Playlist For January 2, 2022: And some poor suckers are starving to death!

Alive out there? Surviving the holidays? Some Broadway shows didn't, so if you're vertical, breathing, and pain-free...Huzzah! Frankly, I'm exhausted from all the COVID conversations I had over the last 2 weeks/2 years(!); it always seems to be the star of every show. (I used to be the star. Well, partly.) Now it's all focused on You Know Who. 

 

Harold Lloyd, not just a silent movie star, but a Christmas Tree Nut

who kept this splendiferous version up all year. 

 So it was another quiet non-event around here. I had to eat that fruitcake all by myself. Well, it wasn't going to eat itself, nor was that eggnog going to disappear without me trying my best. (I checked my arteries at the door.)  BUT a couple more slurps and I may just have to say "Uncle". (Now where did THAT saying come from?)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_Uncle)

 

Supposedly, if you leave this thing til March,

you can use it as a doorstop. 

Meanwhile, we gots to LIVE...and live high. So that's our theme this Sunday: It's the "I Got Life Edition", featuring (of course) Hair, Fiddler, Oliver, Show Boat, Bye Bye Birdie...stuff from all over the Broadway Map, from Anetevka to Natchez! Plus a good share of tunes from Hadestown, our usual cast of divas, and pithy/possibly informative chat from me. 

And ANOTHER meanwhile...have a Happy New Year, and crossed fingers for better health, travel, socializing, and a good dose of HOPE in 2022. Live High! 

 

Life Is (Lorraine Serabian, Zorba)

To Life (Zero Mostel, Ensemble, Fiddler On The Roof)

Life Is So Peculiar (Ensemble, Five Guys Named Moe)

Half As Big As Life (Jerry Orbach, Promises, Promises)

Life With Harold (Emily Skinner, The Full Monty)

The Glamorous Life (Audra McDonald)

Life Upon The Wicked Stage (Louise Parker, Show Boat)

This Is The Life (Billy Daniels, Sammy Davis Jr., Golden Boy)

Once In A Lifetime (Anthony Newley, Stop The World I Want To Get Off)

Not For The Life Of Me (Sutton Foster, Thoroughly Modern Millie)

It's A Fine Life (Georgia Brown, Ensemble, Oliver!)

A New Life (Linda Eder, Jekyll & Hyde)

A Lot Of Living To Do (Dick Gautier, Bye Bye Birdie)

Larger Than Life (Evan Pappas, My Favorite Year)

Where Is The Life That Late I Led? (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kiss Me Kate)

I Got Life (Gavin Creel, Hair)

Circle Of Life (Tsidii Le Loka, Ensemble, Lion King)

Road To Hell (Chris Sullivan, Company, Hadestown)

Wait For me (Chris Sullivan, Damon Duanno, Hadestown)

Promises (Nabiyah Be, Damon Duanno, Hadestown)

Road To Hell II (Chris Sullivan, Hadestown)

Waiting For Life (La Chanze, Once On This Island)

No Life (Dana Ivey, Charles Kimbrough, Sunday In The Park With George)

The Colors Of My Life (Jim Dale, Barnum)

There's A Lull In My Life (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)

Another Life (Betty Buckley, Story Songs)

Another Life (Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges Of Madison County)

In My Own Lifetime (Hal Linden, The Rothschilds)

Story Of My Life (John Tartaglia, Ensemble, Shrek The Musical)

The Rhythm Of Life (Arnold Soboloff, Ensemble, Sweet Charity)

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (Tim Curry, Michael McGrath, Spamalot)

 

Playlist For Dec. 26th, 2021: Gritty. Cheese. Turkish. A Delight!

Back from Philly. Man, I love city energy! Didn't realize how much I missed Grit. (And Gritty! Who is now also a tree ornament. :)) I really think I'm meant to retire to a metropolis. No car, no driving in snow, no pesky suicidal varmints running into your vehicle, no car insurance (do I hate cars?)...and plenty of cheesesteaks (probably cheese CAKES, as well). Actually, Pat's and Geno's should sell cakes along with their "steaks", am I right? I'd buy 'em! 

 

Three blocks from my daughter's digs...Pat's!

And below, the reason I went to P-town:

My daughter's graduation (okay, YES, from Clown School).

 

Broadway's had a challenging couple of weeks, starting-then-stopping performances, agog with break-through Covid cases. Hamilton closed til post Xmas...Doubtfire's been off and on (mostly "off" if you've read the reviews), and Company's crazed with myriad mishaps, including food poisoning, broken fingers and falling glass? Stay home and listen to radio, whydoncha? It's (probably) safer!

Meanwhile, I'm typing this BEFORE Christmas, but of course you'll be hearing this playlist AFTER, so I'm bidding a fond adieu to all that Xmas Music. It works for awhile, but like treacle tarts and Turkish Delight, it can melt your molars (or tear off your caps, pick one) after too many "doses." So this Sunday, it'll be ONWARD to new days, new windows, trying to remember (did I actually CLOSE that new window?), "Walking" (yup, gotta get in those 10 million steps in 2022, right?), and a Champagne Chaser. Sort of a multi-themed show, just because that's my brain on Cheesesteaks.

Straight from that "wardrobe": Turkish Delight.

Looks harmless enough, right? Don't be fooled.

