OLD FRIENDS- OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE!!!!

OK MY LITTLE CHICKLETS.....

here it is, the official press release for Old Friends.

I SO SO SO wanted to get the chance to blog about all the songs in 'code' before we released the track listings but i just ran out of time with everything else I've had to do at this point.

So....

please forgive my not getting to the last 3 out of the 15 tracks....

but lots and lots of exciting PR things are happening.

We now have an awesome banner on ALL THAT CHAT, thanks to the brilliant Robbie Rozelle...

(please refer to a previous blog called "Why Robbie Rozelle Is Awesome")-

and we are in the process of setting up other ads-

banners, print ads, etc to help us get the word out.

Other things to do:

I set up an EVENT on facebook for the CD Release Party at the Beechman on the 29th which can be found at:

(http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174014239117&ref=mf) 

and I am trying to invite as many people as i can to that....

have to send out a personal email blast...

have to set up sound clips for the website...

create a myspace page...

finish address labels...

handle some more recent orders that came in...

pre-address and stuff envelopes for pre-orders, donations and PR so that when I get the CDs on thursday i can literally shove 'em in there and get them to people before thanksgiving...

go to Town Hall for some legal crap...

try and wrangle a few more interviews....

and that's just on the list for TODAY so....

anyhoodles.

TONS TO DO...

all positive and awesome.....

so please now to enjoy the OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FOR OLD FRIENDS (and yes, in those blank boxes there are supposed to be pictures but I don't have time to figure out what the fuck happened and why they're not coming up here):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 12, 2009

 

Broadway veteran Donna Lynne Champlin (Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot: The Musical, By Jeeves) has announced the track listing for her debut solo album, “Old Friends,” due December 1, 2009 from Parting Glass Productions.  Produced and arranged by the singer-actress, the album is an amalgamation of theatre and film songs, country tunes and pub songs, filtered through the singer/songwriter influences of her life experiences. 

Recorded over a six-week hiatus from Billy Elliot due to a fractured ankle, Donna Lynne took on the daunting task of recording a solo album for $1,000, chronicling the warts-and-all creation of it on her blog, peppered with her trademark wit and four-letter words. Of the creation, Donna Lynne said "I have dreamed of making a solo album since I was five years old.  While being the sole producer, musical arranger, singer, musician, mixer, master and PR agent on this album has been at times hilariously overwhelming... it has also allowed me to make this CD exactly as I have wished, and without compromise. Every song, every minor instrumentation and even the design of the CD cover are choices that I have agonized over and stand behind 100%. Being my own boss is an artistic luxury I have not known since I was a teenager and I have unapologetically reveled in it. With all that said, what was the most rewarding experience of this whole adventure was to be the humble recipient of so many other people's generosity. I still can't wrap my mind around the endless bounty of selflessness that has been showered on me by so many amazing people. From monetary donations, to pre-orders, to offers of talent and skill and advice, to even the occasional encouraging email this whole experience has massively heightened my humility regarding the goodness of others. And I believe in my heart that the quality and the emotional heartbeat of the music on this CD reflects the warmth and spirit of everyone involved. This CD truly took a village... and I am beyond proud that my name is the on the sign post as you enter our little musical town."

“Old Friends” is currently available for pre-orders at www.donnalynnechamplin.com, and will be available at all online sources, including Amazon.com and iTunes on December 1st.

The track listing for “Old Friends” is:     

1. "Hard Times Come Again No More"

2. "Eiffel Tower" (from The Blue Flower)

3. "Smile"

4. "Only Hope" (from A Walk To Remember)

5. "Cry" (from Love Jerry)

6. "County Fair" (from Das Barbecü)

7. "Once Upon a December" (from Anastasia)

8. "Where've You Been?"

9. "I Cried For Us"

10. "Still Hurting" (from The Last Five Years)

11. "When She Loved Me" (from Toy Story II)

12. "From God's Arms to My Arms to Yours"

13. "When Eleanor Smiles" (from First Lady Suite)

14. "When The End Comes" (from The Zero Club)

15. "The Parting Glass"

Donna Lynne Champlin made her Broadway debut in James Joyce’s The Dead, and appeared to great acclaim in Hollywood Arms, By Jeeves, and as Pirelli in the John Doyle directed Sweeney Todd.  Her other NYC credits include Very Warm For May (Carnegie Hall), Bloomer Girl (Encores), Reunion, First Lady Suite, Bury the Dead and My Life With Albertine.  She won a 2007 OBIE Award for her performance in The Dark At The Top of the Stairs, and a 2008 NYMF Outstanding Individual Performance Award for her performance in Love Jerry.  She has also performed her acclaimed one-woman show Finishing The Act at Ars Nova and The Laurie Beechman Theatre.  She appears on numerous cast albums and recordings, and is currently in the cast of Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Imperial Theatre. For more information, visit www.donnalynnechamplin.com

 

# # #

THE MARY TESTA TRIBUTE SONG

Ok.

This song by Michael John LaChiusa is technically not even really a complete song as having an established beginning and end goes. This is sort of…a musical 'amuse bouche' if you will, from the breathtaking musical First Lady Suite which I had the intense pleasure of doing at the Transport Group a few years ago.

This very short and very sweet three pages of music is my favorite section of the entire score- which is saying a lot because I absolutely want to french kiss this entire show like, all the time, every day of my life.

In our production, I did not get the chance to sing this songlet, which was fine by me because that meant I could sit stage left and watch the absolutely beyond gifted and talented Mary Testa not only sing the shit out of it, but kick it in balls, wrestle it to the ground and then give it the finger.

Now, let’s just talk about Mary Testa for just a moment, shall we?

Mary Testa, is probably one of the most brilliant stage actresses of our generation. 

And if you need to re-read that sentence, go right ahead.

................

................

...............

back?

Good.

