The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast

Special Episode #9: Here's something you don't come across everyday: a song commissioned for a cancer event. Through my association with Amy Southerland of AWOL (aka Artists WithOut Limits, producers of the highly acclaimed NYMF productions of The Mistress Cycle, The Shaggs, and the upcoming 8 Minute Musicals), I was asked to write and perform a song for an American Cancer Society benefit. After seeing a video about Hope Lodge on the A.C.S. website, the seed for the idea for "Touched" was planted. (I think the video must have been removed, because I can't seem to find it now.) Thank you to Barbara Davis and Bob Iandoli, who commissioned this song in memory of Barbara's mother, Mimi. This episode was recorded on July 23, 2010.

Special Episode #8: It's the day before Valentines Day, and I thought I'd offer up this little musical "Valentine," even in the wake of the performance of Anti-Valentines, the 24 Hour Musical that I wrote with Julia Jordan during one long, harrowing night last weekend to benefit The Exchange. After listening to my chat about it on this episode, I realize I didn't properly acknowledge my feelings about our leading lady, Celia Keenan-Bolger, so I would like to officially say that she is a genius and one of my favorite people to write for. (Yes, David, I know this should be "for whom to write," but I think it sounds and looks weird.) Coming up for me, a benefit concert with Liz Callaway (!!) at The Axelrod Arts Center aka my hometown JCC in Deal, NJ. Also, I'm in the last stretch of my year in Martha Stewart's Cooking School. You can check out my appearance on her television show here and here by following those links and playing the videos. Here's my little, old-timey musical "Valentine" - sorry about the out-of-tune piano. This episode was recorded on February 12.

Special Episode #7: It's been so long since I've done one of these episodes that I omitted a word from my intro! (Did anyone catch it?) I'm thrilled to welcome back the incomparable Sutton Foster. Not just a ridiculous talent, but also one of the warmest, most generous people with whom I've had the privilege of collaborating. Sutton is currently giving a stellar performance as Princess Fiona in the musical Shrek, but only through January 24, 2010, so if you haven't seen her in it yet, get moving! With one Tony Award and three Tony nominations under her belt, she is one of Broadway's great leading ladies, infusing everything she does with her idiosyncratic charm, humor, and heart. Sutton is here to sing "My Heart Was Set on You," the song I wrote for her wonderful debut CD, Wish. A new activist, Sutton has been outspoken in her support of Marriage Equality and has sponsored a bus to take people to the National Equality March in Washington DC this weekend. Check out Sutton's video for the organization Broadway Impact. Coming soon is her eponymous website, a concert tour, and a teaching stint at NYU! Those lucky kids!! To see what kind of soup I served her from my Jeff and Martha cooking project (a la Julie and Julia), visit my blog! This episode was recorded on October 9, 2009.

Special Episode #6: Kate Shindle may have come to our attention first as Miss America 1998, but she has clearly staked out a place of her own in the musical theatre world. She's appeared on Broadway in Jekyll and Hide, headlined as Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes/Rob Marshall revival of Cabaret, and originated the role of Vivienne in Legally Blonde, the musical. Kate was always on my radar because a) she's a fellow Northwestern University alum, and b) she was a super cool Miss A., in that she was really talented and she had a great platform (AIDS awareness and education). So when I was asked to write a song for a benefit and I heard Kate was one of the singers I could write for, I snapped her up PDQ! It's great to finally work with her after years of rubbing elbows at Northwestern events and Julia Murney's annual Pancakes and Bacon Party. The benefit, called Broadway in South Africa, will take place on October 6th at Symphony Space. Ten songwriters (including Henry Krieger, Michael John LaChiusa and Bill Russell) were asked to write songs inspired by the essays and drawings of South African children. I took my inspiration from Khensoni Mabaso's sketch of Johannesburg, which features a very tall building with the word "Voda" on top. This piqued my curiousity, so off I went to research what turned out to be the Ponte City Tower, a 54-story cylindrically-shaped apartment building with a hollow core. ("Voda" is short for Vodacom, a cellular phone company that owns a huge LED wraparound sign on the top three stories of the building.) When Ponte was built in 1975, the surrounding neighborhoods were "whites only," but with the end of Apartheid, the area quickly filled with blacks and immigrants, and the white people fled to the suburbs. The building became notorious for criminal activity, suicide jumpers, and the garbage that built up inside the core. The building is currently being renovated and resold as high-style condos. Last October, before the sales office opened, the building co-sponsored an event with the city to offer people the opportunity to "Abseil off Ponte," i.e. rappel down the building on ropes like mountain climbers use. (Sorry to those who downloaded the original version of this episode with the audio issues. This new version is issue-free.) "The Core of Ponte" was recorded on 9/27/08.