 So let this be my Happy New Year to all you Broadway-philes out there. May we stay vertical (and let the stats go horizontal), and thin-ISH, and moving. Keep a mouthful of teeth (for steaks and cakes), and positive (in the GOOD way). XO 

There's A New Day Coming (Karen Ziemba, Brooks Ashmanskas, Ensemble, Bullets Over Broadway)

Everything Old Is New Again (Max Von Essen, Call Me Old Fashioned)

It's A New World (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)

Open A New Window (Angela Lansbury, Mame)

My New Celebrity Is You (Jessica Molaskey, Dave Frishberg, At The Algonquin)

Let's Start The New Year Right (Bing Crosby, Holiday Inn)

The Perfect Year (Patti LuPone, Kevin Anderson, Sunset Boulevard)

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Harry Connick, Jr., When My Heart Finds Christmas)

Walking Happy (Norman Wisdom, Louise Troy, Company, Walking Happy)

(Walking) Among My Yesterdays (Robert Goulet, The Happy Time)

Love Walked In (Bobby Short, Bobby Short Is K-RA-ZY For Gershwin) 

I Don't Want To Walk Without You (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)

When I Go Out Walking With My Baby (John Davidson, Kathryn Crosby, State Fair)

Cakewalk Your Lady (Joseph Webster, Ensemble, The Coffee Club Orchestra, St. Louis Woman)

The Lambeth Walk (Robert Lindsay, Emma Thompson, Me And My Girl)

Double Talk Walk (Instrumental, City Of Angels)

Walk Like A Man (John Lloyd Young, Ensemble, Jersey Boys)

Walking In The Rain (Anika larsen, Jarrod Spector, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical)

You Walk With Me (Jason Danieley, Romain Fruge, The Full Monty)

If He Walked Into My Life (Angela Lansbury, Mame)

Try To Remember (Jerry Orbach, The Fantastiks)

I Remember It Well (Maurice Chevalier, Hermoine Gingold, Gigi)

I Remember That (Clarke Thorell, Andrea Burns, Saturday Night)

Fancy Forgetting (Ruth Altman, Eric Berry, Paul McGrane And His Bearcats Orchestra, The Boy Friend)

Something To Remember You By (Leo Reisman's Orchestra, Vocals By Frank Luther)

I Don't Remember You (Robert Goulet, The Happy Time)

It's Today (Angela Lansbury, Mame)

The Night They Invented Champagne (Karin Wolfe, Daniel Massey, Maria Karnilova, Gigi)

Drinkin' Shoes (Jim Wann, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, John Foley, Pump Boys And Dinettes)

Champagne (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo, In The Heights)

The Last Night Of The Year (Tom Wopat, Consider It Swung)

Playlist for Dec. 19, 2021: Broadway (and Hollywood) Christmas (and Hanukkah)!

Annnnnnd ....I'm off! Jetting away from the Hinterlands of Upstate New York to Urban Concrete, for a few days of Family Momentous Eventing. So this Sunday's Holiday Edition will be of the pre-recorded nature.

But pre-recorded fah-la-la-ing can be just as much fun, right? Here's hoping you don't miss me one drop! Enjoy a nog, wrap up cozy, and flick on that color wheel (remember those?) aimed at your silver aluminum tree...and sing along.

Just save me a piece of figurative "fruit cake", cuz I'll be back on December 26th for an early New Year's Eve-ish take on 2 On The Aisle. And we can toast (hopefully) "The Perfect Year"....:))))) 

 

Playlist For December 12, 2021: Naked Bagels

I don't need 50 mph gusts to tell me which way the wind is blowing, okay? I'm sitting here on a Monday night and it's howling us into 2022, as fast as its huffs and puffs can get us there. A speed bump for Christmas, maybe, and then we're out of another (very) wacky year. Or are we...?

And talk about wacky! I just read an awful story in the NYTimes: There is (you better sit down for this!) a Cream Cheese Shortage. Quel horror, right? All the schmearers in NYC are now facing a deli-dairy supply chain fiasco! No veggie, no strawberry, no olive, no PLAIN? 

 

“This is bad. This is very bad,” said Pedro Aguilar, a manager at the Pick-a-Bagel chain, which has several Manhattan locations. On Friday afternoon, Mr. Aguilar said he had only enough cream cheese to last until Monday."

 Until Monday??? This makes me glad that I'm "far away from New York Town", so I don't have to personally witness empty cases and naked bagels. Man. Next thing you know, no chocolate cheesecake at John's, no pastrami, no tongue??

To read the whole gory story (I can't without crying into my loxs): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/04/nyregion/cream-cheese-shortage-nyc-bagels.html

However, and on a much lighter/low fat note: We've almost made it to the 2 On The Aisle Holiday Edition, which will happen on December 19th! So there remains one more Sunday playlist to come up with. And for that we'll return to our Composer/Lyricist Series. Does that sound dull? Does that sound hum and drum? I assure you it won't be, because we'll get to hummmm along with Frank (that's Loesser, and maybe even More-sir) and Arthur and Howard (that's the Schwartz and the Dietz team, n'est pas?), which'll (as in Walter Winch'll) mean Tinhorns, Band Wagons, Minks to hollanderize, Ashmolean Societies to march to, and Shirley Booth. Who knew Shirl could sing (who knew Marlon could either)(He couldda been a con-tenor? Hah!)? And if she actually couldn't, who cares? She was (mostly) adorable. 

 

Shirley Booth in The Matchmaker, the precursor to Jerry Herman's Mame...

...and above, a younger Shirley contemplating the lack of cream cheese at Esse.

So trust me, Broadway Christmas is coming. Just wait a week. Sit on your hands or twiddle your thumbs (neither of which will be schmeared with the CC you yearn for), and let's enjoy some classic composers, til then!

 

Fugue For Tinhorns (Frank Loesser, Milton DeLugg, Sue Bennett, An Evening With Frank Loesser)

Fugue For Tinhorns (Walter Bobbie, J.K. Simmons, Timothy Shew, Guys And Dolls)

Take Back Your Mink (Faith Prince, Ensemble, Guys And Dolls)

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

Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat (Stubby Kaye, Ensemble, Guys And Dolls)

The Boys In The Backroom (Marlene Dietrich, Destry Rides Again)

They're Either Too Young Or Too Old (Bette Davis, Thank Your Lucky Stars)

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

Traveling Light (Frank Loesser, An Evening With Frank Loesser)

Wonderful Copenhagen (Danny Kaye, Hans Christian Andersen)

The New Ashmolean Marching Society And Student Conservatory Band (Ensemble, Where's Charley?)