Now.

If you just thought to yourself, 

"HELLS YEAH! I totally agree! FINALLY! Someone SAID it!"

Then feel free to skip to the * because I'd obviously be preaching to the choir, and I'm sure you're all very busy, incredibly intelligent people with tons of shit to do.

If you just just thought to yourself,

"She' s GOT to be kidding! Mary Testa?!! The comedienne?! Mary Testa??!!"

Then you have NO CHOICE but to keep on reading....

Capice?

No.

Choice.

And i've got 'eyes'.....

everywhere.

However, if you're crinkling your brow and thinking,

"Who's Mary Testa?" then...

oh my GOD

you must GO

to the Lincoln Center LIBRARY

IMMEDIATELY 

and watch the Transport Group's PRODUCTION

 of First Lady Suite to WITNESS 

one of the most genius theatrical performances ever (thankfully) captured on FILM.

Ya see Timmy....

If life was fair, and if our business was even remotely sane...Mary Testa would have moved into a bigger apartment because she would literally not have enough room for in her place for  all the awards that would have been SHOWERED on her for her genius in the theatre by now.

But it's not.

So.

Lemme tell you a li'l something about Mary Testa and why it's NOT necessarily common knowledge-

like in KANSAS, common knowledge-

that Mary Testa is indeed one of the finest theatrical actresses of our generation.

It is because....

Brilliant actors like Mary Testa are rarely given material that's worthy of them. 

In fact, they're usually given the worst material in the business because they're the only ones who can do anything with it....and producers, directors --  everyone on the inside knows it. 

Occasionally, they can spin that shit into gold and manage to get some actual credit for their efforts.

Most of the time they can spin it so it just matches the level of whatever good material might actually be in the rest of the show so there's no noticeable 'dip'. 

But sometimes they try vainly to push that enormous turd ball up a hill with a piece of straw in order to save the rest of the village...

but...

just...

can't. 

And rarely does the material (or the director, for that matter) get blamed...

it's more often than not that -- the actor takes the hit.

They get blamed for being 'over the top', or 'scene stealing' or (my personal favorite) 'working too hard' when....yeah! You BET they're working hard. They are working their TITS OFF UP THERE with subpar crap and taking bullets all night for actually showing some sweat. While reality show rejects are handed the built-like-a brick-shit-house material because they can't handle anything less without dropping the ball all night. 

And believe me...it's not just the Mary Testas that lose here. It's everybody. 

The actors lose because with the WORST material- all they can hope for is to come of slightly better than average in the end.

The writers lose because their BEST material is always in the hands of some fucking doof-nut who has no business even being on a stage.

And the audiences lose because instead of watching A-game actors, doing A-game material, resulting in an A-game show...they're instead treated to an evening of a complete white-wash of MEDIOCRITY from all sides.

It's like...

making Michael Phelps and Paris Hilton compete in a swimming competition. Except Phelps has to wear 500 pounds of weights on his body- while Paris Hilton is given a state of the art swimsuit complete with a built in motor.

And then everyone sits back and wonders not only-

why the race is boring as hell to watch...

but why the fuck that slow pokey Michael Phelps' eyes are about ready to pop out of his skull.

Yes.

Wilkommen.

Bienvenue.

Welcome...

to the crazy bizarro-world of Broadway.

HOWEVER....

there is that silver lining...

usually found Off-Broadway, and sometimes even Off-OFF-Broadway btw...

When the rare opportunity comes...

that actually COMBINES a brilliant actor with brilliant material...

like Mary Testa and the part "Hickock" in First Lady Suite....

or Michelle Pawk and the part of "Louise" in Hollywood Arms...

or Emily Skinner and the part of "Lizzie" in 110 In The Shade...

well, then holy fuckballs in hell, people....

strap yourselves IN-

and keep your hands and arms INSIDE OF THE CAR 'cause...

watch OUT suckahs!!!

Your brain is about to be explodified!

Which is exactly what happened to me every single night, when I watched Mary do the third act of FLS...but mostly when she sang this song in particular.

And I watched her every single show. 

I couldn’t help myself. 

I was hypnotized.

I had to sit stage left every time she was on because I knew, no matter how many times I would see her do this role, it would never be enough once our run was over. I would always miss it.

And I learned a lot from watching her night after night. 

I learned about planting yourself. 

I learned about beyond exposed honesty. 

I learned about ‘saving’ the belt.

I learned about going with the moment whatever that moment is. 

I learned that it's ok for the actual character to have a sense of humor too, and not just the actor playing the character.

I learned about the mastery of timing. 

I learned that humor sometimes comes from the most painful of places. 

I learned that if you play every moment straight, it won't matter if you get a laugh or not...but most likely you will.

I learned that it's better to pace the laughs to build up to one big release, than to appease your own ego and disperse the build up by gobbling up a bunch of smaller yet more frequent chuckles along the way.

I learned to not give a shit about anything but the moment.

I learned the true meaning of the phrase "mining the material".

But mostly I learned that some things can’t be learned. And some things can't be applied. Because some things are just so unique to certain people that to even try to attempt making them your own is one of the most futile exercises in the theatre. 

I learned to sit back and appreciate someone else's mind blowing uniqueness....

I learned to be once again....be an audience member, and not an actress.

Now.

Let's talk about the song itself.

* (Welcome back Mary Testa fans).

I love this song for so many reasons my jaw bone dislocates on its own. 

It’s structure is beyond insanely perfect. It’s a spotless build, the lyrics meld so completely with the movement of the notes underneath it and it’s like a complete three-act play in three pages of music.

Musically, this was by far the arrangement I was most proud of on the album. There’s a very specific time period feel to this song. Even if you hear it wild, you know that it’s from the 1920s-1930s because of the subtle hint of ‘rag’ in it. So it was so important to me for this to sound like something you might hear in the lobby of a very expensive hotel from that time. Piano, violin and cello. That’s it. A perfect ‘piano trio’ of sound.

