Playlist for Sun., Dec. 3rd, 2023: It's My Party, and I'll decorate when I want to.

Well, we've made it into Limbo Land...poised as we are between one holiday and another. Awww hell, let's just take the entire 6 weeks and call it Thanksmas or Chrisgiving. One huge Holidaze of buying, feasting, deco-ing, and White Christmas watching.  I saw my first Scotch Pine lashed to a Subaru Outback this morning, vegan-ly replacing a six-point buck, I guess...but how do these folks make a real tree last til New Years? Feed it a secret concoction of Pinesol and Gordon's? I wait, wait, wait (my motto: Procrastinate, then Panic) til like the 20th of December, and then call on Christmas Magic to descend and decorate. Quickly. 

 

So in the same (open) vein, we'll be putting off the holiday tunes (and festooning) for awhile. December 24th's 2 On The Aisle will be chocked full of 'em, but not one Sunday sooner. I'm sure you'll have plenty of carols and Bings and Mariah Careys on those "other stations", plus Jazz90.1's Jingle Jazz Radio has started up (that's our sister internet station), with its jazzy take on those perennials. So just sit in wild anticipation for the Broadway versions, okay?

 

Lesley cries at her own party...

Patti urges you (and Argentina) NOT to cry...

and Shirley exhorts us to "Smile, You Son-of-a-Gun!"

(Yes, that's a brave Adolph Menjou who co-starred with ST

in Little Miss Marker...who gives HIM a 2nd glance?)

 

Meanwhile:
Smile, Laugh, Cry, Weep...yes, that's our next theme on Broadway (and Beyond) at its Best. I have so many falls "off" that Broadway Bandwagon that I really mean the "Beyond" part this week. Plus there seem to be a lot more CRYING songs than SMILING songs (we love to cry in our cornflakes, I guess), so it's a bit tear-heavy. Ahhh well, them's the breaks. It's a sentimental time of year anyway, so get your CRY on with Patti, Frank, Lesley, Laura, and Ann. Denizens like you need no last names, right?

The lovely Laura Benanti teams up with Adam Guettel

for "Glad To Be Unhappy"...

And we swing over to Frank...cuz Frank is alone and sad.

 

So grin, so bear! The panettone and cucidati will be arriving MUSICALLY on apace, no worries. Meanwhile, Smile Girls, Make 'Em Laugh, and Hey Look, No Crying. (Who's crying? I'm not crying. YOU'RE crying.) :)

When You're Smiling (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall)

Smile, Girls (Patti LuPone, Gypsy)

You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile (Donald Craig, Laurie Beechman, Ensemble, Annie)

Smile, Smile (Leslie Uggams, Lillian Hayman, Robert Hooks, Hallelujah, Baby!)

Make 'Em Laugh (Donald O'Connor, Singin' In The Rain)

I Wanna Make The World Laugh (Robert Preston, Mack & Mabel)

Laugh, You Son Of A Gun (Shirley Temple, Little Miss Marker)

Laughin' All The Way To The Bank (Bernard Dotson, Sweet Smell Of Success)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (John McCormick)

When You're Smiling (Billie Holiday)

Promises, Promises (Jerry Orbach, Promises, Promises)

Knowing When To Leave (Jill O'Hara, Promises, Promises)

Turkey Lurkey Time (Ensemble, Promises, Promises)

Big Girls Don't Cry (John Lloyd Young, Ensemble, Jersey Boys)

It's My Party (Lesley Gore)

Cry (Stan Chandler, Jason Graae, Guy Stroman, David Engel, Forever Plaid)

Cry Me A River (Laura Benanti, Swing!)

Me And My Shadow (Nat Shilkret and his Orchestra, with Johnny Marvin)

The Shadow Knows (Theme to The Shadow Radio Show)

We Kiss In A Shadow (Doretta Morrow, Larry Douglas, The King And I)

I'm Shadowing You (Blossom Dearie)

Me And My Shadow (Peggy Lee, Is That All There Is?)

They All Laughed (Fred Astaire, Shall We Dance?)

