A 20-minute audio recording of a presentation famed composer Alan Menken gave in Seattle last November has just been released. Alan, accompanying himself on piano, discusses the craft of creating musical theatre and composing. I helped moderate Alan’s talk. Readers interested in these subjects (audience or artist) will enjoy this [...] Continue reading »
Puppets Ask Us Not to Steal That Song
Impoverishment is the default condition of most theatre artists, including playwrights, composers and lyricists. Very few make a living from their art and many struggle to make ends meet and lack health insurance. This sad state of affairs was well aired in 2010 by the book Outrageous Fortune which documented [...] Continue reading »
Alan Menken on Stage in Seattle Tonight
Alan Menken, perhaps America’s most famous contemporary composer (Stephen Sondheim being the other candidate), is currently visiting Seattle and tonight appears on stage to talk about his career and perform songs on the piano. This is a free town hall-type meeting, sponsored by the Dramatists Guild, of which Alan is [...] Continue reading »
Mark Morris Makes Seattle Proud
A boisterous heart-warming standing ovation greeted Mark Morris on Thursday evening at On the Boards in Seattle as he joined his dancers and musicians at their curtain call. Morris had danced his way home and back into the hearts of Seattle dance lovers as leader of the internationally renowned Mark [...] Continue reading »
Boss of Creative Renewal
“It’s the rare pop musician who sticks around for ten years. To be around for 40 years and still be an electrifying performer, and not just through the mists of nostalgia, is quite an achievement.” That’s David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, in an insightful (and New Yorker-lengthy) profile [...] Continue reading »
The Wainwright Stuff
Usually if a family includes an artist, he is an outlier. By comparison other family members are likely to be practical, with more reliable income. The view of their artistic relation probably hovers between bemused and tolerant. And that’s for the supportive families. Then there is the rare family where not being [...] Continue reading »
Musicals Suggest Model For Teamwork
In recent posts I’ve been taking a look at the optimum conditions for creative output, particularly as regards working solo or in a group. In his article in the Jan. 30 issue of The New Yorker Jonah Lehrer introduced me to the research of Brian Uzzi, a sociology professor at [...] Continue reading »
“Smash” a Leg Tonight!
If you enjoy theatre, particularly of the musical variety, try to be in front of a television tonight at ten o’clock (or program your DVR) for the debut of Smash, NBC’s new series about the development of a new Broadway musical. As its practitioners well know, theatre offers no shortage of [...] Continue reading »
An Amazing Grace
Earlier this week a friend sent me a link to an odd and powerful performance of Amazing Grace. This song, most frequently heard at funerals (including my dear mother’s twelve years ago), rarely fails to move me, despite my bag of religious doubts. Everyone feels wretched at times and wishes [...] Continue reading »
Sondheim On Colbert
Or was it Colbert on Sondheim? Stephen Sondheim, the sage of American musical theatre, made a charming five-minute appearance on “The Colbert Report” earlier this week. The occasion was the publication of Sondheim’s book Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes [...] Continue reading »