NYMF Loves the Nightlife. NYMF Loves to Boogie. NYMF loves Ben Folds: An Interview with Jess McLeod
By Jess McLeod
JESS: Hey, Jeff –
JESS: It's Jess, actually.
JESS: Oh, right. Jess. Tell me, Jess, is NYMF really doing theme parties this year?
JESS: That's right, Jess.
JESS: That sounds lame.
JESS: I agree. But I'll tell you what, Jess: NYMF knows just how lame theme parties can be. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the NYMF Jr. Prom Committee is going to rise to the challenge and Beat Back the Lame.
JESS: What do you mean, Jess?
JESS: Well, the new Hawaiian Tropic restaurant opening in midtown will be sponsoring NYMF Luau on the 15th --
JESS: Oh. That could be cool, I guess.
JESS: -- you'll need a password to get into NYMF Speakeasy on the 22nd –
JESS: What's the password -- "NYMF?"
JESS: …um…n-no. (Silence.) Kickass Brooklyn band Project Jenny Project Jan will be playing past the bathtubs filed with gin and live goldfish.
JESS: What?!
JESS: And you can't pass up NYMFtoberfest on the 29th –
JESS: Can I wear lederhosen?
JESS: You better. The NYMFettes will definitely be lederhosen-clad.
JESS: Who?
JESS: NYMF's 2006 social ambassadors and all-around spreaders of musical theatre cheer.
JESS: Seriously?
JESS: Um, yeah.
JESS: That's…kind of campy fun.
JESS: That's…the idea. I mean, come on – we're doing Broadway Idol.
JESS: SERIOUSLY?!
JESS: Of course.
Seth Rudetsky's hosting. We're holding an open call next Monday, September 11th @ the Gibson Showroom on 54th between 9th and 10th. Three rounds, all during those Friday night parties.
JESS: Are you saying I can show up at New World Stages on Friday nights during the festival after seeing a brand-spanking-new musical with original music by live musical theatre composers and (a) drink my face off, (b) dance my ass off and (c) watch Broadway babies from New Jersey and Ohio try to outbelt each other in front of Broadway stars?
JESS: Mhmm. And then there's "The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds," the one-night-only concert of Broadway performers singing songs by pop/rock singer-songwriter Ben Folds.
JESS: Why Ben Folds?
JESS: Have you ever heard his music, Jess? It's amazing – like The Beatles,
Elton John and Billy Joel, Ben Folds writes about offbeat characters and, through a handful of albums, has managed to create an incredibly distinct and imaginative world. His song "Boxing," for example, is an imagined conversation between
Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell. His melodies and lyrics are as rich and incisive as anything on Broadway these days. Or more.
JESS: Not more.
JESS: Yes, more!!
JESS: So who's doing the concert?
JESS: Who isn't?
Anthony Rapp,
Daphne Rubin-Vega,
Michael Arden,
Michael Winther,
Kevin Cahoon,
Lea Delaria,
Alison Fraser,
Brendan Milburn and Val Vigoda of Groovelily,
J. Robert Spencer, John Gallagher, Jr. and then a few surprises…
JESS: Same arrangements?
JESS: No, Jess --the songs, which have only been sung by Ben and occasionally his former bandmates, are being completely reimagined and re-cast for this concert. The stories are going to be told in a totally new way.
JESS: That sounds a little ambitious.
JESS: (Laughs.) It is, Jess. It is.
Catch NYMF @ NITE starting at 9:30 PM at New World Stages every Friday during the Festival: September 15th, 22nd and 29th. Be there by 11PM for "NYMF Broadway Idol." "The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds" is Sunday, September 24th @ 7PM @ 37 Arts. Tickets are available at
www.nymf.org.
NYMF. BEAT BACK THE LAME.