Don't Laugh (Victoria Clark, Sondheim! The Birthday Concert)

Live, Laugh, Love (George Hearn, Follies)

I Love To Cry At Weddings (John Wheeler, Company, Sweet Charity)

Crying (Jay And The Americans)

Hey Look, No Crying (Frank Sinatra, She Shot Me Down)

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina (Patti LuPone, Evita)

Willow Weep For Me (Ann Hampton Callaway, Blues In The Night)

Glad To Be Unhappy (Jessica Molaskey, Make Believe)

Make Someone Happy (Audra McDonald, Go Back Home) 

Smile (Natalie Cole)

Playlist for Sun., November 26, 2023: I'll Wash, You Dry

Recent insights:

1.) Vegan Eggnog ain't bad. Half the calories of the real kind. There's no eggs, and (at least this early in the season) no "nog". Then what am I actually drinking, you ask? No clue. But it's warm and cuddly and good to carve playlists with.

The lah di dah instagram version.

I don't drink this kind.

 

2.) Naps ain't bad either. Today I took 2. :)

5.) I have squirrels. Between my roof and my...well, maybe my ceilings? They seem to be staging bowling tournaments up there, with all of the black (tho green to me) walnuts I neglected to "harvest" from my backyard. I must have a "Vacancy" sign (in neon) flashing up there somewhere.

17.) I definitely need hardier party-er muscles. This season of Mirth, Merriment, and Merlot is just getting started and I need to rev up (see Insight #2). It seems entirely possible for me to bike 4,000 miles in a season (and I did), and yet need naps to get thru a tri-plex of social dos in the course of a weekend. Flex those felicitous muscles!

Because it's this kind of week!

And likewise, after a plethora of 2 on the Aisle themed editions (from Body Parts to Home Sweet Home, and back again, the long way), my brain hurts. I am momentarily "out" of themes. Not to say inspiration won't spark again, BUT this will be a simple Mish Mash edition. Mini themes, only! Like Sailing. And Girling. But other wise, it's the Kitchen Sink. Everything from Guys and their Dolls to some Girl from the North Country. From Once to Roz. From Lonesome Polecats to Mimi Paragon. From Salome to Pass That Football. 

Musical whiplash may ensue.

 

These two...

 

and these two...

and these 7...wait, we're missing a polecat.

 

Oh, and I should mention that The Christmas Edition of 2 On The Aisle will be on Christmas EVE! Yes, the EVE is on a Sunday this year. Hot damn. I'll bring vegan (spiked by then) eggnog and wear a Santa Hat while broadcasting, of course. You bring the fruitcake. PLEASE bring the fruitcake! I love fruitcake.

 

 

Meanwhile, enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, a relaxing holiday with family and/or friends, and we can rendezvous, post-feast, at the Kitchen Sink. I'll wash, you dry. :)

 

The North Strand (Instrumental, Once)

Abandoned In Bandon (Andy Taylor, Once)

Gold (Steve Kazee, Once)

Pass The Football (Jordan Bentley, Wonderful Town)

Wrong Note Rag (Rosalind Russell, Edie Adams, Wonderful Town)

Some Other Time (Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Nancy Walker, On The Town)

You Got Me (Nancy Walker, Betty Comden, Ensemble, On The Town)

Havana (Peter Gallagher, Josie de Guzman, Guys And Dolls)

If I Were A Bell (Josie de Guzman, Guys And Dolls)

Sue Me (Nathan Lane, Faith Prince, Guys And Dolls)

Has Anybody Seen Our Ship? (Julie Andrews, Daniel Massey, Star!)

When Our Ship Comes Sailing In (Ensemble, Oh, Kay!)

The Sailor Of My Dreams (Bernadette Peters, Dames At Sea)

We Sail The Seas (Ensemble, Ben Franklin In Paris)

Come To Me (Elaine Stritch, Company, Sail Away)

Beatnik Love Affair (Grover Dale, Sail Away)

Why Do The Wrong People Travel? (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away) 

Sail Away (James Hurst, Sail Away)

Bless Your Beautiful Hide (Howard Keel, Seven Brides From Seven Brothers)

Goin' Co'tin' (Jane Powell, Ensemble, Seven Brides From Seven Brothers)

Lament (Lonesome Polecat)(Russ Tamblyn, Ensemble, Seven Brides From Seven Brothers)

Barn Dance (Instrumental, Seven Brides From Seven Brothers)

Books (Faith Prince, Charles Keating, A Man Of No Importance)

Love Who You Love (Roger Rees, A Man Of No Importance)

Art (Roger Rees, Ensemble, A Man Of No Importance)

How D'Ya Talk To A Girl (Gordon Dilworth, Norman Wisdom, Walking Happy)

Real Live Girl (Sid Caesar, Little Me)

A Certain Girl (Robert Goulet, David Wayne, Michael Rupert, The Happy Time)

Slow Train (Sheila Atim, Ensemble, Girl From The North Country)

Hurricane/All Along The Watchtower/Idiot Wind (Sheila Atim, Ensemble, Girl From The North Country)

Falling Slowly (Steve Kazee, Cristin Milioti, Once)

Playlist For Sunday, November 19, 2023: May I Have This Mu-Cha-Cha?