The Company Way (Robert Morse, Sammy Smith, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)

Rosemary (Robert Morse, Bonnie Scott, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)

Brotherhood Of Man (Robert Morse, Claudette Sutherland, Sammy Smith, Company, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) 

The Most Happy Fella (Robert Weede, Company, The Most Happy Fella)

Standing On The Corner (Shorty Long,The Most Happy Fella)

How Beautiful The Days (Jo Sullivan, Robert Weede, The Most Happy Fella)

Sposalizio (Arthur Rubin, Rico Froelich, John Henson, The Most Happy Fella)

When You're Far Away From New York Town (Jack DeLon, Jennie)

Before I Kiss The World Goodbye (Mary Martin, Jennie)

Is That My Prince? (Shirley Booth, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn)

Make The Man Love Me (Marcia Van Dyke, Johnny Johnston, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn)

I'd Rather Wake Up By Myself (Shirley Booth, By The Beautiful Sea)

By Myself (Renee Zellweger, Judy)

Hang Up (Mae Barnes, By The Beautiful Sea)

Growing Pains (Jessica Molaskey, Make Believe)

Dancing In The Dark (Victor Young and his Orchestra, vocals Scrappy Lambert)

Paree (Beatrice Lillie, At Home Abroad)

Alone Together (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall)

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

I Love Luisa (Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)

I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan (Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, The Band Wagon)

Louisiana Hayride (Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)

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

Playlist For December 5, 2021: Rise!

Everyone and his brother have been posting about Sondheim...so perhaps I shouldn't add to the Overwhelm. The only thing I can say is that, with a couple of exceptions like Peter Pan and Hello Dolly, Sondheim is what turned me into a Broadway nut. And thanks also to him, I don't fall for the bells and whistles, the spectacular smoke and mirrors type of Broadway (that means Phantom and Cats and Miss Saigon's helicopter). Yes, I have been known to thrill at those 17 extra choruses of Jerry Herman's and his glockenspiels, but given the choice, I much prefer emotionally ambivalent, neurotic, smart lyrics, and melodies that you HAVE to listen to several times to appreciate, let alone sing back. That's Pacific Overtures and Sunday In The Park and Merrily. 

 

 

My first Sondheim musical was Company. I'd just moved to New York City and despite living with a boyfriend, and being part of a new-to-town "gang," I spent plenty of time alone in that Hell's Kitchen apartment, delving into somebody else's LP collection. And there I found "Company".  The first time I heard "The Ladies Who Lunch", I didn't even understand it. Who the hell were these ladies? Why was Joanne so pissed off at them? And what about Mahler? (They mentioned him once, and then...? :) This was 1978 so I was way late to the Sondheim game, but then ...but then...A FRIEND (Richard Pugh, a lyric tenor, long since passed) got a part in the chorus in the original production of Sweeney (he also understudied the part of Beadle Bamford!). We (the new-to-NYC rookies, fresh out of SUNYs) went about 17 times. Over and over. We prided ourselves on knowing all the lyrics. We'd quote Sondheim anecdotes over East Side brunches (when $5 got you Eggs Benedict and 2 Mimosas!). He wrote flops and lost money and seemed emotionally scarred. We could relate to that! We smugly referred to him as "Steve." Like we knew him and he knew us. Sondheim connected us to New York City and starting out and screwing up, and I felt as close to being understood (by a Broadway composer?) as I ever would. 

 

 

I ran the Central Park reservoir to strains of "Someone In A Tree" (it's the ripple, not the sea). I detoured thru Grand Central singing "Another Hundred People". I now understood "The Ladies Who Lunch". And cried thru the first act of Sunday In The Park, knowing for the first time that I had just married a man I didn't love. !?!?! Stephen, you mind reader. You heart reader.

I'm not going to find a piano bar to cry in. Or join Lin in Times Square to sing his anthems. This is too personal. But I can salute/mourn/remember (and remember the old me) with his music everyday. Like Sunday. Not an ordinary Sunday. :)

 

Side By Side By Side (Ensemble, Side By Side By Sondheim)

Company (Elaine Stritch, Barbara Barrie, Charles Kimbrough, George Coe, Beth Howland, Steve Elmore, Charles Braswell, Company)

Another Hundred People (Pamela Myers, Company)

Being Alive (Dean Jones, Company)

Lovely (Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, 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)

Finishing The Hat (Mandy Patinkin, Sunday In The Park With George)

We Do Not Belong Together (Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, Sunday In The Park With George)

Take Me To The World (Charmian Carr, Anthony Perkins, Evening Primrose)

Loving You (Donna Murphy, Passion)

Anyone Can Whistle (Lee Remick, Anyone Can Whistle)

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

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

A Little Priest (Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, Sweeney Todd) 

Johanna (Victor Garber, Sweeney Todd)

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

Poems (Isao Sato, Sab Shimono, Pacific Overtures)

A Bowler Hat (Isao Sato, Pacific Overtures)

Our Time (Lonny Price, Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, Merrily We Roll Along)  A Good Thing Going (Lonny Price, Merrily We Roll Along) 

A Good Thing Going (Lonny Price, Merrily We Roll Along) 

Not A Day Goes By (Bernadette Peters, Merrily We Roll Along)

I Remember (Charmian Carr, Evening Primrose)

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

No One Is Alone (Bernadette Peters, Into The Woods) 

Broadway Baby (Elaine Stritch, Follies)

Losing My Mind (Barbara Cook, Follies)

Move On (Bernadette Peters, Sunday In The Park With George)

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

 

Playlist For November 28, 2021: The Leftovers Edition

First off, hope you all had the kind of Thanksgiving you wanted.

With: 

a.) Relatives

b.) No relatives (often easier)

c.) Turkey, tofurkey, dump cake, jello molds (mold?), and/or kale au gratin. (Pick 2. Or 7.)

d.) An on-your-own/feet-up/old-movie-binge kinda holiday, with popcorn or pizza or popcorn pizza. (It MUST exist, right?) 