Special Episode #5: I had so much to talk about that I simply HAD to do a new episode. Tune in to hear all about my upcoming UK concert "tour, " and find out about my limited-time special songbook offer. Also, check out this never-heard-before trunk song, "My Time with You," written for the now-abandoned Betty Boop musical. (Recorded 4/24/08.) If you can't make it over to Nottingham or London for my June concerts, why don't you hop/skip/jump down to the Jersey Shore for my July 17th benefit concert for the Jewish Community Center in Deal, NJ? Hope to see you there!

Special Episode #4: I'm so thrilled to add Donna Lynne Champlin to my list of special guest stars, first at my Birdland concert in November, and now on the podcast. After loving her performances in such Broadway shows as By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, and Sweeney Todd, it's a real treat for me to get to hear her sing my songs. I do feel the need to mention: As wonderful as Donna Lynne has been in other people's shows, she could never be better than she is in her own one-woman show, Finishing the Hat. It is, hands down, the most spectacular solo show I have ever seen in my life. Donna Lynne tells a series of stories about herself and her life (chosen from a hat by the audience), and she does so with a level of wit and comedy and pathos and musicality and drama that is truly in a league of her own. DO NOT MISS THIS if she ever does it again. (Donna Lynne, do it again.) In the meantime, you lucky D.C.er's can catch her at the Kennedy Center in Henry (Dreamgirls) Krieger and Bill (Sideshow) Russell's Up in the Air, playing February 7-10. In this special episode, she sings "I Burn," from the dearly departed, unfinished musical, Hush. (Recorded 1/11/08.) The song is from a show-within-the-show, i.e. the main character, Miles, is writing a musical which deconstructs Great Expectations and centers around the character of Miss Havisham. This song finds Miss H. on the morning of her wedding day, before she discovers that her fiancé has been deceiving her and will not marry her after all. The song would later be reprised as a duet between young Miss H and old Miss H, as the latter dies in a fire, still wearing her wedding dress. By the way, The BMI Workshop Songbook Podcast is now officially up and running. Tune in to hear me interview the wonderful members and alumni of this acclaimed writers' workshop and to listen to performances of their songs by our too, too talented guest stars! Subscribe here via iTunes.

Special Episode #3: After a long break, I'm back! Last month, I finally got to meet Jose Llana at, of all places, Broadway Idol. (He was there as a judge, I was a there as a screaming Alysha Umphress fan.) As we were talking, I realized that I needed him to sing this song, so I pounced. And here he is! Jose is remembered, most recently, for his portrayal of the adorable Chip Tolentino ("My Unfortunate Erection," anyone?) in the Drama Desk Award-winning original cast of the Off-Broadway/Broadway hit, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A Broadway "veteran" at 31, he made his debut at the tender age of 19 as Lun Tha in the '96 revival of The King and I, and he's been working non-stop ever since. On Broadway, he's also appeared in Street Corner Symphony, as Angel in Rent, and as Ta, the leading man, in the '02 revival of Flower Drum Song. Add to that his stints in Off Broadway's Saturn Returns (aka Myths and Hymns) and On the Town at the Public, the National Tour of The Return of Martin Guerre, appearances on the HBO series Sex and the City and the feature film Hitch, and an eponymous solo album, Jose, that reached #2 on the charts in Manila, and you'll realize we are talking about an amazingly accomplished young guy! Jose will be singing a self-contained song I wrote this past year, "Why Can't I Kiss You?" (Recorded 10/24/07.) After having spent the preceding six months writing songs for a project that was set in the 30's, clearly I was still in the mood. As for what inspired the song, I'll never tell.... But if you want to hear this and lots of other never-heard-before songs of mine, then hop on over to Birdland on November 4th at 7PM for a concert where I'll be bringing out the secret goodies, with the help of my amazing guest stars , Adinah Alexander, Donna Lynne Champlin, Laura Patinkin, David Perlman, and Alysha Umphress. Call 212 581-3080 for reservations, or get your tickets online now.

