Playlist For Sunday, March 31, 2024: Frozen Cadburys?

As I type this, we are in the last week of March, and "extra, extra, read all about it, Gypsy newsboys!", we made it. We made it through the 91 days of Upstate Gulag. To be fair, it wasn't a horrid Gulag experience this year. I can't remember 1 white-knuckled drive home in the dark, or more than 2-3 shoveling events. Just cold. Just unfashionable parka days. Just the THEORY of Winter is what I hate.

 

 

I know a 60 year old woman who marvels at every snowfall, be it December White Christmas-y flakes or an Ides of March nor'easter. 60 going on 8, you mean, cuz that's 3rd grader stuff. That's the stuff of snow globes, Frosty The Snowman, and youth. I mean, don't get me wrong: I've built my share of snow forts, I've snowmobiled, attempted to skate/ski/snowshoe, and once helped construct a snow bar (where we undergrad Oswegonians sat on snow stools and served slo-gin-fizzes or something like that)(that's where I learned to like Black Russians). But no more. GIMME WARMTH! 

 

 And yet it seems to be Easter ANNNND Spring...no matter the temps/mud/ice/plastic grass/candy eggs and/or thermal socks slid into Mary Janes! So we'll do it up, no matter what Mother Nature bestows on us, with Ella's brown and yellow basket, Judy's Easter bonnet, Fred will be putting all of HIS eggs in 1 basket, plusssss Something Rotten! (could it be the eggs?), The Band Wagon, and a bunch of super poignant Spring ballads. Tra La, it's (not quite) May! 

 

And then in about a half hour, it'll be the Equinox and the Spring Pledge Drive. May Day, Memorial Day. Ice creams by the shore, sand between your toes, picnics with assorted bugs, parades, and sunburns. Huzzah. We're turning the corner, so don't blink!

 

Easter Parade (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)

I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket (Fred Astaire, Follow The Fleet)

It's Eggs! (Ensemble, Something Rotten!)

A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Ella Fitzgerald)

Shakin' The Blues Away (Ann Miller, Easter Parade)

Mr. Monotony (Judy Garland, Easter Parade)

We're A Couple Of Swells (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)

Cherry Pies Ought To Be You (Barbara Ashley, William Redfield, Charlotte Greenwood, David Burns, Out Of This World)

How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life (Jane Powell, Fred Astaire, Royal Wedding)

You're Awful (Betty Garrett, Frank Sinatra, On The Town)

They Say It's Spring (Blossom Dearie)

Later Than Spring (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away)

Spring Can Really Hang You Up (Ann Hampton Callaway, Blues In The Night)

Meet Me In St. Louis (Judy Garland, Ensemble, Meet Me In St. Louis)

The Boy Next Door (Judy Garland, Meet Me In St. Louis)

Under The Bamboo Tree (Margaret O'Brien, Judy Garland, Meet Me In St. Louis)

Spring Is Coming (Laura Benanti, In Constant Search Of The Right Kind Of Attention)

That's Entertainment (Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant, The Band Wagon)

Welcome To The Renaissance (Michael James Scott, Ensemble, Something Rotten!)

Right Hand Man (Heidi Blickenstaff, Something Rotten!)

Bottom's Gonna Be On Top (Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle, Company, Something Rotten!)

Spring, Spring, Spring (Ensemble, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers)

Younger Than Springtime (Matthew Morrison, South Pacific)

Spring Is Here (Carly Simon, Torch)

You Must Believe In Spring (Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Sibling Revelry)

A Shine On Your Shoes (Fred Astaire, Leroy Daniels, The Band Wagon)

Triplets (Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)

I Love Louisa (Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, The Band Wagon)

Louisiana Hayride (Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)

Something Rotten/Make An Omelette (Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten!) 

Easter Parade (Clifton Webb, Leo Reisman Orchestra)

Playlist For Sunday, March 24, 2024: Blow Out The Candles, Robert (Steve)...and make a wish!