Yup, both kinds exist.

Pizza Popcorn 

ANNNND

Popcorn Pizza.

 

All good. I just hope it was of your OWN choosing, and that you got the perfect amount of relaxation shoe-horned in there somehow. 

I know I did. Like a bit of alllll the above, plus some Xmas planning, cuz that'll be here in about 47 minutes. Plus time for flossing out the popcorn. 

And speaking of leftover kernels, this week's 2 On The Aisle edition will face the rapidly-becoming-questionable LEFTOVERS stockpiled in your fridge. Which gives me a great excuse to play FOOD songs. (Leftovers? you counter. What leftovers? They're all a.) eaten, b.) chucked, c.) given away to Uncle Fester. There is nothing left-for-over!) See, I assume a lot. And yes, it's a total excuse to play Food, Glorious Food songs dealing with Turkey (Lurkey) Spinach (Gotta Eat Your's!), Bananas, Clams, Cakes, and Candy. Yup, they're all grist for the Broadway mill, both classic and absurd.

So listen"fully"! After that, we'll rejoin our composer/lyricist series (I promise), go on diets...and then Christmas Broadway, of course. Then a whole new year. Definitely hoping for brand new Broadway in my stocking. :)

 

Overture/Food, Glorious Food (Ensemble, Oliver!)

Turkey Lurkey Time (Donna McKechnie, Baayork Lee, Margo Sappington, Ensemble, Promises, Promises)

That's The Way It Happens (Isabel Bigley, Bill Hayes, Me And Juliet)

This Was A Real Nice Clambake (Renee Fleming, Company, Carousel)

Apples, Peaches And Cherries (Peggy Lee) 

Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries (Walt Harrah & Friends) 

The Pineapple Song (Lotte Lenya, Jack Gilford, Cabaret)

Two Ladies In De Shade Of De Banana Tree (Enid Mosier, House Of Flowers)

Spinach (Meredith Patterson, Jeffrey Denman, Face The Music)

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Matthew Broderick, Kelli O'Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It)

You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby (Jack Haley, Alice Faye, Shirley Temple, Poor Little Rich Girl)

Cheese Nips (Brynn O'Malley, Santino Fontana, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater)

The Ladies Who Lunch (Patti LuPone, Don't Monkey With Broadway)

Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm (Bonnie Scott, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)

What's Inside (Jessie Mueller, Waitress)

What Baking Can Do (Jessie Mueller, Waitress)

The Cake I Had (Mary Louise Wilson, Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens)

Slappin' The Cakes On Me (Dave Frishberg, At The Algonquin)

The Candy Man (Christian Borle, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory)

Beautiful Candy (Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ensemble, Carnival)

No More Candy (Barbara Cook, She Loves Me)

Candy (Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford, The Pied Pipers)

Hard Candy Christmas (Pamela Blair, "The Girls", The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas)

Vanilla Ice Cream (Laura Benanti, She Loves Me)

Honey Bun (Kelli O'Hara, South Pacific)

Let Me Be Your Sugar Baby (Ensemble, Sugar Babies)

Bruce (Bertie Carvel, Jack Broderick, Matilda)

Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee (Enric Madriguera And His Orchestra)

40 Cups Of Coffee (Ella Mae Morse)

Tea For Two (Roger Rathburn, Susan Watson, No, No, Nanette)

When I Take My Sugar To Tea (The Boswell Sisters)

Yes, We Have No Bananas (Company, Bullets Over Broadway)

Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch (The Four Tops)

 

 

 

Pass the mashies!

All the "Broadway Best" for your Thanksgiving Holiday!

 The beginning of the big holiday month (plus) of celebrating and gratefulness and social-ness and all things PARTY. Hope you and yours have a wonderful time (with or without blunderbusses)!

Barbara Nichols!

Bette Davis...that bird has be stuffed!

Joan and her chafing dishes...

Angela Green (who?)

Lois Lane, wait...I mean Noel Neill!

Saluting, on point, with a gun...Vera, this is nuts! 

No clue who these dames are...thoughts???

Playlist For Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021: ThanksGIMME Time!

First off, Happy Thanksgiving...but of course you know I can't do a sappy ThanksGIVING show, right? Plus how many Thanks-y Broadway songs are there? Scrooge has one. Annie, maybe a half. There's a "Thank Heaven" in Gigi for Alfred or Maurice to warble. And Bob Hope/Shirley Ross have that "Thanks for the memories" going on...but other than that? Not much in terms of Thanksgiving Carols. Somebody really dropped the ball on this holiday. It's a turkey.

So we're going to drop the THANKS entirely, and just do GIVE. And GIMME. And GOT. How's that for carving a new theme, when the one you're handed is half-baked, or more appropriately, half-roasted? Plenty of Gimmes and Gots on Broadway, right? More than one 2-hour show can handle. I might have to do a Part 2.

 

And BTW, what are you doing on Thanksgiving? A small masked gathering? A Zoomed, virtually-shared feast? A brown-bagged "pick up and get outta here" spatch-cocked version? Or the whole shootin' match, with 50 plus relatives, risk-it-all jello molds and corn casseroles? Do tell. But don't really. I'll probably be a.) trying out a recipe for vegan-friendly Mushroom Wellington, or b.) phoning in a pizza order (hold the cheese, hold the pepperoni, double up on the kale). Definitely watching "A Miracle On 34th Street", re-watching Only Murders In The Building (nice Broadway references there), and maybe Diehard. To get me in the holidaze daze. :)

 

I HAVE ordered a blue aluminum Christmas Tree. A short one, nothing too too, but  I've always wanted one. If I can't go somewhere exotic to celebrate, I'll save thousands of dollars, spend $27.50 on a tacky glow-in-the-dark tannenbaum, some Paula's Donuts ornaments (yes, I have a vision) (see Cheektawaga, NY), and call it a day. The ornaments may double as earrings, so it's a win win there! :) 

Meanwhile, GIVE a hoot (and a side dish), GET a whole lotta love back, and enjoy your tribe, whomever/wherever they might be! XO 'til then.