It was also extremely important to me that I played every single note in the piano perfectly because part of Michael John’s genius is that he will very specifically set up a ‘conventional’ melody line and then underneath it throw in some very purposeful literally feral notes just to make you subconsciously feel slightly off balance. 

Plus, I think Michael John must have the biggest hands in show business because there are chords spans that I don't even understand how one hand can reach.

So I recorded this piano part literally, one hand at a time. And sometimes 'one' hand meant using both hands to actually hit ALL the notes in the chord.

And it took me hours. 

Just the piano part. 

And i fucking loved every fucking minute of it!

So if you ‘think’ you’re hearing wrong notes in there…I assure you they are not. If you're momentarily feeling, 'Oh hey...wait a minute...what's...'- then you're right on schedule my darlings.

Those wayward notes are part of Michael’s absolute brilliance and they serve every moment emotionally.

Also, just a fun tidbit was since...it really doesn't have a definite beginning and a definite ending...I was able to make them UP! 

Of course, I had to resist the urge to make it all fancy-pants and shit...

and I finally settled on the simplest of simplest of simplest bookends.

Because it served the piece the best.

So-

this is my tribute to Mary Testa and Michael John LacChiusa.

Two of the most talented, and under appreciated people in our business.

Rest assured, this version is actually nothing like Mary's version...

I'm very very proud to say this version is all mine.

Which in my way, is the best and most sincere way I can ever truly pay tribute to Mary.

Because as I said before,

one of the best lessons I ever learned from her, is that-

what she does...

no one else can do.

Track #13 my darlings.

What I do.

xoxo

dl

THE MAGIC 8 BALL SONG

I first heard this song in my dear friend, Ian Knauer's car when we were driving home from a weekend of shows at The Goodspeed Opera House. One of my favorite things about riding home with Ian (besides the fact that he had a really comfy, sassaroonie KIA mini van, and endless fabulous stories from his childhood "when he was a tow-head") was that he had all these brilliant mix tapes of music I’d never heard before.

Yes. I said ‘tapes’. Because this was pre CD. Anyone too young to know what I’m talking about- Google “when I was your age.com”.

Ian and I have extremely similar tastes in music and since I’d pretty much grown up in practice rooms and dance studios I had a woefully weak grasp on popular music in general. In fact, the only popular music I ever heard was in dance class and inevitably performed by Madonna, Barry Manilow, Michael Jackson or Huey Lewis because those were the only acceptable artists to create dance routines to in my youth.

So, it would often be the case…that we’d be sitting and chatting and then all of a sudden a song would come on and I wouldn’t be able to pay attention anymore. It’s like the music would suck my ears in like a magnet and nothing else had sound. I'd hear in the distance....

“Hello? Helllloooooooo. Donna Lynne……”

Soon he learned to just wait til the song was over and then….I would inevitably pummel him with questions,

“Tell me EVERYTHING about that song! Where is it from? Who’s singing it? Who wrote it? Where can I find it? Play it again, play it again, play it again!!!!”

So he would play it over and over for me and then tell me everything he knew about it. He introduced me to Billy Joel’s And So It Goes, Liz Callaway’s Moon and Stars, even recently not two years ago we were working at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s FULL MONTY and I borrowed his car. His recent mix-CD was in the player and on came one of the most gorgeous renditions of “She’s Got A Way” I’d ever heard. Except in this case, it was sung by a woman with an incredibly familiar voice and it was called “He’s Got A Way”. 

The minute I got to the theatre that night I went through the whole thing again,

”Where is that song from? Who’s singing it? Who wrote it? Tell me everything!!!”

**Btw, if you don’t know of this rendition by Bernadette Peters from one of her recent concerts- I implore you to go buy it immediately on Itunes. Not that it’s anyone’s business either, but I believe this was recorded soon after her beloved husband died tragically and knowing that will serve only to crush your solar plexus even more when you hear how plaintively she sings it. Genius. Absolute. Genius. **

So.

Anyway.

THE MAGIC 8 BALL SONG

This tune, I learned from Ian as we listened to it on loop for most of route 95, is from the musical Das Barbecu written by Scott Warrender. It also, luckily for me had one of its first productions at Goodspeed (which has one of the most complete musical theatre libraries in the country including scores and scripts). Obviously, the minute we got back to campus I found it in the library and put it in my book. The singer was the brilliant Sally Mayes who can even somehow make a belt sound poignant.

I was hooked from the first lyric.

“You grow up with your daddy gone.”

Oh HE-llo...

“A man cannot be counted on.”

preach.

“And then one firey day…”

This is already in two lines....my life story.

“A hero comes your way…”

Oh thank Christ….FINALLY!

“As solid as the rock you dance upon.”

Ha! I knew there were men out there that were ‘solid as a rock’. I KNEW it.

“He takes your breath and your heart away....

Talk to me Sally....give me good news.....

You wear his ring and he swears he’ll stay…” 

Ohhhh!! They’re actually really engaged and not 'pretend' engaged like I get....

“You close your eyes and then, before you count to ten…”

Marriage? Kids? Happily ever after?!

“You find you’re somehow...."

yes? yes? yes?

"all alone…."

wait a minute......wait....what?

"...again.”

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh right.

Of course.

well.

mother…..fucker.

Awesome.

Bring it.

Now, as disappointed as I am for the girl, because believe me- I know her pain 10 times over…I’m absolutely fascinated as to what she’ll do next. 

Will she give up and save herself more pain? 

Will this be another song about standing up for yourself and telling all men in general to go fuck off? Cause I like those too but…I can’t ever seem to BE that girl in real life. 

Or will it be about her trying again….and again…and maybe….MAYBE…because she never gave up….finally finding true love?

