"The Man, The Music, The Madness.......It Cannot Be Created By A Doctor."

I told myself I wouldn't write about musicals so much and yet I've already began breaking that vow! How disappointing.

Anyway, today I want to post my appreciation for a playwright that I've been coming across for quite some time now; Peter Schaffer [Known work—Equus (1973) and Amadeus (1979) both were great successes on Broadway and as

major motion pictures]. 

Born in 1926 in Liverpool, England (still living, I may add), he and his late twin brother and playwright Anthony Shaffer were born in a Jewish household. Starting in 1954 with the play The Salt Land, his work has earned him Tonys and Academy Awards with his dramatic themes of understanding what the mind is capable of conjuring within. 

I personally wonder how he was able to think of the plots for these plays, especially for Equus but Amadeus can be pretty creepy too. Perhaps it's because the plays actually made me reflect on myself and how madness can affect individuals in society, either over a century ago or more recently. Plus, both plays revolve around who God is and what He can (or should) do for them. 

Either way, I'm in awe—bravo Mr. Shaffer, you deserve your praise.  

"So Let's Bring On The Men And Let The Fun Begin...."

Right now, my high school drama club is preparing a production of Jekyll & Hyde (I'm not too involved with the production due to my schedule).

Put on Broadway in 1997, it paints a story about a scientist named Dr. Henry Jekyll and his journey to find how man can exist with both good and evil—in the process, he creates his alter demonic ego, Edward Hyde. While some people might have heard of having two opposite personas, this story includes other characters such as Jekyll's fiancé Emma and a prostitute named Lucy, with whom Hyde has a thing for. 

One song I cannot stop thinking about is the prostitute song "Bring On The Men", which is obviously sung by Lucy. (This song replaced the number "Good 'N' Evil" for the song in the brothel.) 

I've listened to various versions and while I enjoy listening to Coleen Sexton (Broadway replacement), I think having a recording of Linda Eder (Original Broadway) singing would be better! (Fair warning: she sings the song at a concert and there's this tiny repeat near the second chorus but it's pretty clear to listen to!)

"Close Your Eyes And Surrender To Your Darkest Dreams."

Phantom of the Opera is probably one  of two shows I can tolerate of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work (the second is Evita). I personally have never been a big fan of him, but I don't mean to offend anyone if they do.

Last year, my school put on Phantom of the Opera and it was a really big success! The show was probably the biggest production my school had ever put on but it was done flawlessly. 

Anyway, I'm posting a very famous song from the show, "Music of the Night", because this song can make or break the actor playing the Phantom and how well the audience likes the show. If he can sing it, then he and the show will be liked. If not, then the entire show will be weak and hated. 

This particular video is from the 25th anniversary of the show performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, starting Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom (he's currently starring as Jean Valjean in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables) and Sierra Boggess  as Christine Daaé (she's returning to Broadway in May as Christine again in The Phantom of the Opera). Either way, listening to both of them is heavenly.

"Hey There, You With The Stars In Your Eyes......."

Did I grab your attention? Good. Happy Friday and first full day of spring! (Even though it may not feel like it here.)

So my sister is hosting a sleepover so in acknowledgement of that, I tried to find a musical relating to a sleepover—alas, I could not find such a thing. Instead, I found the Tony Award-winning show for Best Musical and Best Revival written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, also known as The Pajama Game.

I need to study more about it but it's about labor troubles at a pajama-production factory where workers demand a seven-and-a-half cent raise. Meanwhile, romance blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent (also the leads) but this factory conflict could potential destroy their relationship for good. The show has an overall "How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying" feeling to it, and it's beginning to grow on me!

One song I like is "Hey There," sung by Sid (and Sid's recording in a dictaphone) where he's deciding what to do about his love for Babe. (This happens somewhat early in Act 1). I really like how he's singing and harmonizing with his recording in the song, which was on tempo with the music—it essentially blew my mind!

In this performance, the second Broadway revival in 2006, Sid is played by Harry Connick Jr. (Independence Day, Hope Floats, P.S. I Love You, or my favorite show Law and Order: SVU) and he sounds great here! I highly encourage you all to find him on social media! 

"Give My Love To The Leprechauns!"

If you seen the movie Legally Blonde, starring Reese Whitherspoon and Luke Wilson, you definitely know about the Bend and Snap. (You can google the video, but you pretty much bend to the floor and show off your leg and butt seductively then "snapping" your hands to your sides in a flirty fashion).

But in 2007, a musical version came out of this hit movie, titled Legally Blonde the Musical, starring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods, Christian Borle as Emmett Forrest, and Orfeh as Paulette Bonafanté. Since then, the musical has been nominated for Tony awards in the following categories: Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Male in a Musical, Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical, Best Coreography, and Best Costume Design in a Musical. (Alas, the show didn't win any of these categories.)

