What is it that we're living for....

My husband recently began a vinyl collection, complete with new turntable. He's got a very specific taste in music, his current collection ranges from Fleetwood Mac to Tuck and Patti to Japanese 70s rock band Happy End). Thankfully his taste has a musical theatre crossover, so he's encouraging my interest in collecting some of my favorite OBCs as well as some that never made the digital. (I love my CD collection and I'm never getting rid of it so there). 

The fun thing about this new hobby is the great "find." Today we opened a sealed Merrily We Roll Along OBC and I couldn't help getting chills. Here's this historic album that has a fairly big cult following but you can still find a mint copy from 1981 and we just opened it up today. Wild.

Besides this Merrily (which we listened to tonight) my greatest find was a few weeks back at a Rasputin in Pleasant Hill. I haven't allowed myself much in-person shopping during the pandemic but I had a few minutes before I had to pick up daughter #1 and daughter # 2 was with grandparents so I stopped in just to see what they had. I started fingering through the "Broadway A-G" and I found an Applause!

Side not about Applause: The regional theatre I basically grew up at did Applause when I was a fairly impressionable youth and it starred my hero and mentor as Margo Channing. It was my first real exposure to a real 70's aesthetic and I loved it. From the bright colors to the wild orchestrations I was hooked. Basically, I had an unhealthy obsession with the show from the time I was 13? Lauren Bacall, Len Cariou, a song called "Fasten Your Seatbelts" what's not to love? So I was excited to find it.

I took the vinyl gingerly out of the sleeve and noticed that I didn't think it looked too bad? My husband is already very discerning and I knew that if it wasn't good enough he wouldn't even let me play it on his fancy dancy turntable. Optimistically I put it back in the sleeve and held it in my lap as I continued my search. I saw some interesting titles and then happened on another Applause! Now I had to take this one out and look at it. It appeared to be cleaner than the first? I took it instead. Flip flip flip. A third Applause appears. What?! Pleasant Hill Rasputin for the win. This one had a gatefold and I almost just took it because of that, but then when I looked at the "media" (as the pros call it) it didn't look quite as nice as Applause #2. I should mention, these are all marked $1.95. A voice in my head said "just buy all three, $6 for 3 copies of Applause" but then I imagined the face of the poor employee checking me out and how I only had my half my masked face to explain what crazy thing I was doing... So I settled with copy #2. I also picked up a copy of Salad Days just because I liked the cover art...and it was also $1.95. 

I get home and a few days go by till we can sit down and listen to my Applause find. Turned out it was a fantastic copy. Sound is incredible. Probably barely played. I was pretty pleased with myself and I now fancy myself a first rate collector. 

It occurs to me that I set out to write one blog post and wrote another one completely...so stay tuned for part two of this exciting saga. Where I share my favorite Applause song as well as a list of my favorite songs from my favorite genre of musical theatre number: the Jazz Waltz. 

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Think of....the Tony!

It's been a good six years since I've touched this blog but I've recently found that writing is a good outlet for me. And since I'm not teaching right now and I have two very loud children to contest with during the day it's nice to have some quiet moments to reflect. So I'm starting it back up!

But now that we're here, let's be honest. I just have some things I need to get off my chest about the Tony Awards coming up this week so this is essence just gonna be a rant. That said, I'll probably try to not just rant on here but I did call it "Softly John, your voice is hurting my foot" for a reason....

Begin Tony Awards Rant:

First of all, I started watching the Tony’s in 1996. At the time, my adorable middle school self viewed it as a major moment of connection when I felt recognized and not alone in thinking other people liked musicals too. And here were these really amazing performances I got to watch on TV! But it wasn’t just that. From 1997-2002 PBS hosted the first hour of the Tony’s. Technical awards and backstage looks at some of the shows. I loved that. When they went back to being broadcast exclusively on CBS and just not showing many of those awards I wrote impassioned letters to whoever I thought would listen requesting the program be reinstated (these were the things that were important to me my senior year of high school). Cut to 2016 and I became the sole adopter of the #BroadcastBookandScore because I wanted CBS to show those awards so badly! We got one of them, not bad. But ever since no one replied to me emails about bringing back the PBS hour, I knew that the broadcast of the Tony awards was not meant to be an informative program, it’s a big commercial for the tourist industry that is Broadway shows. I get that. I appreciate it. I moved on. I always complain about it when something I really wanted to see gets cut or a particularly unnecessary performance or performer is featured to try to boost ratings but c’est la vie. I’m mostly over it. 