Oooooorrrrrrrr...maybe there’s another way to get on this ferris wheel that everyone else seems to have figured out how to ride...

The song is now......

an aural magic 8 ball, basically.

I have, in 4 bars of musical interlude music- 

given this song all the power to dictate the rest of my life.

It's either that powerful...

or I am somewhere....

that crazy.

meh.

the song continues....

“Each summer night, a county fair….settles on the edge of a town somewhere…”

Wait.

What?

Why the hell are we talking about county fairs now?

slight panic ensues...

Momma is not spending the rest of her life trolling around county fairs like some sorta carny-trash....I need REAL Ann Landers shit here Sally...COME ON!

…..and then the song unfolds.

The County Fair being, obviously a metaphor for the ‘dance’ of love, marriage and whatever else follows- that seems to come so easily for...others. And what it's like to watch it all from the side lines, while desperately wishing to be included. 

Because yeah, you can go to a County Fair by yourself...but it sucks.

And you can go to a dance by yourself....but it sucks. 

And you can go to weddings by yourself....but it SUCKS. 

And not for nothing gals, but stop dreaming about meeting Mr Right at the 'singles table'. You will always end up babysitting everyone else's children or grandparents. So heads up ladies and GRAB A GAY before you go to your next wedding stag or you will become the worst paid hired help in all the land.

Cause here's the thing.

I am this girl.

I am-

depending on how you look at it- 

the hopeless romantic AND the dumbest, most stupid girl on the planet.

In fact, I was really close to naming this post THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC/STUPID GIRL SONG. Because after a while.....? 

From where I'm sitting? 

The line between "Hopeless Romantic" and "Stupid Girl" becomes thinner and thinner and thinner. And I don't say this to garner pity, because it's almost as if I'm standing back and watching myself on an episode of The Wild Kingdom at this point...the observant Aquarian in me has clearly taken over this department.

And….

when I listen to this song...

depending on where I'm at in my own life....

I don't know whether to cheer this girl on for not giving up...

or to slap her across the face at least three times with a really big fat smelly fish so that she DOESN'T "find she's somehow all alone.....again",  DOES get a bunch of sweet kitty cats and lives the rest of her life in peaceful solitude.

Btw, let's talk about the brilliance of that "somehow" in there.

"You find you're SOMEHOW all alone....again."

Jesus Christ, that 'somehow' is just PURE genius because it really.....betrays- 

again, depending on how you look at it-

her pure and trusting heart? 

OR...

her deeply flawed delusional state.

And the delicate balance in this song....

between that heroic girl who refuses to let bad man after bad man take every last bit of her heart- and the pathetic girl who literally begs, begs, BEGS to be invited to the County Fair is astonishing to me. 

Because what's so incredibly frustrating about the County Fair is that you really CAN'T go, unless you go WITH someone. And this girl knows it. Because she wants the dream. Well, we all want the dream when we're younger. 

Believe me, you go through enough tragic relationships and you're all of a sudden just happy to find a man who won't punch your mother and knife you in your sleep.

So. This County Fair for this girl....is 'the dream'. 

And it only works when you go with another person. 

Sure, you can 'dance' alone....but you can't waltz.

You can ride the ferris wheel...with all that room in seats 'built for two'.

And you can go with your brother...but that goodnight kiss can get reeeaaalllly awkward.

just sayin'.

And the real kicker for women....is that we have to WAIT to be asked. I mean, this is the part that absolutely kills me. WE have to WAIT to be asked to go to a County Fair that WE want to go to more than the person who's asking us, IF we're lucky to even be ASKED. 

I mean, the whole thing is absurd really.

Let's turn the tables...it's like. If getting married was akin to going to a strip joint, and all the men really really wanted to go...but the only way the men could ever go to a strip join was IF it was up to the WOMEN asked the MEN to go with them. Yeah, there might be a few gals who thought going to strip clubs was something they'd really want to do too but...at it's core....it's ludicrous.  The whole thing.

But ok.

Say this girl just full out Sadie Hawkins' this guy and asks HIM to go the County Fair...

and the guy turns out to be once again, just another guy who said he'd take her but then...

never shows up.

Which clearly has happened to her before.

After a while, you have to really wonder...

Is her tenacity to get to that County Fair admirable?

or is it now, merely stubborn and self destructive?

And this is not even questioning whether or the the County Fair is even a good time once you get there....cause that REALLY depends on who you ask but....

...let's talk musically about this song for a second.

Now....

Sally BELTS this whole song. From tip to tail man, she just wails this shit.

Which is amazing. Truly amazing.

But, I really feel that the song...'hurts my heart' too much to belt it. 

Plus there is a place in the song for me where...

this girl literally BEGS for this man to take her to the fair-

and in my mind, she becomes...

just pathetic....

she definitely tips her hand when she says, 

"OH PLEASE WON'T YOU TAKE ME THERE??!!!!

AND MAYBE WIN me a teddy bear?

we could grab another chance...

to dance....

in the summer....

air..."

Oh God that part just rips my guts out. 

It's literally like watching a train wreck for me.

and so i 'saved' the belt for just that section.

To me, it just makes it sound all the more....desperate.

Because it's the one moment where she just loses her facade and just drops the whole girly, flirty bullshit of, 

"Hey wouldn't it be NICE if we went....look at all these couples....wouldn't it be NICE..."

hint hint hint hint hint HINT.

ugh.

blech!

and she just....

loses it.

because....

well, 'because why' exactly?

Again--

it could go either way.

Does she lose her shit because she just loves loves loves loves THIS guy?

OR

Does she lose her shit because at this point she's just absolutely terrified she'll never ever get to the Fair and figures at this point, any dream will do?

regardless...

she just finally busts and flat out BEGS for him to take her and in that moment....

you just know....

and she knows...

that she's just blown it.

and the guy doesn't want her anymore.

because she's 'needy'...

because she's 'soft'...

because she's.....honest.