 

 

Gimme Gimme (Sutton Foster, Thoroughly Modern Millie)

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Max Von Essen, I'm Old Fashioned)

Give Them What They Want (John Lithgow, Gregory Ybara, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me (Zach Braff, Betsy Wolfe, Bullets Over Broadway)

The Prince Is Giving A Ball (Ensemble, Cinderella)

Give A Little Whistle (Cliff Edwards, Dickie Jones, Pinocchio)

Give The Little Lady A Great Big Hand (Elaine Stritch, Goldilocks)

Give A Man Enough Rope (Keith Carradine, The Will Rogers Follies)

Something's Gotta Give (Jack Jones)

Give Him The Ooh-Lah-Lah (Sutton Foster, Take Me To The World)

Give It All You Got (Susan Johnson, Ensemble, Oh Captain!)

Give A Little, Get A Little (Dolores Gray, Two On The Aisle)

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Judy Garland, Judy In Love)

If I Could Give You More (Harry Connick, Jr., Blue Light, Red Light)

I'd Give It All For You (Brooks Ashmanskas, Andrea Burns, Songs For A New World) 

Give Up (A Little Friendly Advice)(Moya Angela, Margo Seibert, In Transit)

You Got Me (Nancy Walker, Betty Comden, Cris Alexander, Adolph Green, On The Town)

I'm All I've Got (Michele Lee, Bravo Giovanni)

You Gotta Look Out For Yourself (Tim Walton, Ensemble, City Of Angels)

I've Still Got My Health (Ethel Merman, Panama Hattie)

You've Got That Thing (Tam Mutu, Scarlet Strallen, The New Yorkers)

What Has She Got (Faith Prince, Redhead)

I've Gotta Crow (Mary Martin, Peter Pan)

You've Got Possibilities (Linda Lavin, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman)

I've Got You To Lean On (Angela Lansbury, Anyone Can Whistle)

I Got It From Agnes (Tom Lehrer, Songs & More Songs By Tom Lehrer)

The Man That Got Away (Judy Garland)

I Got Rhythm (Ethel Merman, Girl Crazy)

Got A Bran' New Suit (Nanette Fabray, Fred Astaire, The Band Wagon)

Ya Got Trouble (Robert Preston, The Music Man)

Use What You Got (Sam Harris, The Life)

You Gotta Get A Gimmick (Alison Fraser, Lenora Nemetz, Marilyn Caskey, Gypsy)

Got To Be There (Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five)

 

 

Playlist For Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021: Sunrise, Sunset, and Schmeers

So this past Sunday, we beamed to Paris. If you missed it, it's hiding in the Jazz90.1 audio vault, along with leftover croissant crumbs and my dirty espresso cup.  Just my way of getting away from it all, musically and frugally. But since then, I've become a little obsessed with fantasy travel plans...

 

So Madeira. It ain't just wine anymore.

 I saw a drool-worthy YouTube vid about mountain biking in Madeira (Talk about a Fantasy Island!). And then a lllloooonnnngggg bike tour skirting the lochs of Scotland. Those images get me hyperventilating (and not because of Nessie). Maybe I've done Paris a-plenty, and it's time to break up with and out of the been-there-done-that SAFE mode. Solo travel calls. Will I pick up? 

 

Nice head (and neck) shot, Ness!

 

Dream on? Or put my money down on a transatlantic flight!?!? 

And what about NYC, to see one of those finally-opened new shows? Six. Mrs. Doubtfire. The new Music Man and Company? Well, thanks to a recently-tweaked bike trail, one can now bike there (as well as in the other direction, to the peaks of the Adirondacks!). Guess I'd have to wait for the spring time change/warmer weather to do that, but it would be sort of fun to eschew Jet Blue and pedal back to my 2nd hometown. BTB...Bike To Broadway! And then I could rendezvous with old friends who I haven't seen in, geez, what?... almost 2 years? And have a real bagel mit schmeer. And all the other no-gots-at-Wegman's digestibles I've "lusted" for!  Breathe the exhaust. Walk fast.

 Meanwhile, here we are. In THIS zip code. Where we've become aces at making the best of things. So we'll try from Morning til Night, 110%, to remain juiced, vertical, flexible... and face the music/dance. And that's our theme, Morning til Night, half and half, with Annie Get Your Gun, Shrek, Anything Goes, Phantom, all things classic (and few arguably NOT!). 

Listen in, and get peppy, perky, and plan-y for 2022! Holidaze are coming, and with them, a whole new year to dream up. :)

I Got The Sun In The Morning (And The Moon At Night)(Bernadette Peters, Annie, Get Your Gun)

Good Morning (Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Singin' In The Rain)

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning! (Alfred Drake, Oklahoma!)

Good Morning, Good Day (Zachary Levi, Laura Benanti, Gavin Creel, Jane Krakowski, Nicholas Barasch, She Loves Me)

Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning (Irving Berlin, Ensemble, This Is The Army)

Coffee In The Morning, Kisses In The Night (The Gus Arheim Orchestra, featuring Jimmy Newell)

Cooking Breakfast For The One I Love (Annette Hanshaw)

Good Morning Baltimore (Marissa Jaret Winokur, Hairspray)

Dawn (John Lloyd Young, Ensemble, Jersey Boys)

Morning Person (Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical)

Your Good Morning (Fia Karin, Lester James, Parade)

Early In The Mornin' (Jerry Dixon, Doug Eskew, Milton Craig Nealy, Ensemble, Five Guys Named Moe)

My Own Morning (Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby!)

