Playlist For June 10, 2018: Get off my stage!

 And the nominees are...Dear lord. I can't. Or more to the point, I refuse. Songs of the Sponge. Teenage angst. Ice princesses with super powers. In true "get off my lawn" grump, I am putting my tap-shoed foot down and (almost) refusing to play selections from 3/4 of the nominees for this year's Best Musical. Take your pirates and your txting and your Olafs and go see 'em yourself. Leave me here with a sexy Shaloub, those balletic Lenk-y arms, a plate of falafel, and the music of David Yazbek's The Band's Visit and I will be just fine, thank you. Yes, that's my pick, but I fear it won't win.

It's a small, simple, no smoke OR mirrors kinda show. No huge Jerry Hermanesque/15 choruses/with glockenspiel finale. It's quiet and America usually hates quiet. They paid their money, they want streamers and explosions and unison singing and drippy gowns and kick lines. So this little show may be way too under-volumed in too many ways to take the Gold. Too bad, because it's lovely, with a message that this country needs badly RIGHT NOW.

HOWEVER...along with all that Tony drama, I'll fill in the musical gaps with The Good, The Better and The Best. (I would do a Good, Bad and Ugly show, but not a lot of Ugly songs on Broadway...wait...), and past Tony winners, like Evan and Fun Home and of course Hamilton. And then there's my continued snark at the present shows, mortaring it all together, as usual.

I will watch the Tonys and throw stuff at the screen. :)


Answer Me (Adam Kantor, Company, The Band's Visit)
God, That's Good! (Ken Jennings, Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, Ensemble,
      Sweeney Todd)
It Was Good Enough For Grandma (Celeste Holm, Bloomer Girl)
Good Girls Go To Heaven (Sally Kellerman, Breakfast At Tiffany's)
Being Good (Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby!)
Good Times Are Here To Stay (Tamara Long, Sally Stark, Company,
      Dames At Sea)
Please Don't Make Me Be Good (Karen Ziemba, Fifty Million Frenchmen)
Good Thing Going (Vanessa Williams, Sondheim On Sondheim)
Something Good (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)
For The First Time In Forever (Patti Murin, Caissie Levy, Frozen)
Meet The Plastics (Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, Kate Rockwell,
      Mean Girls)
Poor Pirates (Jon Rua, errant "Pirates", SpongeBob Square Pants)
The Beat Of Your Heart (Andrew Polk, Ensemble, The Band's Visit)
Omar Sharif (Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit)
Papi Hears The Ocean (Etai Benson, The Band's Visit)
The Concert (Instrumental, The Band's Visit)
Itgara/Something Different (Tony Shaloub, Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit)
There Must Be Something Better Than Love (Pearl Bailey, Arms And The
      Girl)
There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This (Helen Gallagher, Thelma
      Oliver, Gwen Verdon, Sweet Charity)
High Is Better Than Low (Mary Martin, James O'Connor,  Jennie)
Rich Is Better/Just For The Moment (Fran Stevens, Widows,
      How Now, Dow Jones)
Better With A Man (Jefferson Mayes, A Gentleman's Guide To Love
      And Murder)
Waving Through A Window (Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen)
Flying Away (Sydney Lucas, Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs, Fun Home)
Wait For It (Leslie Odom Jr., Ensemble, Hamilton)
The Best Thing For You (Ethel Merman, Call Me Madam)
My Best Girl (Frankie Michaels, Angela Lansbury, Mame)
The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing (Jeffry Denman, Meredith
      Patterson, Irving Berlin's White Christmas)
The Best Of Times (George Hearn, Gene Barry, Company, La Cage Aux
      Folles)