David Clarke - Page 39

When it comes to the annual Fringe Festival in New York City, everyone gets excited. Why? It's simple. New works! Erik Ransom's COMING: A ROCK MUSICAL OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS enjoyed a 2011 premiere and is now having its own second coming at Fringe. With humor that ranges from tongue-in-cheek camp to witty panache, this irreverent rock musical is sure to make your Rock of Gibraltar roll.

Nestled snugly in the St. Luke's Theatre on West 46th Street is the funny and entertaining MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING, which has recently welcomed new cast member Gabe Bowling. Last week, I met with Gabe Bowling at Betti Bar at Hourglass Tavern to chat about the show and his career.

In New York City, summer and Shakespeare go hand in hand. For their 2014 Season the dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is producing 'A Summer of Shakespeare,' and they kicked off this season with a fully staged production of Henry Purcell's THE FAIRY QUEEN. While giving the show a modern twist, dell'Arte Opera Ensemble followed traditional convention and has set the piece into an abridged version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. The end product is a light-hearted yet ambitious production that enchants.

I've come to embrace the idea that a life well lived is filled with its fair share of second chances and new beginnings. For Ted Shen's A SECOND CHANCE audiences were introduced to Dan and Jenna, both are living in crisis. A SECOND CHANCE opened to mixed reviews at the Public Theater, and now Ghostlight Records has released the schmaltzy jazz musical's original cast recording, which is worth listening to.

As the saying goes, "what's old is new again," and it seems that we cannot get enough of the 1960s these days. Recently, Masterworks Broadway ushered us back to the glory days of the American Camelot with their release of ED AMES ON BROADWAY, which is a one-disc album featuring Ed Ames' 1963 album OPENING NIGHT and 1966 album I CANNOT WISH YOU in their entirety.

Before Courtney Act was an absolute sensation on LOGO's RuPaul's Drag Race's sixth season, she was shaking things up in her native Australia. With decadent vocal talent, mesmerizing stage presence, charisma, charm, and looks for days, Courtney Act is touring her torrid, one-woman tell-all BOYS LIKE ME, which packs as much heart as it does ribald suggestion.

To be utterly candid, I had never heard of Michael Mott until the review copy of Broadway Records WHERE THE SKY ENDS: THE SONGS OF MICHAEL MOTT landed in my mailbox. I read over the press release, glanced over the track listing, and placed the album into my stereo. The tuneful melodies that breezed out of the speakers instantly enchanted me, and the seasoned musical theatre vocals that accompanied them left me in awe.

Inspired by Bette Midler's THE DIVINE MISS M, the torch song albums of Marlene Dietrich and Peggy Lee, and a handful of contemporary female performers like Amanda Palmer, Regina Spektor, and Lady Rizo, Jinkx Monsoon's THE INEVITABLE ALBUM is a triumphant celebration of Jinkx Monsoon's gratifying personality and the delectable cabaret-inspired flavors that make this sensational performer tick.

The annual New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is a fertile ground for quirky, offbeat musicals, giving invaluable exposure to new projects. When I first heard that ZOMBIE STRIPPERS would be performing at NYMF this year, I couldn't help but get excited. The title alone offers enough titillating connotations to tantalize the brain, filling it with voluminous curiosity as to how a creative team makes a musical about strippers who happen to also be zombies. Unfortunately, the current end product leaves something to be desired.

Broadway veteran Saycon Sengbloh isn't letting the early closing of HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME get her down. Ever since she caught the attention of theatergoers in AIDA and WICKED, her fans have followed her career with rapt attention. Like many of her peers, she has also been sharing her vocal talents with the pop music industry. Her latest single, "Everything," dropped earlier this week, and is a catchy dance hit that is sure to heat up your summer.

JERSEY BOYS is one of Broadway's hottest properties. Why? Well, who doesn't love the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons? In 2005, this rags to riches story took Broadway by storm. Almost a decade later, the Clint Eastwood directed film adaptation was released. As a companion to the film Rhino Records released JERSEY BOYS (Music From the Motion Picture and Broadway Musical).

In May 2014, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: COMES OUT SWINGING opened to rave reviews at the Davenport Street Theatre. Audiences laughed until their sides ached at the latest incarnation through its sparkling closing performance on Sunday, June 20, 2014. Now, to fill the void until the next edition opens, DRG Records is proudly releasing the hysterical FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: COMES OUT SWINGING (2014 Un-Original Cast Album).

Set in the present day on the porch of a swamp house in Mississippi, BAYONETS OF ANGST introduces audiences to a handful of old codgers who are partaking in their annual reunion. In fact, this is their 149th gathering, and each year the shrinking group gets together to relive their experiences during the American Civil War. As an audience, we are told to forget what we learned in history because these men were there. Over the next two hours, we are treated to a dizzying array of madcap, behind-the-scenes hilarity that turns history on its head.

With glowing reviews from all the major outlets in New York City, a slew of Tony Nominations, and wins for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical, I expected HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Original Broadway Cast Album) to be spectacular. And, it truly is.

Last summer, The Public Theater, Michael Friedman, and Alex Timbers reunited to gift New York City with a free production of LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Like their BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, the team used brilliant and inspired anachronisms to make the Shakespearean comedy relevant for modern audiences. They also did it as a musical. Now Ghostlight Records has released the audaciously quirky LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST (Original Cast Recording) for us all to enjoy.

Imelda Marcos is a ripe public figure for having a biographic musical written about her. Personally, I always expected a musical about her life would have that grand and epic cinematic sound of Andrew Lloyd Webber's EVITA. However, I couldn't be more pleased with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's rich pop score for HERE LIES LOVE.

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have had an extensive career, composing music for the stage and screen over the last thirty years. As a team, they captured us with their enchanting work on Anastasia. On Broadway, people clamored for RAGTIME and SEUSSICAL. Now fans of Ahrens & Flaherty have a beautifully produced retrospective of their work so far with Broadway Records' release of the fascinating NICE FIGHTING YOU.

Daniel Waters' quirky and deliciously dark 1989 film Heathers is a beloved cult classic known for catchy one-liners and its wonderfully subversive humor. Naturally, HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL garnered a lot of interest because of the film's reputation. However, once the World Premiere Cast Album was released, we all got a peek inside the peculiar musical. Sadly, the glimpses offered on the disc are largely disappointing and entirely underwhelming.

Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey collaborated together for a second Broadway musical, IF/THEN. After making a splash with NEXT TO NORMAL, anticipation for IF/THEN was high. Once stars like Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, and LaChanze were attached, theatergoers saw a hit beginning to blossom. The reviews of its opening night on Broadway were mixed, and listening to the Original Broadway Cast Album illuminates why.

Based on the rocky romance shared by quintessential Irish wordsmith James Joyce and his muse, chambermaid Nora Barnacle, HIMSELF AND NORA enjoyed a successful run as part of NYMTF at the Theatre at St. Clement's in the summer of 2012. With a sparse cast of five, tautly constructed economical harmonies, and a small five member band, Jay Records' release of HIMSELF AND NORA (Original Off-Broadway Cast) excellently captures the heart and soul of this biographic musical.