Each Tomorrow Morning (Angela Lansbury, Dear World)

But In The Morning, No (Julie Wilson, William Roy)

Morning Glow (John Rubenstein, Pippin)

Tain't A Fit Night Out (Ensemble, Bullets Over Broadway)

A Lovely Night (Julie Andrews, Cinderella)

Night Of My Nights (Richard Kiley, Kismet)

Night And Day (Ginger Rogers)

You And The Night And The Music (Enric Madriguera And His Orchestra, featuring Tony Sacco)

Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland (Judy Garland, In The Good Old Summertime) 

Seven Drunken Nights (The Dubliners)

The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Lebo M., The Lion King)

Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale (Ilene Woods, Cinderella)

Nightlife (Anita Gillette, All American)

All Through The Night (Hal Linden, Barbara Lang, Anything Goes)

Coffe Shop Nights (David Hyde Pierce, Jill Paice, Curtains)

The Music Of The Night (Michael Crawford, Phantom Of The Opera)

Tonight (Jay And The Americans, She Cried)

Tonight Quintet (Company, West Side Story)

Goodnight, My Love (Shirley Temple, Stowaway)

 

 

Playlist For November 7, 2021: Chante-moi de Paris!

Never got to Paris this year. Never got to Paris last year. But lucky me, I have gotten to Paris several times in past years, so at least, in these topsy-turvy times, I have memories of Bateaux Mouches, Le Metro, museums, cathedrals, Le Train Bleu, duck confit, and several glasses of a very decent Bordeaux. The one thing, btw, that you simply MUST do if you find yourself in Paris is to get a haircut! Even if you can't say more than bonjour and merci and c'est tres bon, just drink a glass of vin rouge to marshal your courage, march into a salon, and make scissor motions with your hand. Voila, une coupe de cheveux formidable! Trust me. Take the leap.

Worried! Hair before...

And hair after! :)

But not this year. I think soon we'll be jetting (if cautiously) to other continents, but meanwhile, we have The Paris Edition of 2 On The Aisle. All things French, from Gigi to Follies, from Amelie to The Moderns, from Maurice to Edith to Lucienne to Yves! Just close your eyes and you'll be transported to the banks of the Seine. Or you'll find yourself reclining in the Tuileries, chomping away (stylishly, of course) on a fresh baguette or macarons, all the while artfully scarfed (scarved?). Gotta wear a scarf. 

 

 Dreamy, flippant, sad, goofy, and yearn-y French tunes. I know, some are definitely not Broadway, but they ARE the best! Allow me to veer into another "musical" genre and join me for 2 hours chocked full of Les Chanteuses. Deux chaises pour vous, dans l'allee!

Je Suis Swing (Tatiana Eva Marie, Avalon Jazz Band)

La Valse d'Amelie (Instrumental, Amelie)

Paris Sera Toujours Paris (Maurice Chevalier)

Do You Want To See Paris? (Howard McGillin, Kim Criswell, Karen Ziemba, Ensemble, Fifty Million Frenchmen)

Paris Loves Lovers (Don Ameche, Hildegard Knef, Silk Stockings)

Paris Is Paris Again (Alfred Drake, Gigi)

Ah, Paree! (Lillian Montevecchi, Follies)

Gay Paree (Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria)

Shimmy Like They Do In Paree (Kevin Early, Death Takes A Holiday)

Parlez-Moi D'Amour (Lucienne Boyer)

J'y Suis Jamais Alle (Instrumental, Amelie From Montmartre)

Sous Le Ciel De Paris (Yves Montand)

Besame Mucho (Tatiana Eva Marie, Avalon Jazz Band)

I Got Rhythm (Gene Kelly, An American In Paris)

Dites-Moi (Ensemble, South Pacific)

Times Are Hard For Dreamers (Savvy Crawford, Amelie)

Soir De Fete (Instrumental, Amelie)

Le Moulin (Instrumental, Amelie)

Valse Millieu (Clive Revill, Company, Irma La Douce)

The Last Time I Saw Paris (Noel Coward)

Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup (Django Reinhardt, Jean Sablon)

You're In Paris (Susan Watson, Ben Franklin In Paris)

In Paris And In Love (Zizi Jeanmaire, David Atkinson, The Girl In Pink Tights)

Paris Through The Window (Lonny Price, Ray Wills, David Hibbard, A Class Act)

Paris La Nuit/Selavy (Charlelie Couture, The Moderns)

C'est Si Bon (Eartha Kitt)

C'est Magnifique (Lilo, Peter Cookson, Can-Can)

Si Tu N'Etais Pas La (Frehel, Amelie)

La Valse Moderne (Charlelie Couture, The Moderns)

Les Feuilles Mortes (Yves Montand)

Hier Encore (Charles Aznavour)

La Valse A Mille Temps (Davine, Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris)

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Edith Piaf)

Les Jours Tristes (Instrumental, Amelie) 

 

 

Playlist For October 31, 2021: Uh...

 Okay...so the sun will come out tomorrow, right? Annie promised. But I think that tomorrow was yesterday. Becuz that star seems to be on hiatus this morning and the understudy hasn't shown up! (What are we paying them for??? UGH.)

It's a pros and cons sorta week. In the con "pile" we have:

1.) Cat is pre-diabetic and may have the kidneys of an octogenarian kid-ney-chall-enged type person. Well, that could be true of me as well. Treatment: A change in diet? Sacrifices to the gods? Film at 11.

Still imperious. Long may he reign!

 2.) Rain. Cold weather. Time change looming. Limited biking, and (surprise!) I did NOT reach my mileage goal (yet) for the year. If only I could fit in another 1,000 miles before Jan 1!!! (Who am I kidding?) 

 

Me at a cool bike shop. Writing down Huge Mileage Goals. Keep dreaming.

 Pro-wise:

1.) I have a HOME.

2.) I have food, heat, a car that runs, 2 bikes, a shed to pile crap in, 60 pairs of salt & pepper shakers, and thousands of earrings.