This year there is a similar split up that’s been causing quite the commotion. Paramount+ is doing the first two hours with most of the awards, the CBS is broadcasting a second 2 hour program with the big three awards and lots of performances, “Broadway’s Back” they’re calling it. Great. That fact that I’m still very anxious about live indoor theatre returning anywhere in the country right now (given the almost weekly announcements of cancellations going on in the West End since this summer when they opened up) is my own thing. I’m happy people are working again and I’m hoping everyone stays safe. I’m most likely not going to any indoor theatre events till my kids are fully vaccinated. (A whole other post is how much more theatre I got to see during the pandemic in the comfort of my own home after the kids' bedtime and how I’m genuinely going to miss that part of the pandemic). But great, Broadway’s Back and that’s the part that CBS wants to advertise on the network. Fantastic. The big complaints I’ve seen is that the first part on Paramount+ is behind a paywall, but as a 30 something who hasn’t paid for network television since I moved out of my parents house this argument troubles me less. I actually have Paramount+ because I kept getting streaming CBS free for the month of June to watch the Tony’s and then finally stopped canceling it when I got addicted to watching Colbert every night (p.s. I would like very much for him to host or at least co-host one year please) so while I completely get paywalls as an issue, to me their decision to go halfsies again makes perfect sense. They want people to go see the shows that are just reopening and need an audience, that’s what that part is gonna be about. Fine. Good. Don’t really think of it as the Tony’s, think of it as an advertisement for an industry in need. 

Speaking of industry in need: the rest of the theatre community is in a whole lot of need too and doesn’t get 2 hours on CBS Sunday night. If you’re going out and about (like I’m not quite yet) go see a show in your community. They are already back open and need your support and doing great work. I say this not knowing where you are or what you’re seeing. They just are. 

Back to the Tony Awards broadcast. This year is obviously not a typical year. A great many shows (including all the musical revivals) that would have been eligible did not open before the shut down. It was a tricky and pretty much unprecedented situation, so of course this year is out of the ordinary. I think my biggest complaint is that they went ahead and nominated the few shows that had opened. Of course those performances deserved credit but the arbitrariness of “oh well Six was gonna open the night ALL OF NEW YORK SHUT DOWN I guess it doesn’t get nominated this year” felt weird. Also, no musicals are nominated for best score and Aaron Tveit will win best actor in a musical (because he was the only one nominated) unless enough people just refuse to vote for him (but common he was so perfect in Schmigadoon!) Suffice it to say, this year is gonna be weird. Some awesome stuff for sure. There were some serious plays that had opened and some serious representation that had been missing honored with nominations (let's get Jeremy O. Harris and Adrienne Warren some Tonys at least). But again, still just weird. I mean, we’re not “post-pandemic” but this feels like it’s celebrating moments another world ago, “pre-pandemic” which is very much another world ago, to me at least. 

Anyway, after all that, of course I’m watching. Hoping since we have 2 house with Audra on Paramount+ (which she is already the queen of thanks to The Good Fight) that in the spirit of the old PBS hour we might get to watch all the technical awards and fun things like orchestration! And book! But with so few new musicals that had opened it also already feels like a let down. 

Oh and last but not least, as a west coaster I’m pretty sure we get this first 2 hours on Paramount+ live (4pm PT) but then because the next part is the CBS network part it’s gonna be tape delayed and we’ll have to wait till 9pmPT…..Bahahahaha! But zero people will confirm this for me on Twitter. What a mess. What a year. 

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p.s. for a full list of nominees check out the official Tony Awards page

Finishing the Hat

Don't want to say too much at the present but I'm finally at the place in my life where I'm writing a musical and it's an exciting fulfilling process and I'm totally stoked! Many more details to follow. Specifically about multiple intelligences, giving equal voice to kids, and how the heck one structures a musical. Whee!

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This is ridiculous. What am I doing here? I'm in the wrong story!

In order to protect the innocent I won't go into details but let's just say there have been at least 5 different shows on the table in as many days and in attempt to not stress myself out about it let's play the "what should we write a musical about?" game!

