'Love Is Hard to Rearrange'

just because i'm in withdrawal and here in the states i have a bit less than 6 months to go before season 4 airs. damn lucky brits get it in septmber.

some 'downton' moments

and who could forget

'every breathe you take'

the end of their story

Raul Esparza: 'Simple Joys'

now that 'pippin' won those tony's here is the fabulous tony winner ('company') raul esparza giving us 'simple joys'

Jeremy Jordan and Jonathan Groff: 'Let Me Be Your Star'

jeremy jordon played jimmy in 'smash'. here he duets with jonathan groff on 'let me be your star' from 'smash's' pilot. i love when actors don't worry about the song's gender and perform it as written. wigs et al.
bravo!

Tony Memories Part 2: The Performances

celebrate the broadway musical with me and these tony award highlights and don't forget to tune in tomorrow night for the 67th annual tony ceremony.

'hair' 2009

'they're playing our song' 1979

'the life' 1997

'the king and i' 1996

'gypsy' 2008

'les miserables' 1987

'man of la Mancha 2003

'the boy from oz' 2004

'a chorus line' 2007

'chicago' 1997

'cats' 1983

'porgy and bess' 2012

'evita' 1980

1981 tony's medley

'woman of the year' 1981

'applause' 1970

'fiddler on the roof' 1968

'into the woods' 1988

2012 opening with neil patrick harris

'evita' 2012

'pippin' 1973

'chicago' 1976

'cabaret' 1967

'cabaret' 1998

'grey gardens' 2007

'next to normal' 2009

'how to succeed in business without really trying' 2011

'la cage aux folles' 2010

'catch me if you can' 2011

'south pacific' 2008

'wicked' 2004

'anything goes' 1988

'spring awakening' 2007

'company' 2011

'company' 2007

'west side story' 2009

'ragtime' 1998

'the lion king' 2008

'three penny opera' 2006

'rent' 1996

'annie' 1977

'bosom buddies' bea arthur and angela lansbury

opening segment 1999 with patti lupone, betty buckley, jennifer holliday and rosie o'donnell

'110 in the shade' 2007

'grand hotel' 1990

'kiss of the spider woman' 1993

'drowsy chaperone' 2006

 'the phantom of the opera' 1988

'jesus christ superstar' 2012

'sweeney todd' 2006

sunday in the park with george' 2008

'sunday in the park with george' 1984

'my one and only' 1983

the fabulous dorothy loudon 1983

and let's finish all this greatness with the eleven o'clock number and angela lansbury 1989

enjoy the tony's

'Broadway's Lost Treasures' Part 1

it's that time of the year when we celebrate broadway. the tony awards are sunday evening. so for the next few days i take time to celebrate the broadway musical that has sososo much influenced my life. so much of broadway has been lost but there are  three compilations that save some of the best moments and performances from the great white way.

patti lupone, julie andrews, carol channing, angela lansbury, tommy tune, twiggy, dorothy loudon, joel grey, gwen verdon, chita rivera, jerry orbach, andrea mcardle, bonnie franklin and the brilliant barbara harris appear in part 1. i was lucky enough and privlidged to see all of their performances seen here live.

i will post part 2 tomorrow and part 3 one day next week following the 2013 awards.

(this compilation is available on dvd which you can purchase through the link on the right panel)

'Let Me Be Your Star'

i can't believe i never posted this. but i think maybe this is the best time to post it. from the pilot episode it's the number that gave us the hope that something wonderful had begun. but alas our hopes were dashed. again i say it's a shame it floundered then died. had they only built on this moment things might have been different but postmortems are just that. r.i.p.

Josh's Jukebox: 'Come See About Me'

from the soundtrack of my life

naya rivera, heather morris and dianna agron

Josh's Jukebox '(Not) Getting Married Today'

from the soundtrack of my life

sondheim's '(not) getting married today' is a tough song to sing. damn the speed of it and the notes. this 'glee' version is amazing.

jayma mays, amber riley, mathew morrison

R.I.P 'Smash'

'smash' was a valiant effort that was ruined by misguided plotlines. but there were moments of musical genius. and some less than genius. and a number that were downright awful. i'm going over my list of musical numbers and may, probably, will post, repost, my favorites.

but for now here are a two highlights from it's curtain call. i will say they wrapped things up nicely. they left no loose ends. some seem inspired and others seemed forced. but generally when a series ends we are left hanging. the writers i think did their best, almost best, to conclude the series.

'under pressure' gave us most of the cast together to say goodbye to.

     

          'broadway here i come'

''big finish' did indeed give the leading ladies the chance to finish big.

'Light a Light'

from the soundtrack of my life
janis ian

The Goddess

audra has a concert performance tonight on pbs. check you local listings.

'the glamorous life' from 'a little night music' is listed as one of the songs she will perform.

Josh's Juke Box: 'Run This Town'

the soundtrack of my life

A 'Smash Moment: 'Some Boys'

from the soundtrack of my life

as 'smash' winds down (and out) i'm going to publish the musical numbers in the queue.

katharine mcphee

Josh's Jukebox: 'Hopelessly Devoted to You'

from the soundtrack of my life

a 'glee' moment

darren criss

and

olivia newton john

darren criss has proven to be an amazing talent. he grabs hold of a song and makes it his own. and he ain't bad to look at either.

olivia newton john

A Glee Moment: 'Girl of Fire'

from the soundtrack of my life

naya rivera...i love this woman. she's an amazing talent.
this is one of the shining moments of this past season.

From the Soundtrack of My Life and 'Miss Saigon'

'the last night of my life'

lea salonga and john mcdermott

David Bowie's 'The Next Day'

from the soundtrack of my life

bowie's awesome and somewhat bloody video with marion cotillard and gary oldman.

'The Last Goodbye'

the character of kyle bishop did not survive the dying 'smash'. but they gave him a fitting jeff buckley song for 'his last goodbye'. his character may be the only true 'kind' character on the show. his only motivation was to make 'hit list' better. what he got was killed. well at least he will not be around for the eventual funeral of 'smash'

from the soundtrack of my life
andy mientus

From the Soundtrack of My Life: 'At the Ballet' Redux

yesterday i posted 'at the ballet' from 'glee'. today i give you audra mcdonald, kelli o'hara and megan hilty with their interpretation of this brilliant marvin hamlisch piece from 'a chorus line'.
i have not always been kind to ms hilty but she blows this one out of the park. kelli charms as always. audra as always is the goddess.

A Very Special 'Glee' Moment: 'At the Ballet'

when 'glee' gets it right, which is often, it gets it so right. i've often sung, pun intended, the praise of naya rivera. well here i go again. now that musicals are back in 'vogue' perhaps it is time to remake 'a chorus line' to erase that abortion that was filmed in 1985 by director richard attenborough who had not a single clue how to make a musical.
and yes naya would make the perfect sheila. she has enough warmth and the talent to make this bitter, frustrated, sarcastic and yet funny and so talented character come to life.

'at the ballet'