Part of the reason why I'm posting about this show is because I recently watched a Legally Blonde marathon this weekend and I really enjoyed the movie! Another reason why is because today's St. Patrick's Day, and the musical features a song sung by the character Paulette (played by Orfeh in the recording below) is a song called "Ireland," where she sings about how much she longs for the good ol' country of Ireland and finding a "red-headed sailor named Brendan." 

(This show was the first one I thought of but I'm sure there are more!) If you don't want to see the entire clip and just the song, fast forward to about a minute and a half in. 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! 

"Can't You See That I Am Just As Embarrassed As You?"

I had never heard of Once Upon A Mattress until the middle school I went to put it on a few years ago. I would always mix it up with Monty Python's Spamalot, mainly because both shows take place in a similar time frame (medieval Europe) and there is an important Lady in both that I always mix up (Lady Larkin vs. The Lady of the Lake). (Remind me I need to listen to the soundtrack of both shows).

Anyway, Once Upon A Mattress is a more elaborated, musical version of "The Princess and the Pea", involving a more complex plot with two subplots. One of the musical's most famous songs--which is performed by girls at auditions often--is "Shy." But to spice things up a bit, I found the 1996 Broadway revival performance of the song sung by the one and only Sarah Jessica Parker as Winnifred (the quality is bad but if you look closely and listen, it sounds just like her).

(Plus, this song would be a good way to introduce yourself while revealing yourself--well, in a world where it wa

"Grease Is NOT The Word"

I've always held respect for Grease (the musical, of course) but I strongly question the 2007 revival. For those that don't know, the official current soundtrack is made to sound more like the movie by adding in songs such as "Grease" (which was the opening cartoon in the movie but not in the actual musical),"Sandy", and "Hopelessly Devoted to You".

This disappoints me. Part of the reason why I liked the musical better was because the movie cut out a good chunk of the original score or was carefully slipped in ("It's Raining on Prom Night" plays in the background during a scene when Danny and Sandy run into each other at the burger joint, "Rock 'n' Roll Party Queen" is the first song played in the background during the Bandstand and "Those Magic Changes" are also in the background noise during the Bandstand). This is not okay. Half of the time, I wish there was a new version of Grease (the film), but only if it'll be more true to the show than the first one was.

One of the songs not in the 2007 revival is the one below, called "Since I Don't Have You", sung by Sandy. (It's new replacement is most likely the overdone "Hopelessly Devoted to You", even though they're both generally the same song.) The video isn't the greatest but her range in this song.....wow. It covers both alto (with a flavor of belting) and soprano flawlessly. Note to any girl that's mezzo-soprano or is looking for a vocal challenge, this is the song to try for audition or just to see if you can sing it at all. 

"Hot Patootie, bless my soul!"

"Let's do the Time Warp again!"—I bet if you've never seen or heard the musical or the movie, there's a good chance you've heard of that line mentioned somewhere.

This particular line is from the known and somewhat feared show The Rocky Horror Show, followed by its cult classic film counterpart, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's feared partly because of its sexual themes and topics—actually everything the character Dr. Frankenfurter, who's a horny transvestite, stands for. Even though it has upbeat but "seemingly random" songs, they actually have a purpose. Apparently the show is a big satire to how America embraced the wild '60s, Janet showing the side that fell into it and Brad showing the side that still has discomfort and hesitation. For those that have seen the movie/musical, mind is blown right?

My favorite song out of the entire show has to be "Sweet Transvestite" (I think there's an earlier post about this song but it's my favorite one to date and I've been rediscovering it recently so I'm talking about it now). But I'll post my second favorite, Hot Patootie! (Sorry the quality sucks.)

"Poor Sweet Baby?"

I'm pretty sure a good portion of you know about the childish musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, which was created before the seasonal TV specials (about six years, to be exact!) but based on the comic strip "Peanuts."  Well, I bet you might have not heard about its sequel, Snoopy! The Musical. 

Also based on the "Peanuts" comic strip, this 1975 musical focuses more on the life of Snoopy and his version of what happened to him while living with Charlie Brown. I wish this show made it to Broadway; it's really cute, simple, powerful and a show for all ages! 

Anyway, I need to become more familiar to the show and its music (as well as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) but one song I really liked (and I really want to try and be Peppermint Patty in the future) is the smash hit "Poor Sweet Baby", where she sarcastically proclaims her love for Charlie Brown—it's cute and a good vocal piece for auditions! 

"Sometimes You Have To Be A Little Bit Naughty!"

One musical I've always wanted to know better has been Matilda the Musical. As a kid, I loved the movie and I swore to myself I'd know more about the musical but I never got around to doing it.

I wish I had the chance to go see it now on Broadway, but alas I do not. What a pity, I hear it's a great show to see! I have to applaud the cast on their effort and high energy for their eight-shows-a-week schedule—it must be stressful (yet fun) to be in a show like this one! Plus, I like the idea of revolting children against authority. 

I especially like the medley the cast put on at last year's Tony awards, composing of "Revolting Children", "When I Grow Up", and with a dash of "Naughty" (from what I heard in the performance). It was very impressive and entertaining!