Image)
The Lamest Place in the World - Allie Trimm, 13 (OBC) (Ghostlight 81313)
Here I Come - Graham Phillips, 13 (OBC) (Ghostlight 81313)
Mr. Hopalong Heartbreak [From Urban Cowboy] - Lauren Kennedy, Here and Now (PS Classics)
Hear My Song - Cast, Songs for a New World (RCA)
Stars and the Moon - Audra McDonald, Way Back to Paradise (Elektra/Asylum)

Oct 10: Doo Wee Doo Wop

Lida Rose - Buffalo Bills, The Music Man [Original Broadway Cast] (Angel Records)
Gentle Loving People - The Kinsey Sicks, Dragapella (The Kinsey Sicks)
A Thousand Summer Nights - Jerry Tellier, Original Cast. Ray Leslee & John Jiler, Avenue X (RCA 09026 63208-2 MP3)
New York is Funny That Way - Cast, In Transit (intransitthemusical.com) Skid Row (Downtown) - Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Little Shop of Horrors [Original Soundtrack] (Geffen)
Woe Woe Woe! - Shannon Mercer; Rosalind Plowright; Eric Idle; William Ferguson; Christopher Purves; BBC Symphony Orchestra&Chorus, Not the Messiah (He's a very naughty boy); A Comic Oratorio (Madison Gate Records)
Doo-Wah-Doo-Wee - Cast, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Original Cast Record)
Those Magic Changes - New Broadway Cast, Grease [2007 Broadway] (Sony Classics)
Walk Like a Man - John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, Christian Hoff, J. Robert Spencer, Jersey Boys (Jersey Boys Broadway/Rhino) Welcome to the 60's - John Travolta; Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray [2007 Soundtrack] (Universal Classics)
Born to Hand Jive - Sha Na Na, Grease [Original Soundtrack] (Polygram International)
Love Potion #9 - Original Broadway Cast, Smokey Joe's Cafe (Atlantic)
Dawn (Go Away) - John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, Christian Hoff, J. Robert Spencer, Ensemble, Jersey Boys (Jersey Boys Broadway/Rhino)
He's So Fine - Doris, Baby It's You - Original Cast Recording (Verve 001570402 MP3) Heart and Soul - Guy Stroman, Forever Plaid [Original Off-Broadway Cast] (RCA Victor)
Move (You're Steppin' on My Heart) - Jennifer Holliday; Loretta Devine; Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dreamgirls [Original Broadway Cast Album] (Geffen)
Someday - Montego Glover, Memphis [Original Broadway Cast] (Rhino)
Where Is Love - Original Cast. Ray Leslee & John Jiler, Avenue X (RCA 09026 63208-2 MP3)
Freddy, My Love - Robyn Hurder, Grease [2007 Broadway] (Sony Classics) Quality - Sophia Salguero, The Capeman (Decca Broadway MP3)
Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now - Harvey Fierstein; Jackie Hoffman; Kerry Butler; Laura Ashley Bell Bundy; Linda Hart; Marissa Jaret Winokur, Hairspray [Original Cast] (Sony Classical)

Oct 3: Everyone's a Little Bit Racist

I'm an Indian, Too - Mary Martin, Annie Get Your Gun [1957 TV Mary Martin John Raitt] (Angel ZDM 0777 7 64765 2 0)
Ugg-A-Wugg - Mary Martin/Sondra Lee, Peter Pan [Original Broadway Cast] (RCA Victor Broadway)
What Made the Red Man Red - Disney, Peter Pan (Walt Disney Records)
Ten Little Indians/Populism, Yea Yea/Crisis Averted - Company, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Original Cast Recording) (Ghostlight) Colors of the Wind - Judy Kuhn, Pocahontas [Original Soundtrac (Walt Disney)
I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much) - Carmen Miranda, Funny Songs (Master Classics Records)
I Make My Money With Bananas / Babalu - Cast, 4 Guys Named Jose...And Una Mujer Named Maria! (DRG)
All You Have to Do Is Wait - Shawn Elliott, City of Angels [Original Broadway Cast] (Columbia)
Taxi - Jared Crawford/Raymond King, Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk (BMG) The Message From A Nightingale (Bonus Track) - Original Cast Recording, The Drowsy Chaperone [Original Broadway Cast] (Sh-K-Boom Records)
Muquin (after "Mammy") - Francis Jue/Harriet Harris/Ken Leung, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Original Broadway Cast) (RCA Victor)
Swanee (originally in Sinbad) - Al Jolson, The Encyclopedia of Jazz (Recording Arts)
Great White Father - Joyce Brown, Purlie (RCA Victor Broadway)
Southern Days - Original Off-Broadway Cast, The Scottsboro Boys (Jay Records) Uncle Huck-A-Buck Song - Ann Duquesnay/Baakari Wilder/Jeffrey Wright, Bring in 'da Noise Bring in 'da Funk (BMG)
I'm Black - Darius Nichols, Bryce Ryness, Will Swenson, Gavin Creel, Sasha Allen, Hair [2009 Broadway Revival Cast] (Ghostlight)
Yes, I's Finished on Y'all's Farmlands - Darius Nichols, Ato Blankson-Wood, Brandon Pearson, Tommar Wilson, Hair [2009 Broadway Revival Cast] (Ghostlight)
Colored Spade - Lamont Washington, Hair [Broadway Deluxe Collecto (RCA Victor)
Everyone's a Little Bit Racist - Ann Harada; John Tartaglia; Jordan Gelber; Natalie Venetia Belcon; Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Avenue Q (RCA Victor 82876-55923-2RE1)