So having owned a new(to me) car, for 2 days now, I think I understand about 1/20 of it. Bells. Whistles. Screens. Automatic everything. At least I know how to basically drive it. And honk the horn.

Having "owned" a 2nd tattoo, for 5 days now, I think I've got enough to last the rest of my life. This one was tough. Digging into collar bones? They're like speed bumps with teeth. This time I thought another big eagle claw was in order (my therapist is concerned as to what that means), wrapping from my neck to the chest. All good in theory. Drugs schmugs. And rather silly, I guess. I had to wait 68 years to jump on a trend. Old ladies with tattoos?? Not pretty.

This is Lydia, not me. More power to her.

All I see is pain.

 

And having played alto sax for 2 months now, I think I still suck and am still stuck at 2 octaves and errant sharps and flats. And I do mean errant. I mean sometimes they're there. Sometimes not. Dynamics? Always loud. Tempo? A beat behind. But my music folder is alphabetized, my reeds ready, and my mood motivational! (Perky, if not Pitch, is my middle name.) 

 

But one thing I don't have to learn/evaluate/suck at is Sondheim. It would be "Steve's" 94th birthday come this Friday (3/22), so it's gotta be a birthday extravaganza in honor of him this Sunday. With bells and (Sweeney factory) whistles...and all the organ stops pulled out to do so (Beadle Bamford Approved). So you can expect the Follies and the Forums, the Companys and the Woods to come out of the Wood-work. My kinda show. :) 

 

I guess Spring (brought to you by peeps)

can really hang you up the most.

And remember...Spring is coming. Next week at 3. Along with Easter, that'll make an appearance, too. Baskets, bonnets, eggs, Fred, Judy, and a Bandwagon or 7. Tune in for that as well. 

(And now to bake a Sondheim "cake"!)

 

 

Prelude/The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd (Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, Company, Sweeney Todd)

Company (Dean Jones, Ensemble, Company)

Sorry - Grateful (Charles Kimbrough, Charles Braswell, George Coe, Company)

Another Hundred People (Pamela Myers, Company)

Who's That Woman (Mary McCarty, Follies)

The Story Of Lucy And Jessie (Alexis Smith, Follies)

Broadway Baby (Elaine Stritch, Follies)

The Advantages of Floating In The Middle Of The Sea (Mako, Company, Pacific Overtures)

A Bowler Hat (Isao Sato, Pacific Overtures)

Someone In A Tree (James Dybas, Mako, Gedde Wantanabe, Mark Hsu Syers, Pacific Overtures)

Pretty Little Picture (Zero Mostel, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)

Impossible (David Burns, Brian Davies, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)

Finale (Company, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)

Uptown, Downtown (Craig Lucas, Marry Me A Little)

I'm Still Here (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)

The Worst Pies (Angela Lansbury, Sweeney Todd)

Johanna (Victor Garber, Sweeney Todd)

My Friends (Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, Sweeney Todd)

Agony (Robert Westenberg, Chuck Wagner, Into The Woods)

Every Day A Little Death (Patricia Elliot, Victoria Mallory, A Little Night Music)

Not A Day Goes By (Jim Walton, Merrily We Roll Along)

Losing My Mind (Barbara Cook, Follies)

Color And Light (Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Sunday In The Park With George)

I Remember (Charmian Carr, Evening Primrose)

The Ladies Who Lunch (Elaine Stritch, Company)

Anyone Can Whistle (Lee Remick, Anyone Can Whistle)

Send In The Clowns (Glynis Johns, A Little Night Music)

Being Alive (Bernadette Peters, Sondheim, Etc.)

Side By Side (Dean Jones, Company, Company)

Playlist For Sunday, March 17, 2024: As Mandy Patinkin would sing, "More Green!"

So my exhaust pipes are corroded? My brake pads challenged? Well, I guess you could take that figuratively and apply the concept to Me and My Life. Aging, yet a possibly decent trade-in value for (the other) parts? All that to say, I need a new car and/or a new life, or preferably a softly USED car or life...that's kinder to the checkbook and the heart.

