I'm not sure how I got myself into this position, but here I am: in addition to working 10-6 as a Production Assistant on The Last Starfighter, as a Props Shopper for The Brain From Planet X, my normal job of selling merchandise to the lovely patrons of Jersey Boys/Hairspray/Grease and my internship with Broadway Bullet, I will be seeing and reviewing NYMF shows for the blog you are currently reading. Thank goodness for my DVR and the delayed start of the fall TV season - it's going to be a busy September.
As of now, I have plans to see and review a full 27 shows for you all. I couldn't be more excited.
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My lovely roommate suggested last week that we go to the NYMF Preview at the D-Lounge on Monday August 27th, to see the preview for the Yellow Wood, which will star Jason Tam and Caissie Levy (who she's loved since she saw the Hairspray tour in 2005 and whom she saw twice in a row when she performed the role of Elphaba during Julia Murney's vacation in July and who ended up singing later in the evening as part of The Music of Bobby Cronin). It took a bit of cajoling, which normally isn't necessary, as I'm more than willing to take a chance on any show a friend wants to share with me - but I had a fairly nasty cough and cold and had just come off a full day of rehearsal, and didn't feel like sitting though three hours of completely foreign music sung by people I'd never heard of. I guess it's a good thing I'm a pushover, then, because it was one of the most enjoyable nights I've had since arriving in New York three months ago.
The first set consisted of six songs from Going Down Swingin', all of which sounded wonderfully period, but seemed to have little in terms of personal touches and originality. They were gorgeously sung by Reed Prescott and Jillian Louis, the latter of which would be absolute perfect casting should someone decide to make yet another Judy Garland biopic. She has an amazingly expressive voice and attitude, and I mourn the fact that she won't be in the cast of Going Down Swingin' at NYMF. (She will, however, be part of the cast of The Piper, a casting coup that just bumped the show up from its position on my to-see list, previously "I want to see this show because I'm in love with Anna Louizos' set design.") They then continued to showcase other songs by Hilliard and Boresi, including the title song from their show "That's What's Up With Girls" which contained the genius lyrics "True loves last a lifetime, or that's what I used to think. Now I live on poptarts and do my laundry in the sink..." and a tribute in song to everyone's favorite three named cabaret composer, Jason Robert Brown.
The Yellow Wood was a huge surprise to me. From the press releases, my twisted mind imagined this would be a boring musical full of angst about diseases and insanity - I suppose I immediately associated it with The Yellow Wallpaper? But from what I've heard it sounds contemporary, humorous and engaging. Composer Danny Larsen sung two songs from the show, "Normal" and "Tatertot Casserole" - the former was heartfelt but not saccharine and the latter was just the right blend of sillyness and cleverness, reminiscent of Spelling Bee but infinitely less annoying. I'll be seeing both The Yellow Wood and Going Down Swingin' in the NYMF incarnations later in the month, so expect reviews!
We stayed beyond the NYMF preview, since it was all covered by the $10 cover charge (and Caissie hadn't sung yet) to catch the new cabaret act of Mandi Gosling (sister of Ryan, apparently, as he sat right in front of us) and The Music of Bobby Cronin. Cronin's music is among the most promising I've heard from a new composer. Though in most cabarets I tend to enjoy the silliest, most colloquial songs (like Mandi Gosling singing Joe Iconis' "Joe the Punk Rocker"), even his serious and sentimental songs held me rapt to attention. I recommend you listen to the songs on the official myspace for his musical B.R.A.T.S - they're truly great.
Apparently the D-Lounge evening is a monthly event put on by fledgling company the New York Theater Barn, which I'd give my right arm to volunteer for (you hear that, David Rigler? I'll work for free. Call me!). The next event is September 17th - I can't go since that's when NYMF explodes and my minimal free time becomes non-existant. But if you have the chance, you could do a LOT worse with $10.
Alright. End of blog #1. I promise to use less adjectives next time I write. Maybe I should throw away the thesaurus on my desk. I'm just kidding. I don't have a thesaurus. I don't even have a desk. Hell, my fan is propped up on two cardboard boxes. 'Til next time!
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