All tagged Frank Loesser

Remembering Greenwilllow

Remembering Greenwilllow

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Composer-lyricist Frank Loesser enjoyed a string of Broadway musical hits: Where’s Charley?, Guys & Dolls, The Most Happy Fella, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. But, no matter how impressive a resume, most creators of Broadway musicals are going to have at least one show that refuses to work. For Frank Loesser, that troubled piece would come in the form of the 1960 musical Greenwillow. (Loesser would struggle with another show called Pleasures and Palaces that closed on the road). 

Best Song Oscar – Clips of Every Winner

Best Song Oscar – Clips of Every Winner

Mark Robinson
Cinematters, Second Star to the Right

Here’s a binge list that I think many of you will love. I went, year by year, and found clips of every Oscar-winning Best Song, from 1934 to the present. It’s one hell of a list, full of great songs an loads of terrific performances. Wherever I could, I tried to find clips from the actual films. Only a few eluded me, so I had to stray outside that format. I enjoyed putting it together for you. In honor of this year’s nominees, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at Where’s Charley?

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at Where’s Charley?

Mark Robinson
Theatre Time Machine, Music That Makes Me Dance

A musical that is rarely performed anymore, but one that was once a theatregoer favorite, is Frank Loesser’s Where’s Charley? The musical is based on the once-popular farce Charley’s Aunt written in 1892 by playwright Brandon Thomas. This comedy of errors includes cross dressing and wildly ridiculous situations of a performer playing two characters.