I mean, she might as well have just started naming their unborn children for him...with the begging.....it would have been just as bad.

and then...

the worse part....

she tries to.....fix it.

"Oh you'd sure be a sweet sweet sight tonight.....I swear...."

Oh God....is she still....trying to fix it? oh god girl...have some...pride...

"When we light up the lights real bright tonight, somewhere...."

oh honey....please....PLEASE just stop...making a fool of yourself...as his eyes now, are just...scanning the horizon for someone better to talk to....she's lost him...maybe he didn't hear me, she thinks... so she says it again....

"We could light up the lights real bright tonight, OUT there....."

He excuses himself to go talk to some other chick who's just way better at this game....

and she's standing there...

all alone.....

again.

at the very edge of this fair...

in front of the ticket booth...

with the sounds and the smells and the laughter so so so so so close.....

and a million miles away at the same time....

"at the County....Fair."

And the song ends.

So.

I love LOVE love this song because it's so.....mercurial for me. That's the ridiculously AMAZING thing about this song. I can literally be in the polar opposites of emotional states and yet, this song will always always move me. Always.

I might be inspired to give love one more chance, brush the dirt off and put up yet another Match.com profile...

or it might make me absolutely livid, decide the whole game is for losers and then remove my Match.com profile. 

It holds great power over me, this song. 

It always has.

because I alternatively love and hate this girl. 

I love her heroic tenacity, and hate her vulnerability. 

I love her resilience, and hate her transparency.

I love her purity of heart, and hate her stupidity.

And so, this song really is a MAGIC 8 BALL.

Because it never fails to tell reveal to me whether....

I love or hate myself.

Track #6 ya'll.

The mirror into my heart.

xoxo

dl

THE MANDY MOORE SONG

Yes.

You read that right.

The Mandy Moore Song.

As in, the pop-tartletina extraordinaire…Mandy Moore.

Now.

Normally I’m not a fan of the pop-tartletinas, as I feel most of them have been given a whole hell of a lotta fame and fortune based on very very little legitimate talent. And as someone who’s had to scrape and fight and hustle for pretty much everything…part of me wants to just rip out their weaves, shove a GED down their throat and then lock them in a room with their mom's voices on a loop saying,

"When I was your age...I had to blah de blah de blah blah blah di dee blah blah BLAH..."

Forever.

And.

Ever.

But. 

I happened to be down with walking pneumonia a few years ago (surely a direct result of my most recent and spectacularly insane breakup), just watching whatever came on the TV in a stupor, and a movie called A Walk To Remember came on. It was one of these really sappy, cheesy, teen-angsty, someone-always-has-fucking-cancer movies which normally make me want to yak out my eyeballs. But for some reason…maybe I was too weak to change the channel, I dunno, but…I watched the whole thing.

And I fell absolutely head over heels in love with Mandy Moore.

I would have married Mandy Moore right that second. And I didn’t give a damn whether she had cancer, wore hideous pastels e-very-DAY, and was the President of the God Squad. 

I didn't give a damn. 

I loved her.

And girl.

Can.

SANG, people.

There is one song from this movie that she sings as she becomes (natch) the sleeper hit of the big musicale in high school...that just wrecked me. I was lying in my bed, under an avalanche of tissues anyway….just sobbing. 

Oh Mandy, Mandy, Mandy. You’re so strong even though you have cancer, because you have God. And I’m so weak because, even though I don't have cancer- I date ridiculous frito-lays who rip the soul out of my body and then try to make a donation to my CD years later after breaking up our engagement by phone, which makes me take a poll on Facebook asking whether I should keep it or refund it.

True story.

But I just love- strangely enough- the whispery tone she uses on this tune. There is absolutely no core or body to it at all and btw- there's no way if she'd actually been in that high school musical, anyone past the front row would have heard her. But, when she does the whispery-thing…it’s extremely moving. And it's a very 'microphone-friendly' sound as well, I discovered.

Ok, admittedly sometimes... I have absolutely no clue what she’s actually saying but…

I don’t care. 

It’s Mandy. 

Sweet, pure, virginal little Mandy. Who,

“Does not.

Need.

A reason.

To be angry.

With God!”

Ahhhh, bless.

And she’s a sweet little actress too. If you’ve never seen her in yet another movie about God; SAVED- I think she turns in an incredibly under appreciated comic performance. Which shouldn’t surprise you, if you've read my blog post about comedy in general- via the ‘SAD CLOWN SONG’.

But yes, Mandy Moore has some real talent. God bless her.

Not like that terrifyingly beautiful Taylor Swift who I saw on SNL the other night. Wow. And I could NOT be convinced that she was actually famous for being a singer. I literally got into fights with people at BILLY because I just would not believe this girl was known for…actually….singing. I thought she was another Paris Hilton, known for…. being extremely pretty and generally silly in public or something. But nope. She's actually a singer? I guess? If you all say so....

Anyway.

I scribbled down the name of the song a few days later when I was sure I hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing, ordered the DVD and the CD off Amazon.com, and the sheet music from Sheet Music Direct.com and waited for the magic to arrive at my home. 

A few days later…I sat at my piano and sang this song over and over and over again. Originally, I had thought it was a love song but when I finally read the lyrics--I realized it was actually a prayer.

I actually realized a lotta things when i finally had the lyrics in front of me which really leads to my only criticism of Mandy's performance of this song- which...let it be known across the kingdom- i LOVE. 

There's a set of lyrics that goes,

"At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back".

Now, listening to it I kept thinking,

"It SOUNDS like she's saying 'at the top of my lungs'...but she's singing it soooooooo quietly...that can't be right.

Bless.