3.) I still have a live cat. Who still has an attitude. (My daughter calls him P.O.S., Piece Of Shit.)

4.) I'm seeing my daughter this weekend (yes, even with HER attitude, I still like her), and my son the following week (he turns 33, so I'm definitely feeling as old as dirt).

Which leads me to the Big Excuse: this Sunday's show will AGAIN be a recorded one. Because I'm running off to rendezvous with my Philly-based Progeny for the weekend. Then I promise to stick around, mend my cat, write new playlists, plan for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years...and then 2022! (New bike trip plans for next year are also afoot that will make those GOALS a reality. Dream on, McDuff.)

No clue what show will be aired this Sunday, but THANKS for giving it a try, and SPECIAL THANKS if you've donated to Jazz90.1's fall pledge drive. We're almost there, just need a smidge more, and then we can stop bugging/begging you for dinero. "See you" on Nov. 7th, for what I think will be a French Edition...ooh lah lah! :) 

Playlist For October 24, 2021: The Dough Also Rises (hopefully!)

Man, that was fun! A nice escape from Reality, if only for 48 hours. Civilized restaurants, a cozy hotel (my room actually had a fireplace in it...that worked!), lake views and lots of shopping potential. I love towns with shops that you can actually walk to. Stick the bumper-sticker-emblazoned Impreza hatchback in a lot, and walk into the boutique-laden village! Just my style. Plus pasta birthday dinners and Malbec and banana budino and very respectable onion rings. Win win.

 

In case the Budino reference puzzled you, see above. Insanely good.

 

 Requisite lake view pic. 7am today!

But hey, while I was away, our pledge drive did NOT end. Sad face. We're close to our $70,000 goal, but no cigar. Yet. So this is another Blockbuster Broadway Edition, with a lot of selections I usually play to egg you on to donate. Goodies from Gwen and Bob and Angela and Elaine. Big Spenders, Fruging Richies, Sondheims and Kanders and Adlers and Ebbs. PLUS that matching deal will be back on, so you can Double Donation Dough (referred to henceforth as DDD) by calling (or going online) during that 3-5pm 2OTA time slot on Oct. 24. And that day (talk about birthdays!) is actually my anniversary of being on-air at Jazz90.1! Ten years of Broadway Broadway Broadway (plus movie musicals and errant novelty additions when the mood strikes). Holy moly. You'd think I'd be better (and less terrified) by now, right? :) 

So tune in, call me (don't be afraid, you can...call me) or jump on Jazz901.org and give a whopping (or petite whopping) contribution, and then we can get back to JUST musicals, not me annoyingly begging for moola.

 

Me and Otto. :)

 

 Wilkommen (Joel Grey, Cabaret)

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

A Musical (Brad Oscar, Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten)

Who's Got The Pain? (Gwen Verdon, Eddie Philips, Damn Yankees)

Rich Man's Frug (Instrumental, Sweet Charity)

Steam Heat (Joyce Chittick, Ensemble, The Pajama Game)

Raining In My Heart (Bernadette Peters, Dames At Sea)

It's Raining On Prom Night (Carole Demas, Kathi Moss, Grease)

Soon It's Gonna Rain (Rita Gardner, Kenneth Nelson, The Fantasticks)

All I've Ever Known (Nabiyah Be, Damon Daunno, Hadestown)

Everything Changes (Jessie Mueller, Waitress) 

Stars And The Moon (Jessica Molaskey, Songs For A New World)

Pure Imagination (Barbra Streisand, Seth MacFarlane, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway)

Johanna (Bernadette Peters)

Someone To Fall Back On (Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes)

In The Heights (Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights)

For Forever (Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen)

The Worst Pies In London (Angela Lansbury, Sweeney Todd)

Losing My Mind (Barbara Cook, Follies)

The Ladies Who Lunch (Elaine Stritch, Company)

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

Big Spender (Ann Reinking, Ensemble, Fosse)

He Had It Coming (Ensemble, Chicago)

I'm Off!

I've decreed that this entire week (hell, entire month!) is for celebrating my birthday. One day is simply not enough. So I'm launching out of my zip code for, at the very least, a long weekend, which may or may not be a bike-able one (weather-wise), but c'est la effing vie!

If left to my own devices...(well, I'm sure this tastes just fine).

 

So that's my excuse. I won't be LIVE on air this coming Sunday (the 17th), and The Boss will be playing a pre-recorded 2OTA for your listening enjoyment. Not like I don't love spinnin' the Broadway platters for ya, but I just sorta wanted to reward myself with free time (in a hotel, by a lake, near creme brulee), and celebrate the fact that I am still vertical and above ground, having eked another year out this whole Life Thing. 

 

 I'll be back with a LIVE edition on October 24th, our last Sunday of the Fall Pledge Drive. Meanwhile, you can always do me a FAVOR and jump online to contribute while I'm away. What a great present that would be! :))))) Just go to Jazz901.org and make a small/medium/large contribution to a great station. THANKS and "see" you when I'm OLDER!

Playlist For October 10, 2021: Pumpkins and Piggy Banks

 

 Even tho the frost isn't on the pumpkin. Even tho the leaves are merely muted on the old sugar maple out in my backyard (I'd give foliage color a 4.5 out of 10 this year, unless it goes to 11). Even tho my sweaters remain firmly smushed and wrinkly (the opposite of irony!) in my dresser drawer, and I've yet to buy (and sample) that stale bag of candy corn. Even tho alllll those sure-fire signs are missing, it's Fall and time for the Jazz 90.1 Fall Pledge Drive! Whoo-hoo! (Note pushy enthusiasm. Note party-esque attitude. Note note.)

 

Ginger, flashing the coins!