I think there's the obvious, a childhood growing up in the theatre. But hasn't that been done to death? Or is it ok to still do because nobody has told our story? (By the way I'm not just using the royal "we" I'm sort of figuring that the only people reading this blog are working on this as well... Annie, Alex, Lena...and if you are just reading this for fun bully for you!) A life in the theatre is certainly fodder for some of the classics. But could our angle  be we writing about youth in the theatre specifically? That way schools can do it. It's female heavy. I'm already sold. Or does that make it too 13? 

Anyway, just thoughts for a Wednesday morning.

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There's not a tune you can hum...

Sooooooooo apparently I blog only yearly now.....
What's really amusing about that is that I felt compelled to write a very similar thing to what I wrote last year. I'm in a similar situation at school (trying to pick the musical for the year) and it is by necessity a messy process. So many people have opinions about what we should do, what kind of show it should be, what's good for the kids, personal taste etc. that it just becomes exhausting. And on a completely egotistical note, no one in the room knows more about musicals than I do so why don't they all just listen to me. ;)
But beside that painstaking process I think I'm dealing with a larger artistic issue that I need to attempt to articulate (and I've missed writing). Being in the midst of 2 weeks of professional development makes examining my purpose as a teacher unavoidable. Today we heard this amazing teacher speak about bringing the dreaming back to teaching, and finding your philosophy. When I think about what I bring to the table as a teacher I feel like I really only have my enthusiasm and my vast knowledge of musical theatre (it's possible I have other skills but I also think I have imposter syndrome so I'll never admit to it). So I really want to figure out how to make my love of musical theatre a stronger teaching tool. I know that I'll never get high schoolers to love my history of musical theatre lectures the way I wish they would but there is more to musical theatre. I think it's a deeper question of the genre and how it can effect change.
Which brings me to the next thing that's been on my mind. I want to write a musical. For a few reasons. 1) I don't necessarily think I'd be good at it but I'd like to try it once to say I did and to see how hard it actually is 2) While I don't think I'd be good at it I think I would be better than some by a purely academic standpoint, in that some people write musicals without knowing as much about them as I do 3) I want there to be more good musicals. Musicals that high schools can do. Musicals that do more than just bring films to the stage. Musicals that change the world. I'm not saying I can do it, but it seems silly think want something and not try to make it happen.
So I want to write a musical. For mostly academic purposes, not practical. But if it ends up being practical, great. And if the first week of school doesn't completely overwhelm me, maybe I'll write again before next August. And maybe it will be about this.

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Is Anybody There?

I know, it's been literally forever. I blame it entirely on work. Teaching theatre is probably one of the most exhausting difficult things I've ever done (with the exception of AWE). I also think it's possible that only Lena and Alex ever read this blog to begin with (love you both). But I have to rant. Now.

I love musical theatre. I respect the art form. I have a great passion for it and I'm fascinated by not only the history of it but the concept of it. There are few things in this world I love more. Therefore I am more than a little frustrated when fellow artists denigrate pieces of art I hold dear. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I feel like musicals get more than their share of judgements based on little to no information. Maybe because it's so easy to produce a bad musical. People see a bad show and get turned off for life. Or maybe it's just the Brechtian quality of the alienation of people bursting into song which intimidates people happier with naturalistic realism. Whatever the case, there are shows that deserve to be taught, appreciated, and shared that get written off so quickly because they are perceived as dated, silly of fluffy. Many are. Don't get me wrong. There are some shows I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole...but that's because there is a rational reason which I could explain and back up and still sing you a few songs from the score.

I'm a teacher of musical theatre. I can say that now with some certainty. I'm tired of it being the red headed step child while at the same time being expected to be the bread winning. It's a paradox. Musicals are not the popular art form they once were. Of course they are still popular theatre (look at what's making the most money in the New York theatre scene) but it is not a part of popular culture the way it was in the golden age. That's why it's called the golden age. We will probably never see another My Fair Lady album topping the Beatles on the charts. There will never be a generation that knows a musical composing team as a household name. I know that to love what I do makes me born in the wrong era. But I don't think I was. I think instead that I was born to be a keeper of history, a critical examiner, a supporter of whatever comes next. But being that makes it that much more frustrating when people disregard and don't listen. Listen at least. Look. Examine. That's all that I ask.