She does actually sing the words, "at the top of my lungs"...in a whisper.

but...THAT'S OK.

because she's Mandy.

And her character had cancer.

So BACK OFF EVERYBODY....JUST BACK OFF!!!!!

Anyhoodles..

the song is a prayer?

Even BETTER!!!

Cause Lord knows I didn’t need another goddamned syrupy love song to make me feel like a complete spinster in training. A PRAYER!!! JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!!! I sang it even more. Sang and cried and sang and cried and sang and cried. Ohhhhhh, aren't you all so relieved you're NOT my neighbors? Those poor people. Imagine how awesome it must have been to live next to me during Sweeney rehearsals. Oof. Ok I'm totally sending them all fruit baskets now.

but this song is just so gooorrrgggeeouuussss.

And it's a SEXY prayer. 

But ya know....God's gotta a sense of humor. Clearly. So, I'm sure it's all cool. 

It's really a song for when you need some hope. I find myself singing it walking down the street when I'm headed to something that's making me nervous like an audition, or therapy, or physical therapy for the ankle....

it's soothing.

but totally in a cool, kicky way.

And it's got a lovely, mournful minor key and it's very simple. Very music box-y. 

There's really nothing grand to report about the musical arrangement here on my side at least...except that it kicks ass and I love every note of it. Probably because it's a 100% direct lift and I have given the arranger (Mervyn Warren) FULL credit for it on the album. In fact, this is the only song on the entire album that I did not arrange in some way...so kudos to Mervyn and his awesome arrangement. I am extremely grateful to you and your talent.

Track #4 ya'll.

The closest to American Idol I'm ever gonna get.

Whee!

off to dinner...

more soon....

xoxo

dl

 

MOMMA'S LAMENT

This is an absolutely ball-busting song from a musical I did in the NYMF Festival last year called Love Jerry.

I wanted to record it because:

a) it kicks ass

b) Megan Gogerty, the inexplicably talented composer and playwright of Love Jerry should be a household name for how amazing she is.

c) this musical is so new, there really isn't a demo for the show that reflects the emotional life of these songs accurately. And I also wanted Megan to have a really solid rendition of this '11 o'clock' number for her own PR purposes.

d) the rehearsal schedule for NYMF is so limited, we were never able to really write a great musical arrangement to this number. Everyone had the best intentions but there was just not enough time to do it properly. So I really wanted to arrange this number and send the charts to Megan so she had them and could send them out or whatever, if she wanted.

d) Love Jerry itself is - besides being a brilliant play with music- such an important piece of theatre- that I can only wish that some producer out there has enough balls to back it for a nice solid Off Broadway run at least. It's truly.....an extraordinary story told in an equally extraordinary way.

Now.

Why haven't you heard about this musical?

If it's so brilliant, why isn't it running of Off Broadway right now, you ask?

I'll tell you.

Keep an open mind now.

Love Jerry is a musical about incest.

Yes.

I know.

Now.

Let me describe another musical for you now.

Fill in the blank is a musical about cannibalism.

You understand the point I'm making here?

Love Jerry ran into the same PR problem that Sweeney Todd did when it first opened in the early 70's. People heard "a musical about rape, murder and cannibalism?!!!! that must be HORRIBLE!" and it had people walking out, and half empty houses, and closed at a massive loss.

But of course, we all know now....that it's probably one of the most magnificent musicals ever written and it was just waaayyyyy ahead of its time.

So.

First of all KUDOS to the NYMF Festival for having the stones to put this show in their roster at all. Not that, if you'd even read the first 4 pages of the script- it would even remotely be a question. Because it's that good.

I was sent the script with the caveat,

"this musical is about incest. Michael Cassara wants you to read the part of the mom of the abused boy. tell me what you think."

I read the first FOUR pages of this script and I immediately called my agent and said, 

"I'm in I'm in I'm IN! I am IN like, I will SHANK people to do this. I will SHANK. THEM. So call Michael and tell him right NOW.... yes yes yes yes YES!"

it was a visceral reaction that I'd maybe had towards a script maybe....

twice before in my life.

My hands were literally shaking as I held the phone.

It was like....every molecule in my body was reacting to the words...

I know it sounds all Buck Rogers and shit...

but I swear, it was like my whole body was already attached to it.

And if they had called me back and said, ya know- 'too late, we offered it to someone else'-

i would have CRRIIIEEDDD. 

After only reading 4 pages. 

I'm not even remotely kidding.

Thank God they didn't.

There was something about the way it was written-

Megan's voice-

so honest and true and brave and totally out there and OBJECTIVE...

and from all sides....

and funny.....

a musical about incest that had HUMOR??!!!

unreal.

......and MESSY.

Messy- like real life is MESSY- I mean...

it was like I was eavesdropping on this family who learns through the course of the play that their son is being molested by his own uncle (the father's brother).

It deals with what really happens to a family....

and the victims...

and the perpetrator....

not what we wish to happen.

which person is bad and which person is good and what's the obvious choice is....

is it really that obvious.....

who's to blame-

what side do you take-

when you're in the middle of two family members-

and i know---

you sit back and you think,

"well it's obvious....what SIDE YOU take...."

but the brilliance of this musical is that....

it makes you question that 'obviousness'.

Because like any sort of fucked up family dynamic, it is anything but obvious to the people INSIDE that family.

This play makes you think, and evaluate your own ethics, and then re-evaluate them...

and we had marvelous people come from all sorts of Child Protection agencies....

and give fantastic talks afterwards....

because obviously the one thing you DON'T want to do-

if you're going to write about something as sensitive as incest....

is in any way.....

feel like you're exploiting the subject matter.

Which it NEVER ever did.

Oh.

I miss it so.

I could go on and on...

but i won't.

just trust me.

it's THAT fucking brilliant.

