Don We Now ....

Yes this blog's very name is a play on the greatest mockumentary line of all time. Yes, Social Distortion is still the most reliably satisfying band in my rotation and, yes, I JUST DON"T GET all this lip syncing and Vegas-sy dance numbers that the kids call pop music performance these days.

But....

In-between these 10 minutes that changed the world on Feb 9, 1964



You saw future Monkee Davey Jones making his debut on Ed Sullivan



This will be one mother of a post celebrating great Theater Music.

In other words, It's Holiday Show-Tune-Queen Weekend.

Don't worry! These are the picks of a man whose life was defined as much by dreams of playing "The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys" in a late night club somewhere on Cape Cod as by having had to delve into the depths of the 3rd act opening monologue from Our Town. (The Stage Manager talks about the dead, telling us that the dead lose interest in the living and in earthly matters. He says that “everybody in their bones knows that something is eternal,” and that the dead spend their time waiting for this eternal part of their selves to emerge.)

Before 2/9/64 these were the two top records in my collection:

Friends, you may have noticed over the years my interest in, shall we say, 'civics'. Is it surprising that the first Broadway production I ever saw was a road company of '1776' (starring Joel Grey as John Adams). Years later, when I moved to Chicago I built a long lasting friendship with a man who loved the work as much as I (and, for you Rockers out there, He WAS IN THE AUDIENCE the night Patti Smith broke her neck falling off a Florida stage). Years after that Mr Dan and I took intrepid Bass Player and BF Mr JK to a local production of 1776 and he loved it just like us.

You will too. And if you are losing heart after this long summer of HCR, take heart. It's Always Been Like This



Yes that was the voice of KIT from Night Rider

Here KIT discusses the future of America with The White Shadow and a famously Black Listed Actor



The South has always been a problem (that's 'the old guy' From Northern Exposure)



And war is always about the death of some one's child.



While we are on the subject of things never changing ... I used to read 'Candide' once a year just to remind me that mankind has always been foolish. The fact that the work led to some stunning comic opera songs just doubles the pleasure.





And, as comedy is truth made palatable, a timeless lesson that all we need is to take care of what we can as best as we can.



Sweeney Todd was the first Broadway album that I can recall being reviewed by Rolling Stone. How can you take Metallica or Slayer seriously (let alone Mastodon) after Sweeney?



I saw that production after living with Sweeney for 25 years. It still terrified.

Name me anything in the rock oeuvre that so brilliantly melds beauty and horror as this scene from the original Broadway production.



It was Sweeney that brought me back to the theater.

It's creator kept me there with this exploration of the loneliness and ecstasy of making art.



When I've felt failure or frustration, Sunday also has 'been there' for me. "Look at all the things you've done for me"



How about some grand gestures?

Les Miz was grand. Heroic. Funny. And just breathtaking to listen to. I'm a real sucker for the melodic jumps in this:



GT12's been a big Alun Armstrong since our days of continually watching all 9 hours of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Nicholas Nickelby. A great grotesque..



In another era, Judy Garland woulda covered this ... and thank Buddha that in this era Barbra Streisand did not.



I think that we all would like someone to sing this about us



If you do not want to 'join us' at the end of this song ... well, as Mrs. Landingham would say "I don' know if I want to know you"



The follow-up to Les Miz re-told 'Butterfly'. Two beautiful, and timely, examinations of the side-effects of American adventurism:





Puccini proved even better source material for Jonathon Larson, who gave us a musical where a Fender Telecaster is a supporting player. Heaven.



This may be my favorite love song of all time. It certainly helps that it's two men. This is for, well ...



I saw first saw Rent a few months before my mom got sick. It helped. I think now so many people when I watch this next scene. Right now, my 'avid' friend Jon, who has shared many of his life-stories with me this year, comes to mind. I know that he was able to help answer the questions posed in 'Will I'. Thanks to him. And then there's that contemplation of a change of scenery....



So what's it all about?



On a lighter note, Mr Dan and I are big fans of the absolutely charming 'Forever Plaid'. I'm not terribly happy with my You-Tube choices but, after you watch this you'll know what I'm talking about when I say "I played Perry Como both times."



OK. Let's finish up with the real stuff...

I say Dame Kiri's the greatest soprano of our time. Remarkable tone that is creamy and never harsh, great control of all registers, beautiful and warm on stage. C'mon, who sounds better?



And finally: my favorite aria, my favorite soprano, my favorite emotion

Dove sono i bei momenti Where are the lovely moments
Di dolcezza e di piacer? Of sweetness and pleasure?
Dove andaro i giuramenti Where have the promises gone
Di quel labbro menzogner? That came from those lying lips?
Perchè mai, se in pianti e in pene Why, if all is changed for me
Per me tutto si cangiò, Into tears and pain,
La memoria di quel bene Has the memory of that goodness
Dal mio sen non trapassò? Not vanished from my breast?