It is always an honor to sit down and chat with Broadway’s finest talent, but it is especially exciting when the opportunity to interview the performer you have most admired over the years, presents itself. Last week, I had the career-high of spending some time with Joanna Gleason, Tony winner for her turn as The Baker’s Wife in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s Into the Woods. I have always admired Ms. Gleason’s ability to mine her roles for humor and heart, bringing unexpected surprises to each character she develops.
Movie Morsel: The First Oscar for “Best Song”
There is no question that music make a movie. The right music or song can set a tone, create atmosphere, incite emotional response, and create a memorable carry-away that will keep audiences thinking about the film long after they have left the theatre. From “Over the Rainbow” and “When You Wish Upon a Star” to “My Heart Will Go On” and “The Streets of Philadelphia”, there is no denying the long-term impact the right song can have on a movie’s legacy. As I was thinking about this year’s round of ditties nominated in the “Best Song” Oscar category, I started wondering: what song won the first Academy Award for Best Song?
Broadway and the Fairy Tale
Fairy tales and music: they are two things that played a big part of most of our childhoods. The combination of the two in an evening of entertainment is, for many of us, the ultimate form of entertainment bliss. With the Broadway musical Frozen, adapted from the animated film musical, which was in turn adapted by the 1884 fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson, working its way toward Broadway this spring, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the other musicals that have been adapted from fairytales and children’s stories.
The Gods Be Praised! Reviewing the New Cast Recording of Once On This Island
I thought it would be impossible for Broadway Records to top the sensational job they did recording the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, an album that was so alive with energy and pristine clarity that it made its way to a Grammy Award win. Well, hold onto your hats because a new hurricane is blowing in the Caribbean with the new cast recording of Once On This Island, and the gods be praised: Broadway Records has outdone itself.