All tagged Little Me

Remembering the Musicals of Neil Simon

Remembering the Musicals of Neil Simon

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

This weekend we received some incredibly sad new in the theatre community: the death of one of America’s most prolific and beloved playwrights, Neil Simon. Simon mixed humor with humanity, honesty with insanity, and always connected with the individual in each of us. Many of his plays remain well-regarded in theatre circles the world over. Titles such as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Chapter Two, The Star-Spangled Girl, Plaza Suite, The Gingerbread Lady, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, and Rumorscontinue to be as poignant and funny as they were when they were first written. Simon won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1991 play Lost in Yonkers.

Though often celebrated first as a playwright, Simon was also an adept collaborator when writing books for Broadway musicals. Over the years, he was responsible for the librettos behind a handful of musicals, meeting varying degrees of success for his efforts. Here is a stroll down memory lane, taking a look at the musicals for which Simon provided the book. 

Broadway Hits That Were Even BIGGER Hits in London

Broadway Hits That Were Even BIGGER Hits in London

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Last week, I wrote a piece on Broadway musicals that were hits in the United States, but that just didn’t have the staying power in London. This week, I thought I would look at the musicals that were hits on Broadway, but ran even longer on the West End. Obviously, musicals like 1776 and Fiorello! were going to have a limited appeal with British audiences due to their inherently American themes, but just what shows did outrun their American productions when they crossed the ocean? 

"Hey, Look Me Over" - Ranking the 10 Best Musicals of Cy Coleman

"Hey, Look Me Over" - Ranking the 10 Best Musicals of Cy Coleman

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

I have written with great awe about how amazed I am by the eclecticism of Cy Coleman as a Broadway composer. He always finds an original sound for each musical he writes, capturing the perfect tone for the material. Since I am an enormous fan of Coleman and his body of Broadway work, I decided to rank the ten best of his musicals, from my least favorite to my favorite, commenting on some of my favorite songs along the way. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

From Little Me to City of Angels: The Eclectic Brilliance of Composer Cy Coleman

From Little Me to City of Angels: The Eclectic Brilliance of Composer Cy Coleman

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Broadway composers tend to settle into a style that is distinctly their own. We know a Stephen Sondheim score when we hear it. Andrew Lloyd Webber, the same. In fact, many people cling to the familiarity of a Broadway composer’s style, knowing that attending their latest show will hopefully yield something new and familiar at the same time. We can almost count on this result, and why not? Each composer is unique and cultivates their own sound with each new show that they write. There was, however, one musical theatre composer who reinvented his voice several times over throughout his career, so it is much harder to pinpoint what his style exactly is. Working with a variety of musical styles, and a wide-range of writing partners, each score he touched sounded like he reimagined his talents to best capture the musical world at hand.  This is the eclectic brilliance of composer Cy Coleman.

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