Sep. 26: Jule Styne tribute

I Don't Want To Walk Without You Baby - Leslie Uggams, Jule Styne In Hollywood (PS Classics)
Jule Styne Academy Awards Medley - Jason Danieley & Marin Mazzie, Jule Styne In Hollywood (PS Classics)
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend - Carol Channing, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes [1991 Reissue] [Original Broadway Cast] (Sony Broadway)
If You Hadn't But You Did - Dolores Gray, Two on the Aisle [Original Broadway Cast] (Uptown/Universal) Never Never Land - Mary Martin, Peter Pan [Original Broadway Cast] (RCA)
Make Someone Happy - Ron Raines, Broadway Passion (That's Entertainment)
My Own Morning - Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby! (Sony Classical)
Overture - Jule Styne, Gypsy [2008 Broadway Revival Cast]Disc 1 (Time Life)
Just in Time - Jule Styne, Bells Are Ringing [Original Broadway Cast] [Bonus Tracks] (Sony SK 89545)
Is It a Crime? - Faith Prince, A Leap of Faith (DRG)
Oh, Those Thirties - Jack Cassidy, Fade Out, Fade In (Universal/Decca U.S.) Give a Little, Get a Little - Carol Burnett, Let Me Entertain You: Carol Burnett Sings (Decca Broadway)
Small World/Momma's Talkin' Soft [Cut from Gypsy] - Jule Styne, Gypsy [2008 Broadway Revival Cast]Disc 1 (Time Life)
Some People - Angela Lansbury, Gypsy [Original London Cast] (RCA) I'm The Greatest Star - Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl [OBC] (Angel Records)
Don't Rain on My Parade - Christine Andreas, Here's to the Ladies (Image)

Sep 19: Producers

I Wanna Be a Producer - Matthew Broderick, The Producers [2005 Soundtrack] (Sony)
Part of It All - Jeff Bowen Hunter Bell, [title of show] (Ghostlight)
My Souvenir Things [My Favorite Things, Sound of Music] - Tom Plotkin, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back (DRG)
Duelling Pianos - Andrew Lloyd Webber; Stephen Sondheim, Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh Disc 2 (404 Music Group/Phillips)
The King of Broadway - Nathan Lane, The Producers Highlights (Sony Classical)
It's a Business - Debra Monk, Cast, Curtains (Manhattan Records) Grease: Infomercial With Fran & Barry Weissler & Sally Sturthers - Bryan Batt; Christine Pedi; Donna English, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back (DRG)
Overture - The Orchestra, The Producers [2005 Soundtrack] (Sony)
Another Op'nin', Another Show - Cast, Kiss Me, Kate [1999 Broadway Revival Cast] (DRG)
You Gotta Get a Gimmick - Anna McNeely; Christine Ebersole; Linda Hart, Gypsy [Television Soundtrack] (Atlantic)
Keep It Gay - Gary Beach; Jeffry Denman; Kathy Fitzgerald; Matthew Broderick; Nathan Lane; Peter Marinos; Ray Wills; Roger Bart, The Producers [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (Sony Classical)
Jeanette's Showbiz Number - Kathy Freeman; Kimberly Grigsby; Ted Sperling; The Men, The Full Monty [Original Broadway Cast] (RCA)
Opening Night - Company, The Producers [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (Sony Classical) What Kind of Man? - Debra Monk, Michael McCormick, Jason Danieley, Karen Ziemba, Curtains (Manhattan Records)
It's a Hit! - Stephen Sondheim, Merrily We Roll Along [1994 Off-Broadway Revival Cast] (Colosseum)
76 Hit Shows (76 Trombones) - Soundtrack; Cast Album, Forbidden Broadway - 2001 Space Odyssey (DRG)