 

Look at the old girl now.

In fine fettle, prior to the wages of war (aka snow/salt/feather fiascos/basic atrophy), and in a parade, no less.

 

But the new one is white? Me, who never washes her car? (Those eyelashes would break or wash away, if I subjected my old Subaru to Sonic!) But WHITE? Chartreuse, yes. Obnoxious magenta, bien sur. But white? Well, if this lack of color is easier on the wallet, I'll go with it...IF I can add my own stamp on it. Let the seasonal buying of bumper stickers begin.

 

I think Toyotas look meaner. Grill vibes.

 

But what other color is appropriate THIS time around? Green, of course.

Because this Sunday we simply must "give it up" to the celebration of Saint Patrick...with Irish-y musicals, traditional pub songs, tin whistles, hurdy gurdies, and a couple of wild colonial boys (in the past, I could name quite a few). I am about 1/16th Irish, but I feel the call. And I will answer.  

             

 Harold Arlen wrote this musical with Leprechauns.

He wrote another one with Munchkins.

Coincidence? I think not.

 

The Dubliners, outside of a pub.

 

The Secrets Of Roan Inish...the secret has something to do with

Selkies (shhhh!).

 

So that means Juno, Finian's Rainbow, A Man Of No Importance, Once, Irene...plus a good helping of The Irish Rovers, The Dubliners, and The Clancy Brothers. Man, I can almost taste the Guinness. You might be at a parade, you might be bellying up to a bar, you might be cozy at home watching "The Quiet Man" and eating colcannon, but behave as you will, and keep 2 On The Aisle serenading you in the background. 

  

Above, colcannon, for the uninitiated.

Below, Maureen and John...after a short "stretch of the legs"

in The Quiet Man.

  So tune in and slainte! My "Irish" Eyes will be smiling.

 

The Wild Colonial Boy (The Dublin Screen Orchestra, The Quiet Man)

It's A Great Day For The Irish (Judy Garland, Little Nellie Kelly)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (Chauncey Olcott, Isle O'Dreams)

An Irish Girl (Debbie Reynolds, Irene)

The Wearing Of The Green (Peggy Lee, Sea Shells)

Whiskey In The Jar (The Dubliners, More Of The Hard Stuff)

A Jug Of Punch (The Clancy Brothers, Live At Carnegie Hall)

The Rattlin' Bog (The Irish Rovers, The First Of The Irish Rovers)

We're Alive (Company, Juno)

Daarlin' Man (Melvyn Douglas, Jack MacGowran, Juno)

Song Of The Ma (Shirley Booth, Juno)

Old Sayin's (Shirley Booth, Melvyn Douglas, Juno)

My Wild Irish Rose (Chauncey Olcott)

Cooley's Reel (Tagoror)

Black Velvet Band (The Dubliners, A Drop Of The Hard Stuff)

Reverse Dance (Andrey Vinogradov)

Return To Roan Inish (Instrumental, The Secret Of Roan Inish)

Fiona's Walk (Instrumental, The Secret Of Roan Inish)

How Are Things In Glocca Morra? (Ella Logan, Finian's Rainbow)

The North Strand (Instrumental, Once)

The Hill (Cristin Milioti, Once)

Gold (Company, Once)

Old Devil Moon (Ella Logan, Donald Richards, Finian's Rainbow) 

A Touch Of The Irish (Betty Garrett, Juliet Lambert, Donna Kane, Meet Me In St. Louis) 

Harrigan (James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Yankee Doodle Dandy) 

Look To The Rainbow (Ella Logan, Ensemble, Finian's Rainbow)

Going Up (Charles Keating, Ensemble, A Man Of No Importance)

Princess (Sally Murphy, A Man Of No Importance)

Love's Never Lost (Steven Pasquale, A Man Of No Importance)

