Episode #10: Until this year, Julia Murney was the biggest Broadway musical theatre star to have never actually appeared on Broadway. As we all know, that distinction was dashed with her performance in this season’s Lennon, and it was about time! New York audiences know her from her fantastic performances in three Manhattan Theatre Club… Continue reading Take the Filter Off – sung by Julia Murney
Bonus Episode #7: 46 years ago this month, Rita Gardner was opening as Luisa in The Fantasticks, a then unknown Off-Broadway musical. Could she ever have imagined at the time that the show would have such an historic run, that she would be rapping on Broadway today, that there would be such a thing as… Continue reading I Think – sung by Rita Gardner
Episode #9: Celia Keenan-Bolger is Broadway’s newest “it” girl, and if you’ve seen her perform, you know why. Yes, she has a great voice, but she also brings enormous charm, intelligence, and creativity to everything she does (including party games!). A Tony-nominee for her beautiful performance as Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling… Continue reading Toll – sung by Celia Keenan-Bolger
Episode #18: Marin Mazzie has established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies, and it’s easy to see why: with her rangy and beautiful voice, her serious acting chops, her comic bent, and her cover girl looks, who wouldn’t want to cast her? Marin made her Broadway debut in Big River, and next was… Continue reading Walking the Wrong Way – sung by Marin Mazzie
Episode #8: Singing with Liz Callaway is literally a dream-come-true for me. Ever since I first heard her spectacular voice on the Baby cast recording, I have marveled at the purity and musicality of her voice. What a privilege to have her on this podcast today, singing my duet setting of the Edna St. Vincent… Continue reading Recuerdo – sung by Liz Callaway and Jeff Blumenkrantz
Bonus Episode #6: Hey everybody, it’s time for another episode celebrating Raw Impressions! This organization enables artists to produce new projects VERY quickly, which is how I met my lovely guest star of the day, Alysha Umphress. Alysha, a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory, made a splash last year at the Chelsea bar, XL,… Continue reading You’re Not Perfect Anymore – sung by Alysha Umphress
Episode #7: So you’ve been wondering why that explicit rating has been hovering over this podcast? Finally! Here it is: one of two songs in the book with dirty words in it! Parents (and prudes), be warned. Remember last week’s episode with Judy Blazer as the Jewish mother whose son has just come out? Well,… Continue reading Moving Right Along – sung by Ryan Perry and Jeff Blumenkrantz
Bonus Episode #5: If Yo Yo Ma is the cello star of the classical world, I’m going to say that Peter Sachon is the cello star of the musical theatre world. Not only has he played on such wonderful shows (and recordings) as the recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, Off Broadway’s A… Continue reading Vouloir – played by Peter Sachon
Episode #6: How did I get so lucky to have such talented friends?? This week, it’s the remarkable Judy Blazer, who stopped by after a day of rehearsing for Michael John LaChiusa’s latest, Bernarda Alba, coming soon to the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. Judy lends her comic genius to “It’ll Work for You,”… Continue reading It’ll Work for You – sung by Judy Blazer
Bonus Episode #4: I warned you that there’d be a few bonus episodes coming up…. This week it’s “He’ll Never Get What I Do”, written for a musical entitled Hush, which dealt with the relationship between a gay theatre composer and a deaf video artist. This song is sung by the composer and is pretty… Continue reading He’ll Never Get What I Do – sung by Jeff Blumenkrantz