Just back from a short, if shivery, bike ride...ride-able weather due to Sun! No Wind! And my Usual Obsessive Behavior! Which will be known henceforth as UOB. New Mantra. I've also been made aware of EOG, Early Onset Grumpy-ness. Both appropriate labels pour moi.

 

Tell me this isn't ONE big family! OBF

 

So here we are, pre-Thanksgiving, readying for The Holiday Season to descend, exponentially invading our social lives, in (mostly) a good way. It sorta began this week, with 4 social outings (1 of which I cancelled in favor of a PJ night at home with cocoa and That GBBO) (Great British Bake Off), appointments, gift shopping, and planning (Hope Less, Plan More)(shall we call it HLPM??). I really have to up my Holiday Game. Is more caffeine the answer? I mean, I should be able to handle galas and dinners and liquid lunches and shopaholic sprees on a daily basis, right? This may require training wheels. 

See? Even Fred needs a dance "break".

 

But Dancing! There's always energy for dancing. Well, in this case, no there wasn't. The event I cancelled last week was attendance at a Silent Disco. Could not seem to froth up the required FOAM to disco the night away. Sad face. So to perhaps amend that no-show, this week's 2 On The Aisle Does Dance. Conga, Tango, Waltz, Swing... I just hope our energy (and our dance cards) can handle it all. 

 

Hopefully, this edition will waltz you right into Turkey Day, keep you moving thru all 17 courses, and onward into Fa La La Land. We must muster and steel and vanquish (we dance at dawn!) and finish 2023 with aplomb. Huzzah. :)

 

Overture (Ensemble, Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Shall We Dance (Harry Groener, Crazy For You)

Shall We Dance (Gertrude Lawrence, Yul Brynner, The King And I)

Come Dance With Me (Jay And The Americans)

Do I Hear A Waltz? (Elizabeth Allen, Do I Hear A Waltz?)

Shadow Waltz (Tammy Grimes, 42nd Street)

The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz (Tom Lehrer, Tom Lehrer Revisited)

The Echo Waltz (Tamara Long, Sally Stark, Bernadette Peters, Dames At Sea)

A Bushel And A Peck (Vivian Blaine, Ensemble, Guys And Dolls)

Adelaide's Lament (Vivian Blaine, Guys And Dolls)

I Won't Dance (Kaye Ballard, Jack Cassidy)

Maybe This Time (Kaye Ballard)

Hook's Tango (Cyril Ritchard, Peter Pan)

The Great Lover Tango (Monte Markham, Carmen Alvarez, Janie Sel, Irene)

Pick-Pocket Tango (Instrumental, Redhead)

The Gypsy In Me (Adam Godley, Anything Goes)

I Got Rhythm (Ethel Merman, Girl Crazy)

Crazy Rhythm (Doris Day, Tea For Two)

Spreadin' Rhythm Around (Nell Carter, Ensemble, Ain't Misbehavin')

The Rhythm Of Life (Arnold Soboloff, Sweet Charity)

The Continental (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, The Gay Divorcee)

Temptation (Instrumental, Singin' In The Rain)

Conga! (Rosalind Russell, Wonderful Town)

Wunderbar (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Kiss Me, Kate)

Fever (Ann Hampton Callaway, Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration!)

From This Moment On (Ann Hampton Callaway, Jazz Goes To The Movies)

Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes (Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Sibling Revelry)

Mu-Cha-Cha (Judy Holiday, Peter Gennaro, Bells Are Ringing)

Mambo Java (Carol Channing, Les Quat' Jeudis, Show Girl)

Gopher Mambo (Yma Sumac)

The Beguine (Tamara Long, Steve Elmore, Dames At Sea)

Tango De Amor (Instrumental, The Addams Family)

Swing! Brother, Swing! (Ensemble, Swing!)

Dance At The Gym (Instrumental, West Side Story)

Playlist For Sun., November 12, 2023: Body Parts A Go Go!