And not for nothing but this production won a shitload of awards at the NYMF as well....

and I can only hope that it continues to have a life. I seriously feel like it's one of the best musicals I've ever done in my life.

So for more information on this absolutely ASTONISHING show-

please go to: http://www.canyoulovejerry.com/

So.

The song.

Let's talk about the actual song.

This song is sung by the mother of the boy who has been molested by her brother-in-law on her watch. The tragedy of all this is that, of course- the mother has been seeing the signs all along and she knows something is wrong- but....she keeps allowing herself to get talked out of taking action over and over because she truly doesn't want to believe it's true- and her husband is so completely disconnected from everything that he is starting to think she's crazy.

So...

all leading up to this song....

this character is wondering....

"what's wrong with my kid....there's something wrong with my kid.....i don't know, maybe i'm crazy...maybe i'm overreacting...maybe this behavior is normal.....my husband thinks i'm crazy....everyone thinks i'm crazy....but....there's SOMETHING wrong with my kid....."

So then....

she finds out what's wrong with her kid.

And I mean.....

what do you do?

What do you do with ALLLLL that?

The guilt of knowing something was wrong....and not following through.

The anger at everyone- including the kid.....for not telling her what was going on so she could help.

The absolute helplessness she feels....because her son is now broken...on her watch...and she can't even 'reach' him to help him at this point....

and....

all she really wants is for the kid to get better.

and she's convinced that if he just cries....

just.....

does something.....

gets angry-

or yells-

or cries.....

it will be a step in the right direction.

but the kid has locked himself in his room because now he feels guilty because he loves his uncle who is now in prison because of him- and all he can do is hide from everything and everyone.

So.

The mom brings up a tray of food to the door-

hoping he'll come out and take it-

or eat it-

or something.

but nothing...

no answer.

and there's an incredibly funny/poignant monologue that precedes this song....

where she's trying to get him to come out-

and finally....

....she just slumps to the floor next to his room and sings this song to him through the door.

And you see this character have fits and sparks of emotional release before this-

she'll bark one line at a police officer-

and then be calm again....

and then she'll lash out on one line at her husband-

and then be calm again....

but this is the first time you see her, for all intents and purposes, "alone"....

and all she wants...

is for her little boy to cry.

and for him to know that....

she's there for him.

and that's she so incredibly sorry for not protecting him when he needed it.

And you'd think the song would be long...

to do all that?

but it's really not.

This song....does a LOT.....in a very short period of time.

because it's SO well written.

The lyrics are incredibly to the point, honest and economical.

As far as the musical arrangement goes....

For the album, i've given it a slightly more 'jazzy' feel than we ever did it in the show-

just because....

without the show to really know what's going on in the song....

i felt it needed just a little more of a musical 'identity'-

if that makes any sense?

Another element I kept from the show is that there is no piano in this arrangement. it's all bass, accordion, flute and guitar. It keeps it 'softer' in the background. It makes the vocal take the hard edge.

Anyway.

This song literally 'wails'.

It's keening, put to music.

And I truly truly hope that I have done Megan's brilliant talent justice here.

it is also.....

the ONLY song with riffing in it.

Because...

emotionally....

it's necessary.

So if you want your riff fix-

track #5 my darlings.

More soon....

off to the show....

xo

dl

THE 'DIFFERENT TAKE' SONG

This song is 'THE DIFFERENT TAKE' song because...

well...

i do a 'different take' on it emotionally than what this Jason Robert Brown tune is usually known for.

There were a few reasons why I chose to go down a slightly different road for this number.

1) The original performance and recording of this number, I believe can NOT be improved upon. In any way shape or form. And that's saying a lot cause I'm against this gal a lot for roles and it would be way easier for me to just criticize the performance and be all small and petty and shit about it. 

But. 

Ya gotta give it up for talent or your soul will dry up like a corn husk... 

and this singer not only recorded the ever living fuck out of this song...

but I saw her performance on opening night of this role and she totally blew me away. 

Again....I auditioned for this role too, got very very very close to getting it... 

I'm not sure if it was between me and her but it was close...

and I was very sad that I lost out to this chick. 

But man, when you see someone just tear the ever living crap outta something? Even tho you really really wanted it? It makes it so much EEEAASSSIIIEERR to let go of it. So in a way, it was the best thing that I saw her do it live. I walked outta there going, 

"Yup. I woulda cast her too. Moving on."

Anyway. 

Once the title of this song is revealed, I highly recommend getting the cast album of this show just for her rendition of this song (not to mention the whole album is genius). But her rendition of this tune? Perfection. 

So there was no point in my mind, in recording it the same way.

2) While the 'take' on this song is usually done rather......poignantly? 

Almost....defeated? 

And resigned? 

I always found that when I personally turned to this song for comfort or catharsis- i was always P-I-S-S-E-D. I was ANGRY when I would turn to this song. I mean like, NUCLEAR angry.

So when the lyrics ask the person who just stomped on this gal's heart...

 'what about you?'-- 

I was really FEELING.....

"what about YOU??!!!" 

(implied: you fucking dumbass cowardly sonofabitch...WHAT ABOUT YOU!!!!).

And so.....

ya know....

there's THAT.

And honestly, I wanted to see if the song would hold the extra anger in my rendition-

and if I could pull it off without bending the whole song out of musical shape.

3) This song is just one of my favorite all time songs on the planet. And i love it. I think it's brilliant on so many levels. And I wanted to record it. So, there.

NOW.

The trick....

to changing the emotional intention behind a song can be tricky. 

The musical arrangement and composition of a song is like......

the appropriate selection of clothes, really.

You don't wear a nice light, frothy negligee to do heavy construction work. It will tear it about and ruin it and you'll look like a total asshole.

And you also don't wear a hard hat, sturdy overalls and steel toed boots to a garden party. It's too much weight for the event, and again- you'll look like an asshole.