Special Episode #2: I'm so thrilled to be joined today by the uber-talented and outrageously foxy Michael McElroy. You probably remember his stand-out, Tony-nominated performance as Jim in the Deaf West/Roundabout revival of Big River a few seasons ago. Or perhaps you have been enjoying his fantastic performances on the original cast recordings of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party or Violet or Blue or Tommy. Or maybe you watched him in the Chenoweth/Lupone Candide telecast (with Yours Truly). Or maybe you're a fan of The Broadway Inspirational Voices, the gospel choir that he founded and directs. Or maybe you heard his killer gospel arrangement of Sondheim's "Sunday" for Billy Porter's CD, At the Corner of Broadway and Soul. Or maybe you just like checking out pictures of his cute self. No matter how you slice it, he comes up delicious and nutricious. For this second special episode, I'm breaking tradition. Instead of a performance recorded live at my piano, I'm using a recording from a concert of my music presented at Birdland on November 20th, 2006. The song, "Vonce," like "Man in the Moon," is a spec song I wrote this past summer to audition to be the composer/lyricist of a new musical. (I'm currently working on that show, although I'm still not at liberty to discuss it freely.) It's unlikely that this song will end up in the show, but I wanted to share it with you all, because Michael sings it so beautifully. As it is a jazz tune, I felt that this concert recording with band was a much better way to present the song. Michael and I got amazing support that night from Todd Groves on sax, Peter Donovan on bass, and Sean McDaniel on drums. (The interview with Michael was recorded 1/13/07.) Bonus video! My friend (and Freefall star) David Perlman was kind enough to videotape that Birdland concert for me, so you can also check out Michael singing the song on YouTube!

Special Episode #1: When I decided I wanted to use "Man in the Moon" for a *special* podcast episode, it came to me in about a millisecond who HAD to sing it: Nancy Anderson. Not only because she's an amazing talent and friend, but also because no one captures the sound of the 20's and 30's like Nancy. Check out her wonderful new solo CD, Ten Cents a Dance, for conclusive proof. Nancy and I met in 2001, performing together in the Broadway production of A Class Act, where she was my "show girlfriend." Nancy created the role of "Mona" in the Manhattan Theatre Club production and subsequently made her Broadway debut in that role when the show moved to the Ambassador. She had already created a sensation Off-Broadway in Jolson & Company, which earned her her first Drama Desk nomination. Since then, she has been dazzling audiences with her many stellar performances, most notably as Lois/Bianca in the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, first on the US Tour and then in the West End production, which was later filmed for PBS. (Does she nail the period or what?) Don't forget her wonderful performance in the 2003 revival of Wonderful Town! (Period!!) This past season, at the York Theatre, she won over critics and audiences alike in the title role of Fanny Hill. (She even nailed the 18th Century, as well as a second Drama Desk Nom!) If you're wondering whether she can pull off a contemporary role (yes!), then you must have missed her hot, hot performance in this year's Off-Broadway play, Burleigh Grime$. In this episode, Nancy sings "Man in the Moon", an audition spec song I wrote this summer. (What this means is, when producers are considering several different people or teams to write their new show, sometimes they'll ask them all to write songs for that project as part of the audition process.) The project in question takes place around 1930, and that's about as specific as I can be right now. (Recorded 11/3/06.) Luckily, you'll have some opportunities to see and hear Nancy coming up! Foremost among her many November appearances is her engagement at The Metropolitan Room, two Tuesday night shows, November 14 and November 28, at 9:30 PM. Not to be missed! And speaking of other things not to miss, I'd also like to remind you about the Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Concert at Birdland on Monday, November 20th at 7PM, featuring Liz Callaway, Victoria Clark, Michael McElroy, Mary Testa, and Alysha Umphress! Call 212 581 3080 to reserve, or buy your tickets online.