Well, I think I had at least 2 trick or treaters this Halloween, down from 3 last year. One family that I actually "greeted" (a very small witch with light-up sneakers, and some sort of large rabbit..."Harvey"?), and then I decided to just leave the bowl of candy outside on the steps. Twenty minutes later and it was all gone. I mean, I did have Reeses this year, so I guess I asked for that to happen. :)

 

Me rocking my tacky self at Zumbaween 2023.

 I went as a retired Lawn Chair Lady.

And yes, I brought my lawn chair. :)

I have 1 more Halloween-esque event to attend this week, before I finagle that costume trunk back into my closet (Zumbaween? Yeah, it's a thing. Supposed to go in glow-in-the-dark gear, but I'll just sparkle, or try). Then it's onward into turkey land (or tofurky land), tree trims, and eggnog (what's the vegan equivalent of that? They MUST have invented one). Oy vey. 

 

                                                                   

This doesn't look too bad: Tofurky with mushrooms?

And below, a Cherpumple...

a cherry, pumpkin, and apple pie, surrounded by 3 cake flavors.

Always something, right?

 

All that to say, this edition probably should have been scheduled BEFORE November launched. Body Parts. Yup, that's our theme. But in my defense, these won't be gory-zombie-Day-of-the-Dead body parts. It's Broadway, okay? Funny Faces, Happy Feet, On Your Toes, and Heart's Desire(s)...THOSE sorts of body parts. I did this theme a few years back, and it was surprisingly popular, so we're reviving it with new organs, I mean new songs and shows and performers. So Dick Van Dyke, Mr. Astaire, Patti, Jessica, Brian...and Hair! :) 

Hearts...

Faces...

Hands...

 ...and Hair! 

And before I sign off, I want to thank all of you who donated to our recent station fund raiser. Maybe it's tough to listen to us cajole and persuade and beg you mercilessly to give, but thanks for putting up with it and rising to the task. Begging is done and dusted for another 6 months, so all my chatting can now be focused on musicals and dumb themes! 

Tune in. It's Body Parts A Go Go.

 

That Face (Matthew Broderick, Cady Huffman, The Producers)

Put On A Happy Face (Dick Van Dyke, Bye Bye Birdie)

Funny Face (Fred Astaire, Funny Face)

Were Thine That Special Face (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kiss Me Kate)

Lose That Long Face (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)

Heart (Russ Brown, Nathaniel Frey, Jimmy Komack, Ed Phillips, Damn Yankees)

Once You Lose Your Heart (Emma Thompson, Me & My Girl)

Heart's Desire (Jessica Molaskey, At The Algonquin)

Out Of Your Head (Bobby Conte Thornton, Ariana DeBose, A Bronx Tale)

Two Heads (Andrew Durand, Evan Harrington, The Robber Bridegroom)

Hair (Company, Hair)

God Bless The Perfect Elbow (Robert Preston, Ben Franklin In Paris)

Cheek To Cheek (Fred Astaire, Top Hat)

The Right Finger Of My Left Hand (Gwen Verdon, Redhead)

If I Only Had A Brain (Ray Bolger, The Wizard Of Oz)

Fidgety Feet (Allan Case, Ensemble, Oh, Kay!)

Ooh! My Feet! (Susan Johnson, The Most Happy Fella)

Happy Feet (The Manhattan Rhythm Kings)

On Your Toes (Bobby Van, Kay Coulter, Joshua Shelley, On Your Toes)

Your Feet's Too Big (Ken Page, Ain't Misbehavin')

Heart And Soul (Jason Graae, Ensemble, Forever Plaid)

There's A Broken Heart For Every Light On Broadway (Marin Mazzie, Zach Braff, Bullets Over Broadway)

My Crazy Heart (Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown)

Listen To Your Heart (Sutton Foster, Young Frankenstein)

A Cockeyed Optimist (Kelli O'Hara, South Pacific)

Your Eyes Are Blue (Craig Lucas, Suzanne Henry, Marry Me A Little) 

In Buddy's Eyes (Barbara Cook, Follies)

Can't Take My Eyes Off You (John Lloyd Young, Ensemble, Jersey Boys)

Take It On The Chin (Emma Thompson, Me & My Girl)

Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max (Allan Sherman)

Clap Yo' Hands (Kay Kendall, Fred Astaire, Funny Face)

Dance: Ten; Looks: Three (Pamela Blair, A Chorus Line)

The Beat Of Your Heart (Andrew Polk, Ensemble, The Band's Visit)

Heart Of Stone (Natalie Paris, Six)

Facetime With My Mom (Bo Burnham)