Best Musical Theatre Album: Grammy Nomination Rumination

Best Musical Theatre Album: Grammy Nomination Rumination

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

The Grammy nominees were announced and, as usual, we theatre buffs are particularly interested in the nominees in the category for Best Musical Theatre Album. This last year has been rife with new cast recordings of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, so it is with some frustration that we must accept Grammy’s ruling that only three albums would be nominated in this category, especially with a number of truly wonderful (and deserving) albums that could have rounded out this category. In the end, the three nominees in this category are Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, and Hello, Dolly!.

Nominees in this category are often a funny lot, often a popularity contest outweighing artistic merit or high quality technical know-how. Of course, last year, Broadway Record’s album of The Color Purple garnered a very deserving artistic win, but this isn’t always the case.

Will & Grace: Is the Revival of this Sitcom Worth Your Time?

Will & Grace: Is the Revival of this Sitcom Worth Your Time?

Mark Robinson
Tube Tied

I was (and still am) an ardent fan of the original run of the sitcom Will & Grace. Though it sometimes tended toward the absurd and lunatic, it was often on-the-money in its depiction of the struggles of gay men and their close female friends (unceremoniously referred to as “hags”). The show was groundbreaking in many ways, but predominantly as a sitcom with a gay male lead it cut a new swath through American living rooms, opening some minds and creating important dialogues with others.

Binge-Watching Christmas Songs from the Stage and Screen

Binge-Watching Christmas Songs from the Stage and Screen

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

It’s that time of the year again. For some, it has already started. For others, it will be ushered in with Thanksgiving. It is time to play Christmas music: merrily, joyously, incessantly. Growing up in my home, we had a rule that Christmas carols could not be played until after Santa Claus arrived at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Nowadays, it seems we are pelted with them like soggy snowballs from the minute Tiny Tim climbs on the school bus in September. But who am I to be such a Scrooge when we are so close to Thanksgiving, even the curmudgeonly Theatre Guy’s heart grows a few sizes and he embraces the yuletide when it comes around. With that in mind (and heart), I thought I’d put together a collage of Christmas Caroling clips of songs from movies, television and stage musicals for all of us to celebrate the countdown to December 25th.  It’s guaranteed to put you in the mood for the season.  

Mind Hunter and Mindhunters: A Review of the Netflix Series

Mind Hunter and Mindhunters: A Review of the Netflix Series

Mark Robinson
Tube Tied

A few weeks ago, I was wandering around Barnes and Noble looking for some true crime books to read (I’ve been on a kick with this genre lately). I picked up a book on Jack the Ripper (a mind-shattering puzzle of a case that continues to fascinate me) and went to check out. The store cashier (also a true crime fanatic), asked me if I had read the book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. I had not. He proceeded to tell me about the book, and he also informed me of the new Netflix series called Mindhunters (without the space) that is based on the book, urging me to give both a try. Barnes and Noble, as well as Netflix, owe this guy a commission, for I am sold on both.

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