Bonus Episode #9: Wow, I can't believe this is the last episode! Doing this podcast has been such a wonderful experience for me. I've had the great privilege of hearing my songs performed by the creamiest of the crop, I've received beautiful emails from some very kind and supportive listeners, and I've even sold a bunch of songbooks along the way. Doing this podcast has left me very inspired to embark on my new projects! Meanwhile, I'd like to close out this series with a song I wrote a few years ago for my father's 60th birthday, which coincided with Thanksgiving that year. It's called "Giving Thanks," exactly what I wanted my last episode to be about. Recorded 6/25/06. My sincerest thanks to the amazing singers (and cellist!) who donated their time and talent to support me in this endeavor, to the lyricists who okayed the inclusion of their songs on the podcast, and to the listeners who invested their time in me, my guests, and my songs. Thank you all for your incredible generosity. Incidentally, if you have techno-phobic friends who you think would enjoy these songs, please do explain to them that they don't need an iPod to listen to the podcasts. (I've found that that is the most common response when I tell people I have a podcast.) Give them the url for my podcast page: http://jeffblumenkrantz.com/podcast.html and show them how to click on the song names for their instant listening pleasure. If you like what I do and want to keep hearing about what I'm up to, the best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for my mailing list. If you have something you want to tell me or ask me, you can always post a message on my message board or email me at jeff@jeffblumenkrantz.com. Until my next songbook or podcast or concert (or full-length musical!), this is the ever-grateful Jeff B., saying "G'byeeeeee!"

Episode #20: I can't imagine a better person to have as my final special guest star than the super-special star of TV's Will and Grace, Megan Mullally. Megan and I met twelve years ago when we were mere children performing on Broadway in our respective revivals, Megan in Grease and myself in Damn Yankees. Soon thereafter, I had the amazing opportunity to actually perform with her in yet another revival, How to Succeed.... From the first read-through, it was obvious she was a talent super-power, turning even the dullest lines into sparkly gems. Since then... well, I don't have to tell you what she's been up to for the past eight years, but suffice to say, it has involved an Emmy Award, three SAG Awards and countless DVDs. Let me take this opportunity to say how a) thrilled I am to know some of the people at the center of that amazing show, b) how proud I am to have appeared in an episode, and c) how appreciative I am to the creators of that show for the significant world shifts that I believe it generated. Yeah, yeah, back to Megan: So everyone in America knows that Megan is a genius comedienne, but how many know about her flourishing singing career? Have you heard her duet with Carly Simon on Will & Grace: Let the Music Out? Or my all-string arrangement of "Silent Night" which Megan sang so beautifully on the NBC Celebrity Christmas CD? And above all, have you checked out her own CD with her band, The Supreme Music Program, Big as a Berry, where she first recorded the song she sings on this episode? It's packed with stellar singing, great style, and interesting song choices, like this one! "Lament" is a setting of yet another Edna St. Vincent Millay poem, and it's also the last song from the songbook to be recorded for this podcast. I'm so pleased that Megan is here to bring the song and podcast into "home." Recorded 6/19/06. Be sure to tune in to your local NBC station this fall for the premiere of Megan's new daytime talk show, The Megan Mullally Show. I don't care what she says... I'm watching all five hours a week.

Bonus Episode #8: Wow, I can't believe it's almost the end of the podcast! When I started this bad boy, it seemed like such a long road ahead of me, and now here it is, just weeks from the GRAND FINALE! OK, enough sentimental talk. I'll save that for the actual last episode. I'm here with another bonus/filler song (i.e. a song not in the songbook). It's the song I wrote for my best friend, Tracy Katz, on the occasion of her wedding to Mark Paladini ten years ago. Tracy and I met as teens at Stagedoor Manor, Performing Arts Training Center, a summer theatre camp where theatre geeks like me could thrive amongst fellow theatre-lovers all summer, while we mustered up the courage to return to the oppression of our local high schools. (For more about this, check out the excellent, new documentary, Stagedoor.) Tracy went on to build a career around the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, which she still occasionally and convincingly/brilliantly plays today, although her main gig is raising my two gorgeous godkids in Virginia Beach. In 1996, after 17 years of best-friendship, Tracy insisted I write a song specifically for her wedding, and I didn't even bother putting up a fight. After all, I was her Man of Honor, and Men of Honor must often go above and beyond the call of duty. After multiple, failed attempts to come up with a funny song, I ultimately opted to write this song from the heart. "When It Comes to You" was recorded 6/11/06. By the way, I don't know what I was thinking when I said Mark had been a casting director in New York. Most of his casting career has happened in Los Angeles. And the name of the sci-fi series I couldn't think of is Babylon 5!