The Auld Triangle (The Dubliners, More Of The Hard Stuff)

Wild Rover (The Dubliners, Wild Rover) 

Raglan Road (The Dubliners, Home Town)

The Wild Colonial Boy (The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem, In Person Live At Carnegie Hall) 

The Fields Of Athenry (The Dubliners)

 

 

Playlist For Sunday, March 10, 2024: Cake, Confetti, and Droopy Argyles

Lion? Lamb? Llamas? Orangutans? March promises to throw many animals at us now that it's finally here. Last week's wind was like a train passing by (and through) my little cobblestone and I was sure I'd lose a tree or a roof (or at least some grout) at some point. And it wasn't even March yet. It was March Prep, thanks to his sister, February! Oy.    

I DID manage to bike all of 4 times last month though...so it was one for the records. Yes, training (the good kind) has sort of, almost, maybe begun. And if the wind gods allow, March may allow 4 more. Who knows? This is just the time to put your head down, pull up your socks, and get through it. 

 

 Yup, those socks are up!

 

This sounds way too depressing. We have to lighten up this blog. We have to Merrily Roll Along, right? So this coming Sunday, I'll play LOTS of selections from that brand spanking new Sondheim revival PLUS celebrate about 17 Broadway birthdays, to elevate our March Mood.

Cake ANNND Confetti, all in one.

 

We'll celebrate: Liza Minnelli, Jerry Ross, Raul Julia, Stephen Schwartz, and Lonny Price. Annnnnd the anniversaries of Sweeney, Damn Yankees, The Goodbye Girl, and The Sweet Smell Of Success. Birthday huzzahs aplenty! I mean, when "you feel as low as the bottom of a well", you eat cake and throw confetti. One of them'll work, right? 

I guess shoe shines work as well as cake!

And yes, I did indeed watch The Bandwagon last week and WHAT A GREAT flick. I forget how nifty that movie musical is. I'll have to play that soon. Of course NEXT Sunday it's St. Patrick's Day so that Wild Irish Rose will take over, but after that we'll jump on the literal WAGON and revel in that. :)         

Meanwhile, change your clocks (the ones still under our "power"), oil your gears, set your sights on Spring...and pull up those damn socks! 

 

 

Merrily We Roll Along (Company, Merrily We Roll Along)

Whatever Lola Wants (Gwen Verdon, Damn Yankees)

Hey There (John Raitt, The Pajama Game)

Two Lost Souls (Gwen Verdon, Stephen Douglass, Damn Yankees)

Hernando's Hideaway (Carol Haney, Company, The Pajama Game)

Light On My Feet (Lonny Price, Carolee Carmello, David Hibbard, Company, A Class Act)

One (David Hibbard, Randy Graff, Company, A Class Act)

Better (Lonny Price, Julia Murney, Company, A Class Act)

Guido's Song (Raul Julia, Nine)

Follies Bergeres (Lilliane Montevecchi, Raul Julia, Stephanie Cotsirilos, Nine)

Only With You (Raul Julia, Nine)

What A Guy (Bernadette Peters, The Goodbye Girl)

Don't Look Now (John Lithgow, Sweet Smell Of Success)

Pretty Women (Len Cariou, Edmund Lyndeck, Sweeney Todd)

Magic To Do (Patina Miller, Company, Pippin)

Bread (Ensemble, The Baker's Wife)

All For The Best (Hunter Parrish, Wallace Smith, Godspell)

Simple Joys (Patina Miller, Pippin)

What is This Feeling? (Idina Menzel, Kristen Chenoweth, Wicked)

Mein Herr (Liza Minnelli, Cabaret)

Sing Happy (Liza Minnelli, Flora The Red Menace)

Bye Bye Blackbird (Liza Minnelli, Liza With A Z)

Opening Doors (Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along)

Good Thing Going (Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along)

Franklin Shepard Inc. (Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along)

Our Time (Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez, Company, Merrily We Roll Along)