So not wanting to look like an asshole....

i set about nudging the arrangement ever so slightly, in the hopes that it would hold the extra power of a full belt, and a more gutteral intention.

I took out the entire instrumental at the top so the song starts completely acapella (voice only, no accompaniment).

Then....i let just a bar creep in to bridge...

into second verse....

bring in some more instruments....

it gets bigger...

and builds more and more...

*musical nerd alert: sometimes if you're wanting to really build in a song...but you're afraid the center won't sustain it...you can 'trick' the ear by really thinning out the top of the song. This way it SEEMS like the build is bigger in the middle...not because it actually is- but because you STARTED from a much smaller place. So you ramp up not by actually ramping up MORE in the middle- but by building your ramp from a much smaller place to begin with. Savvy?

I get to the first (of three) build sections in this song.

Add more instruments.....

switch from vocal head placement to mix.

Add more instruments....

switch to full out belt.

Now here's a tricky bit.

Do i belt FIRST....where it's lower...

and then mix when it creeps up?

risking losing the build?

because generally if you wanna build something you mix first and then belt.

but as it goes UP a step....

the belt becomes more piercing...

and ironically less powerful and pointed like a mix.

A mix can be like a laser if you straight tone it.

And I must have done 97823847623492834 takes of these 16 bars.

belting first-

then mixing.

mixing first-

then belting.

nasal belt-

then chest belt.

nasal mix-

then nasal belt.

try to pitch over the break...

try to pitch under the break....

over-

under-

mix-

belt-

chest-

under-

belt.....

for at LEAST an hour.

Oy Jesus.

and that shit was LOUD.

I can't believe that my neighbors didn't finally go crazy and call security on me.

So.

this section made me absolutely nuts.

NUTS.

I save every single take and figure i can maybe play mix and match when i mix it later.

find the right combination down the road.

there's also a very famous musical interlude in this song that i LOVE...

but i decided ultimately to cut because, I didn't have 5 friggin' cellos or whatever they had in the pit for this song, and also because the musical interlude emotionally cuts into the second build. And if I'm doing the 'ANGRY EYES' take on this...

I can't afford anything to cut the emotional through line in half-

no matter how much I absolutely love it love it love it.

And not for nothing-

but it's a fabulous cut for any of you gals who want to do this for concerts or auditions.

it's nice and slick, i think.

Go ahead and take it.

I don't care.

Mazel Tov.

Now i'm not gonna lie.

This song chapped my ass during the whole process for many reasons.

1) I love it so much, and i am such a fan of the original interpretation that I personally had most likely, unrealistic goals for the outcome. I wanted to it to be just as good in it's own way, as the one on the album. Not even better. I just wanted it to be as good. That's all.

2) Jason Robert Brown is a buddy. And i didn't want him to think that I screwed around with his song all willy nilly. I felt extreme loyalty to him, as a friend, to do this as best I could.

3) This song is HARD ya'll. 

it's HAAAARRRRRRDDDDDD. 

its. 

hard.

And then...

came the mixing.

This was the song...

that nearly made me throw my computer out the window.

Because.....

me with my loud ass ridiculous ethel merman belt....

blew.

out.

the.

mike.

every.

single.

fucking.

time.

yup.

but because I'm such a dumb ass...

i never LISTENED BACK to it when I was recording it.

I just did take after take after take after take after take and figured I'd finesse it post-op.

So...

here I am, with all these grand dreams of how powerful this 'belt is going to sound'-

and it's just distortion everywhere. Meaning, I all of a sudden sounded like a Dalek from Dr Who trapped under eight down comforters. 

Yes.

That's exactly what it sounded like.

I know this because i listened to it at least 4 bajillion times in garage band as I desperately tried to fix it with the tools in that program. Anything...to NOT have to record it again.

but, it's useless.

the volume levels are all over the place...

the beginning sounds way too soft...

and the "big build" is now just distorted crap.

So.

of course.

I have to go back and record this whole section again.

balls.

balls.

balls.

Now i know...

my neighbors are going to call security on me but...

it has to be done.

I can't put out a distorted, ghetto version of this awesome song that I love so much.

I'll leave it off the album before i do that.

So.

Back into the bathroom I go.

Same 16 bars.

over.

and over.

and over.

and over.

and over.

But this time...

i turn DOWN the mike level at which it records?

I listen back...

totally not distorted.

awesome.

i go back to mixing everything.

NOW.

because i recorded at such a lower level than the rest of the song...

the belt isn't distorted but...

it doesn't build with the rest of the song.

Needless to say....

endless endless ENDLESS shit with this song.

I ended up fixing it best i could with doubling vocals here and there-

and lowering master volumes here and there.

I think what I ended up with was really great?

But honestly- since I have worked and re-worked and re-worked this song so many times...

I have no perspective.

Andy (the bf) says it's great.

I even sent it to Jason, and he said it was 'fabulous'.

So.

I just need to let it go at this point?

But this song for me....

is the track that's like.....

an ex boyfriend who you really really loved comes back into your life-

and he says he's changed, and he's all different now-

and you really really wanna believe that he's awesome now-

even though he was a total pain in the ass before-

and you decide to date again...

but all the time in your stomach you're like, 

"is this a good thing? is this good? if I hadn't been so fucked up by the whole relationship last time...I'd have a better idea. But....i think it's good now. But is it?"

and then you call your mom-

and all your girlfriends and discuss it ad nauseum and you're still never quite convinced that it's good again.

No matter what anyone says.

So.

I still love this song.

But it is the ONE track on the album......

because finally getting it to where I wanted it was such an ordeal....

I still can't sit back and just enjoy listening to.

I'm sure, one day I will.

But until then.....

I'll leave you all to be the judge.

And if you love it- awesome.

If you don't- lie to me.

xoxo

dl