Episode #19: Carolee Carmello wouldn't let me gush about her on the podcast as much as I wanted, so I'm going to have to do it here! Carolee and I met doing a production of Grease at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1989, and her career since then has been continuously and completely jam-packed with goodies, many of which we didn't even get to discuss!! Broadway shows like Mamma Mia!, Urinetown, and Kiss Me, Kate, which took great advantage of Carolee's ridiculously powerful and versatile voice and great sense of humor. Or Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and this season's Lestat, which let her flex her impressive dramatic leading lady muscles. And let's not forget her brilliant performances in such high-profile Off-Broadway productions as john & jen, Hello Again, Infinite Joy, A Class Act, and Elegies, all of which were recorded, fortunately for us! Add to all that a few more Broadway shows (City of Angels, Falsettos, and 1776), a slew of regional and tour productions (Arthur, Chess, Bells Are Ringing, The King and I, etc.), a TV show (Remember WENN), and a Broadway star husband and two beautiful kids, and you start to realize that Carolee is a true Wonder Woman. In this episode, Carolee sings "My Book", the "Sloth" song from the Audra McDonald song cycle, The Seven Deadly Sins. Clearly meant to be performed in front of a live audience, Carolee gamely rolled with it and chose me for all the audience participation duties. I have to add: given how dense this song is, can you believe that this is literally Carolee's third time singing through it... ever?? DIVA! Recorded 6/5/06. Look for Carolee in the upcoming Broadway by the Year: 1978 concert on June 19th at Town Hall. And you can hear her wonderful performance on the Lestat recording when it's released in July. Don't forget to watch for her (and several other podcast guest divas) on the Tony Awards this Sunday, June 11!

Bonus Episode #7: 46 years ago this month, Rita Gardner was opening as Luisa in The Fantasticks, a then unknown Off-Broadway musical. Could she ever have imagined at the time that the show would have such an historic run, that she would be rapping on Broadway today, that there would be such a thing as podcasts and that she'd be on one? Lucky for us, it's all true. I met Rita last year in rehearsals for The Transport Group's production of The Audience, directed by Jack Cummings III. I was fortunate enough to have been one of the songwriters on the show, and my assignment was to write a piece for Rita's character, Rosie, a woman who attends the theatre with her dead husband's ashes. In a private moment, she sings to the urn. Rita stopped the show every night with her sensitive rendition of "I Think." Recorded 5/22/06. Now, Rita's stopping another show with a very different kind of performance! She's appearing as Rosie, the rapping grandma, in this season's Broadway crowd pleaser, The Wedding Singer, based on the Adam Sandler film of the same name. She sings, she raps, she does gymnastic tricks (well... not really) - she's wonderful! And next month marks the release of Rita's new CD, Try to Remember: A Look Back at Off-Broadway, a live recording of her show chronicling her career Off-Broadway. It's filled with stories, songs, both classic and unknown, and of course, Rita's glorious voice. P.S. Rita appeared in a ten-minute Raw Impressions movie musical in RIPFest #6 and was kind (read "game") enough to make a cameo appearance in my RIPFest #6 film, Freefall!

Episode #18: Marin Mazzie has established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies, and it's easy to see why: with her rangy and beautiful voice, her serious acting chops, her comic bent, and her cover girl looks, who wouldn't want to cast her? Marin made her Broadway debut in Big River, and next was Into the Woods, where we met as fellow understudies and I got to see Marin perform Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the Witch in the same week! After that came Marin's three Tony-nominated performances, as Clara in Passion, as Mother in Ragtime, and as Lilli/Kate in Kiss Me Kate. She also took over the role of Aldonza, opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell, in the revival of Man of La Mancha. Most recently, she has been wowing audiences in the staged concerts of On the Twentieth Century as Lily Garland, and Kismet as Lalume. What a resumé! (And I haven't even touched on her extensive regional, stock and television credits!) On this episode, Marin sings a song that's actually in the songbook! "Walking the Wrong Way" is a self-contained, cabaret-type song with lyrics by Libby Saines ("I Won't Mind," "I'm Free") and music by yours truly. Recorded 5/19/06. On the concert and recording front, her leading man (onstage and off) is her adorable and talented husband, Jason Daniely. Marin and Jason recently released a duet CD, appropriately titled Opposite You. They'll be appearing together with the Boston Pops on June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Check them out - they do a great show!