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There's always a woman

Ok- So I don't have a plan yet. But here are some thoughts:

1) A Women's Musical Theatre Workshop- that would somehow entail women writing/directing/performing/creating new works of musical theatre- there is a history of women being delegated to the backseat of this art and I think it's time to do something about it. I was noticing all these women who had the original ideas for shows and then get co-credit for writing the book only...ok so I really just noticed that it was Dorothy Fields idea to write Annie Get Your Gun, and Bella Spewack's idea to write Kiss Me Kate... and oh apparently Mary Martin was the one who was working on a project about Maria Von Trapp before it became the Sound of Music- and we really only ever think about the men who wrote them- not to mention True...and on that subject...

2)Trude Rittmann- at least the wikipedia page! Even if there is no book in my immediate future (and I really still need to send my thesis to Bruce) there is still no Wikipedia entry for her- and I could really do that guys. And I should get on it. I was just rewatching this Richard Rodgers documentary that I first watched before I had even heard of Trude. First off they don't even begin to talk about Robert Russell Bennett let alone Trude so that peeves me. But then they go on talking about the ballets and the Twin Soliloquies moment as if that's Rodgers music and it just makes me boil. Which is why I wrote a thesis which I should not just let get dusty in my room. I should make it known. That is all....

3) Which brings me to something else I've always been meaning to do....so if I actually got my act together to create a Wiki page for Trude I might as well go in there and fix all those stub pages for musicals I know way more about. That would keep me busy and happy. And then I could post them here and people could see them. Maybe that would be a good calling.

So those are my ideas- more to come I hope

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Stop worrying where you're going...

I'm not writing for any special reason...no super epiphany has come to me...and clearly it's been a while. But something has to be done and really this is more for that for anything else right?

I'm engaged/married. Just in case anyone who doesn't know me is reading this and cares. The love of my life and the man I've lived with for three years wanted to put me on his health insurance and buy me a ring. So I'm legally married (for the health insurance) and publicly engaged (although anyone I know well knows that the wedding next year is the fun celebration part and will have nothing to do with the federal governments view of our union). It was a perfect proposal. And if you're dying to know all the details I'll probably publish it on a wedding website sometime in the next few months. But just know it involved Disneyland and the Peter Pan ride and it was the happiest moment of my life.

So now that I'm back to reality I'm kinda jumbled in my life's work. I'm teaching a musical theatre history class to seniors on Mondays, Pre-school with toddlers on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and mime and clowning to high schoolers on Fridays. I've mostly been panicked about the Monday and Friday classes in recent history and that's why I haven't been thinking much about writing, but the more I prepare for the classes and the more I'm trying to find the essence of what I'm teaching...the more I realize there is a greater purpose in all this if I can only pinpoint and then articulate it.

Let me try to make that clearer for my own sake. Musical Theatre with Seniors on Monday is really cool, don't get me wrong, I've been wanting to teach this class since high school. It's a strange dynamic to be lecturing to a group of people who are at least twice as old as I am. They appreciate me, think I'm cute and energetic and obviously are interested in the material and enjoy being there...but I can't help thinking I'm a fraud...even though I know I'm not.- On the other hand Fridays are a bit peculiar since I really have very little mime training and I've never taught this class before...and it's three hours long once a week so it's kinda epic. So far it's going well but again, and maybe it's just that I'm a new teacher, I feel like a fraud. But even while I think these things to myself- that I'm not good enough to be teaching these things, that I don't have the right, that I'm a failure at life- I'm starting to realize, and maybe even believe, that it's less about the transfer of material knowledge, and more about what I'm providing and how I'm making each one of my students feel about what they are doing and how they are learning.

Ok so that really wasn't articulated much better but "the ideas have to come out like children" as Rachel says in Inherit the Wind. I'm still not convinced the teaching is my vocation- which is why I continue to question and write. I would like to challenge myself that even in this time of stress (because I'm literally stressed out everyday about whatever class I have next to teach) to do something more creative- some dedicated writing exercise just for me, or just for somebody else even...but something that means something to me- I'm thinking somewhere between Suzanne Lori-Parks 365 days/plays and Seth Rudesky's deconstructions. Somewhere in there there is something for me to do...something that's bursting to come out of me and maybe the longer I sit here and spew the more likely I am to come up with it. Nope. Well I'm gonna keep thinking...maybe I'll come up with something today...maybe that will be my goal...let's see.

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p.s. I'm totally talking about Trude in class on Monday...that should feed some semblance of my soul.