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Kids Love Musicals! …and I was one of ‘em!
I was a youngster of five or six when I first became aware of musical theater. I was a freakish child of five voraciously reading about all things historical and presidential. One summer, my mother took me to see 1776 at the movie theater. Seeing the signing of the Declaration of Independence and being captivated by our singing and harmonizing founding fathers made me giddy. I would sing “Sit Down, John” and “The Egg” with a passion my neighborhood friends just didn’t understand. In junior high, the opportunity to PERFORM in the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown gave me a new passion that I’ve enjoyed for most of my life.
Continue reading “Kids Love Musicals! …and I was one of ‘em!”Bacharach on Broadway
By Bill Rudman
There were so many written tributes paid to Burt Bacharach, who left us February 8 at the age of 95, that I would feel no need to add my own words now were it not for the paucity of space given to one of his finest projects: his only Broadway score, Promises, Promises (1968), with lyrics, as usual, by the agile and underrated Hal David.
Bacharach came out of Tin Pan Alley in the 1950s, then quickly rose to household-name status over the next 10 years with one pop hit after another — so many of them introduced or covered gorgeously by Dionne Warwick. His writing became increasingly, memorably, miraculously idiosyncratic, with complex meters, bold harmonies and tunes that remain living ear worms all these years later. Will anyone ever forget the quirky front phrase of “What’s New, Pussycat?” Doubtful.
Continue reading “Bacharach on Broadway”Age, Identity and Embracing Musical Theater
Recently, Bill asked me to start thinking about an article for an upcoming issue of TMTP’s Overture Newsletter – something about my first year with the organization and rediscovering a love of classic American musical theater.
As I gather my thoughts, I’m particularly intrigued by how individual musical tastes change over the years and how closely tied they are tied to identity – More than our taste in literature or visual art. Music is almost like shorthand for who we are and what groups of people we seek to associate with. As a young adult, I listened primarily to rock. My friends listened to rock. “Everyone” listened to rock and the fact that I occasionally enjoyed listening to music from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Camelot” or “Cabaret” was my little secret.
Continue reading “Age, Identity and Embracing Musical Theater”Discover Broadway’s Hidden Gems
As the winter weather rolls in and the pandemic rages on, now is the perfect time to hunker down and get cozy with your favorite cast albums. It’s also the time when new releases usually become available from the current Broadway season. Sadly, new musicals are on hold for a while, but TMTP is here to introduce you to a few old ones you may have missed. Here are the staff picks for “hidden gems” they truly love, but have fallen through the cracks over time.
Continue reading “Discover Broadway’s Hidden Gems”Life Is a Cabaret!
Every October Manhattan is usually bursting with song as the Mabel Mercer Foundation presents the annual Cabaret Convention. The artform specializing in live and intimate song interpretation certainly wasn’t created with “social distancing” in mind, but nobody’s gonna rain on this parade. For the first time ever, audiences around the world can enjoy a virtual version of the event jam packed with star power. You can register to attend one of many sessions at the link below. In the meantime, here are TMTP’s selections for must-listen cabaret albums.
Celebrating Bernstein
Between multiple Broadway revivals, cabaret recordings, film versions, television clips and concert events, it’s hard to identify the quintessential Leonard Bernstein. As we celebrate the late composer’s birthday this week, TMTP’s staff went down the YouTube rabbit hole to share a few beloved clips worth watching.
Binge-Worthy TV Shows to Get Your Musical Fix
The 72nd Annual Emmy Award nominations just came out and as usual, Broadway is well represented. We thought this would be the perfect time to look back at our favorite musical TV shows. Everyone at TMTP was tasked with selecting a gem from the small screen that would satisfy our hunger for musical theater while we’re stuck home on the couch.
Vinyl Memories
Harbinger’s latest album, Geraldine Fitzgerald’s Streetsongs, is now available as a special collector’s edition ON VINYL! Yes, that’s right, TMTP is now entering the retro-hip era of the LP record. So, with great nostalgia, the staff recalled memories of their most beloved vinyl cast recordings growing up and how listening to original LPs influenced their love of musicals today.
Geraldine Fitzgerald’s Emerald
It’s rare that something you created 37 years ago is still admired decades later. The first LP Ken Bloom and I ever produced – Geraldine Fitzgerald in Streetsongs – was recently released on CD on The Musical Theater Project’s Harbinger label, and though it won raves back in the day from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, it appears to be a hit all over again.
Hail Harbinger!
When my father ran the Masterworks division of Columbia Records, the company released
specialized projects under the “Legacy” label. They were boxed sets, elaborately and impeccably
produced, and packaged with style and class including extensive notes.
If anyone is keeping the spirit of that series alive, it is Bill Rudman and Ken Bloom—and TMTP’s
Harbinger Records. Good on them to find a way to keep important recordings available for
those of us who love all aspects of musical theater and the Great American Songbook.