Book Review – The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage

Book Review – The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage

Mark Robinson

For all of you musical theatre anglophiles out there, have I got a book for you. Thomas Hischak’s The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage will definitely be a welcome addition to your reading library. Hischak, who is prolific author of books about theatre and film, including The Oxford Companion to The American Musical, The Oxford Companion to the American Theatre, Boy Loses Girl: Broadway Librettists, The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Off-Broadway Musicals Since 1919, 1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year, and The Encyclopedia of Film Composers (among many, many other titles), takes his latest foray into the Broadway musical as a trip across the pond and back again. The author explores 110 musicals that got their start in London, then journeyed to New York City where they played on Broadway or Off-Broadway. Some shows date back as far as 1750. Plots, songs, songwriters, performers, and producers of both the British and American productions of these shows are included, as well as a scholarly analysis of how these musicals fared in both incarnations. The book has been diligently researched and, along the way, Hischak shares interesting anecdotes, compelling facts, and tidbits of trivia that are bound to excite the musical theatre aficionados.

Broadway Pride Playlist

Broadway Pride Playlist

Mark Robinson
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.

The Sounds of Styne: A Jule Styne Playlist

The Sounds of Styne: A Jule Styne Playlist

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

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.

Playlist: Cy Coleman — A Broadway Celebration

Playlist: Cy Coleman — A Broadway Celebration

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

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.

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