Review - I'll Give You Stars and The Moon But You'll Have To Pay For My MusicJune 30, 2010A big thank you to the folks at New Line Theatre for bringing this entry from Jason Robert Brown's blog to my attention. It seems the Tony-winning composer/lyricist was involved in a lengthy email exchange with a young fan who didn't understand why it was wrong for her to be offering free Internet sheet music downloads of his songs. If you've seen Sherie Rene Scott's Everyday Rapture, prepare for some déjà vu.
Review - Nunsense: Breaking The HabitJune 27, 2010I've yet to hear anyone complain that the trouble with musical theatre today is that too many shows are based on greeting cards, but given the success of the empire known as Nunsense, I'm surprised that more composers, lyricists and bookwriters haven't turned to the catalogues of Hallmark for inspiration.
Review - Dietrich and Chevalier: Love and WarJune 22, 2010I will leave it to you, dear readers, if you decide to take in a performance of Jerry Mayer's Dietrich and Chevalier, to determine for yourselves if it's better off being a play peppered with just a few musical moments or a full-out concert with just a smattering of narrative. As it stands now, the two-act piece with a plot that continually gets halted to present its collection of fifteen musical hits trudges along without much purpose.
Review - Letting Broadway's Freak Flag FlyJune 20, 2010What was that song they sang at last year's Tony Awards? Something about letting your freak flag fly? Something about never hesitating to yell out, 'Hey world, I'm different and here I am?'
Review - If a Girl Isn't FunnyJune 14, 2010The trouble all started when Jule Styne composed a score for Funny Girl that Fanny Brice could not possibly have sung.