Podcasts from The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Volume 1

I admit to being years behind the curve with this one, but after discovering the music of Jeff Blumenkrantz about four years ago, I have finally taken the time to download and listen to (most of) his collection of 20 recordings of the songs from The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Volume 1, along with about 18 recordings of songs not in the songbook. I have made it through probably half the collection so far, and I look forward to listening to the remainder and any future songs Mr. Blumenkrantz may add to the collection.

I first learned of Jeff's songwriting by falling in love with (have so many have) his "I Won't Mind" on Audra McDonald's album. It took me a long time to realize that this was the same Jeff Blumenkrantz I had done summer stock with in 1984 (like there could be more than one?). I had seen his name in performing credits from time to time, but hadn't realized he had added songwriter to his accomplishments. Well, not to dis Jeff's capable performance abilities, but I suspect that at the end of his career it will be as a songwriter that he is most warmly remembered--and rightfully so.

With a wide range of styles and themes, and a keen intellect for writing lyrics that often manage to be poetic and conversational at the same time, these are songs that performers clearly love to sing, as evinced by the stellar line-up of performers singing on his podcasts--Sutton Foster, Kelli O'Hara, Kate Shindle, Megan Mullally, Marin Mazzie, Judy Blazer, and on and on. There are some men, too, but it seems to be with women that Mr. Blumenkrantz's music really takes hold. The singing is uniformly good, and often great, with performances that draw out the nuances in the songs without making them too precious. There are comedy numbers, too, which are all character-based and deserve wider hearing.

The last few recordings I have to listen to include most of Jeff's settings of Edna St. Vincent Millay poems. I've only listened to one so far and it had a tremendous, emotional impact with an art-song sensibility that will bring me to the other settings in the near future. When I have more to say about those songs, I will. Until then, if you want to check out Jeff's music for yourself, the podcasts are all available free through www.jeffblumenkrantz.com.

Enjoy.

The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Volume I

Music by Mr. Blumenkrantz, lyrics by Mr. Blumenkrantz, Edna St. Vincent Millay and many others.

Cast: Jeff Blumenkrantz, Kelli O'Hara, Sutton Foster, Judy Blazer, Marin Mazzie, Kate Shindle and others.

Lucky Stiff Off-Broadway Cast album

Weekend at Bernie's meets musical comedy in Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' Lucky Stiff. No one is quite what or who they seem to be in this show that is not really a Who done it? but rather at They did What?

This is the first appearance of the song-wrting team of Flaherty and Ahrens in my Year, and I will need to make a point of finding other examples of their work, which includes Seussical, Ragtime, and Once on this Island. Lucky Stiff was their first effort together and, according the brief history of the show presented in the CD booklet, it premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 1988. This recording came out in 1994, though, and seems to be a studio recording made with an amalgam of casts, some from the original 1988 version.

The music is uniformly good. My only beef with the score is that perhaps much of it sounds the same. Since it is mostly upbeat, however, that's an easy sin to forgive. Two songs in particularly struck me and deserve some life outside the show: "Speaking French" is a faux-cabaret number which spoofs the language and the people; "Times like This" has particularly hilarious lyrics and is a nice dog alternative for listeners (like me) who are tired of characters singing about their cats.

The cast on this recording includes some notable performers who have continued to have significant musical theater careers, mostly Jason Graae and Judy Blazer. None in the cast seems a dud, though. Judy Blazer and Mr. Graae both appeared previously in my Year (both in a studio recording of Jerome Kern's Sitting Pretty), and they each seem enjoyable, versatile performers.

Lucky Stiff
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics and book by Lynn Ahrens
Opened in 1988
Studio cast recording made in 1994
Cast: Judy Blazer, Jason Graae, Debbie Shapiro Gravitte, Paul Kandel, Evan Pappas, Mary Testa

Sitting Pretty Studio Cast Album on 2 CD set

I had never heard of Jerome Kern's 1924 musical Sitting Pretty when I bought this studio cast album of the "reconstructed" score. I probably bought it because of either Jason Graae or John McGlinn. More on them later.

This show is more old-fashioned than Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe. While the songs do have some emotional connection to the characters performing them, the music is equally extractable without missing any of the context. In other words, it's not a book musical, where the songs are specific to time/place/character.

That being said, there is a lot to like in listening to this album that was released in 1990. There are very listen-able performers such as Mr. Graae, Judy Blazer, Beverly Lambert, and Paige O'Hara who continue to have musical careers. There is operatic soprano Roberta Peters. And there are hummable tunes, that while being clearly of another era, have some vitality. And the 'legit' soprano song "Days Gone By" sung here by Ms. Peters is a beautiful operetta aria, in the vein of "Vilja" from The Merry Widow.

Musical historian and conductor John McGlinn includes extensive notes on the back story of Kern and collaborators P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. He also clearly appreciates this music. Even if his love of this score is a bit over-zealous, he rightfully credits Sitting Pretty with paving the way for more substantial shows like Kern's Showboat.

I mentioned that Jason Graae is in this cast, and he is a delight. I've heard him perform live and always thought of him as a character singer, but he proves here to have a pleasant, light baritone voice with some true legato to it.

Sitting Pretty
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse
Book by Guy Bolton
1990 Studio cast recording conducted by John McGlinn
Cast: Judy Blazer, Davis Gaines, Merwin Goldsmith, Beverly Lambert, Paula Laurence, Paige O'Hara, Jason Graae, Paul V. Ames, Richard Woods, Roberta Peters