All in Music That Makes Me Dance
For many of us, Pride weekend is a chance to celebrate and remember the hurdles the LBGTQ+ community has overcome and to continue to rally against the obstacles still in our way. It’s also a chance just to be, to embrace our authentic selves and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other minorities who have been marginalized. As we hold our heads up high in support of Black Lives Matter, Pride feels especially precious this year. Due to Covid-19, however, Pride won’t be the same parades and parties that have become a tradition of the month of June. That’s okay... this year will still be a time for reflection, and our hearts still beat with a sense of the journey that got us here and the miles left to go. I’ve put together a playlist for Pride that is composed of Broadway songs sung by LGBTQ+ characters, as well as a handful of Broadway songs that, though they weren’t directly addressing the issues of the LBBTQ+ community, carry in them the heart and spirit of Pride. I hope you are moved, and more importantly, inspired by these wonderful songs.
When I think of the quintessential showtune, Jule Styne is one of the composers that comes to mind. There is a brassy boldness that instantly begins to fill the ears and swells the heart when recalling melodies such as “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” And yet, Styne could be subtle, emotional, and break your heart with gentler tunes such as “The Party’s Over,” “Make Someone Happy,” and “Who Are You Now?” Working with many lyricists over his long career, Styne was a master of the infectious melody. Today, I’m celebrating this composer of Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Bells Are Ringing, Gypsy, and Funny Girl with a playlist that looks at songs from these, and a bountiful array of other titles. I hope you enjoy them and hopefully I didn’t miss too many that are close to your heart.
Cy Coleman was always one of Broadway’s most eclectic composers, working with many lyricists and employing musical styles that stretch from jazz to operetta, country to pop. Even with all this variety, his music always had that key ingredient of every great showtune: it told a story. This playlist is a celebration of some of Coleman’s best ditties, culled from the likes of Little Me, Wildcat, Sweet Charity, Seesaw, On the Twentieth Century, I Love My Wife, Barnum, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, and The Life. I hope you’ll enjoy his songs as much as I do.
With the recent celebration of composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s birthday and the glorious “Take Me to the World” concert on Broadway.com, it got me thinking of the myriad celebrations of his work over the years. It seems that many of the same songs are (rightfully) celebrated, over and over again at these events. However, there are many wonderful songs by Mr. Sondheim that are just as worthy of a concert or compilation recording. That put me in the mind of creating a playlist that spotlights these glorious, under-sung songs of Sondheim. Here it is, with many wonderful songs, for your listening pleasure.