So time to fling aside the composer/lyricist series we've got going, and play the comedic, the silly, the popular, and the blockbuster kinda Broadway, which will in turn enthuse and exhort you to join up, become a member, and/or just plain DONATE to a station that plays everything from Big Band to Fusion, Blues Old, Blues New, Blues Funky, and Blues Blue...to Computer talk, Sinatra, Standards, Jazz (both Smooth AND Chunky varieties!) and Broadway. 

Rob Linton (our infamous station manager) told us just recently (at our semi-annual meeting...appropriately zoomed, but mandatory) that something like 86% of the money we operate Jazz 90.1 on comes from listeners. Not the cruise along the Nile event. Not the underwriters. Not the concert gigs (when they CAN happen). Nope. LISTENERS do it, with their faithful donations. Incredible. Almost 50 years of running on contributions from people like you. It's a miracle, right? A virgin birth. From little nickel and dime supporters to an occasional "big fish", it's enough to keep the wolf from the (stage) door. 

 

More Ginger, this time with Lucy and Ann in Stage Door.

(And who knew she could play the uke? Ginger could do it ALL.)

 

So here's the deal: Call me on Sunday with that nickel! OR OR OR make an online donation during 2 On The Aisle, and make me feel all warm and fuzzy. That's how I'll know you think Broadway at its Best and Jazz 90.1 warms YOUR cockles, too. I'll be on with Otto and his Festa from noon to 2 (doing the Otto and Kim Show), take a break for a latte or 7, then come back strong, if alone, from 3 to 5 with 2OTA. Show us some love, and onward we'll go into another year of Musical Merriment. I promise. :))))

 

Comedy Tonight (Nathan Lane, Company, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)

I'm All Alone (Tim Curry, Michael McGrath, Spamalot)

Alone At A Drive-In Movie (Barry Bostwick, Grease)

I Can't Do It Alone (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago)

Back On Top (Patti LuPone, War Paint)

Opening Number (Santino Fontana, Company, Tootsie)

Alto's Lament (Megan Hilty)

Broadway Boogie Woogie (Carolee Carmello, A Class Act)

What's Gonna Happen (Sarah Stiles, Tootsie)

Omar Sharif (Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit)

Answer Me (Adam Kantor, Company, The Band's Visit)

Positively Absolutely (The Six Jumping Jacks)

Sweepin' The Clouds Away (Maurice Chevalier, Paramount On Parade)

A Cigarette And A Silhouette (Mildred Bailey)

Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band? (Brad Oscar, The Producers)

Her Is (Carol Haney, Stanley Prager, The Pajama Game

Gee, Officer Krupke (Ensemble, West Side Story)

Miss Marmelstein (Barbra Streisand, I Can Get It For You Wholesale)

Don't Monkey With Broadway (Fred Astaire, George Murphy, Broadway Melody Of 1940)

Lullaby Of Broadway (Jerry Orbach, Wanda Richert, 42nd Street)

Give My Regards To Broadway (Patti LuPone, Don't Monkey With Broadway)

I'm Flying (Mary Martin, Peter Pan)

Let's Fly Away (Scarlett Strallen, Tam Mutu, The New Yorkers)

Jet Set (Aaron Tveit, Ensemble, Catch Me If You Can)

Running Wild (Company, Bullets Over Broadway)

Thoroughly Modern Millie (Sutton Foster, Thoroughly Modern Millie)

Prisoners Of Love (Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, The Producers)

Goodbye! (Ensemble, The Producers)

 

Playlist For Oct. 3, 2021: The Good, The Better...and the 3rd one!

Well, Epi 1 (the pilot?) was so successful last week, we're now contracted to do the entire series! Hopefully, ratings will continue "off the charts" and syndication/re-runs will keep me in filthy lucre for years to come. 2OTA will become synonymous with Star Trek or I Love Lucy, for longevity and money making potential. Maybe I'll even get a museum in Jamestown. Or a space station. Or a PREQUEL!!! :)

Nah, I'm not this funny.

A girl can always dream, right? Meanwhile, Epi 2 is on the horizon, with Irving, Richard (now paired with Oscar), and Lerner mit Loewe under the microscope this time 'round. The following Sunday (October 10) begins our (drummmmm rolllllll) Fall Pledge Drive, so we'll take that day off from the series just to put the focus on Raising Dough, to persuade/coax/coerce/beg of you to add your filthy lucre to our coffers. But otherwise, I'll jump right back on the Songwriter Bandwagon after that!

 

Very serious composer/lyricists. If this is an audition, I pity the poor soul on stage.

 

Which reminds me: I'll be one half (some would say the better half...some wouldn't) of the Otto and Kim show that first pledge drive-y Sunday, from noon to 2pm. He will no doubt wear a mask AND a visor, I'll wear the entire wind-screen, but we'll still safely exhortcha to Give Give Give in a jocular, endearing way. I really don't know why Rob (manager par excellence) doesn't give the two of us the morning drive-time slot. We are frickin' hilarious, even raising dough! Even if Otto doesn't drink coffee (weirdo), and even if my laugh is a little annoying. We could reenact scenes from old TV shows (Barney Miller? The Mary Tyler Moore Show? I've got a hat!), and take turns being Doctor Johnny Fever (WKRP in Cincinnati, remember?), who tended to "over-medicate". 

 

 

Enough falderall. See ya Sunday. I'll bring the "medicated" Pumpkin Spice Latte. With a double shot.

 

There's No Business Like Show Business (Tom Wopat, Company, Annie, Get Your Gun)

I'm On My Way (Company, Paint Your Wagon)

They Call The Wind Maria (Rufus Smith, Paint Your Wagon)

Brigadoon (Ensemble, Brigadoon)

Almost Like Being In Love (Gene Kelly, Brigadoon)

Camelot (Richard Burton, Camelot)

She Is Not Thinking Of Me (Daniel Massey, Gigi)

If Ever I Would Leave You (Robert Goulet, Camelot)

I Remember It Well (Alfred Drake, Maria Karnilova, Gigi)

The Rain In Spain (Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady)

Ascot Gavotte (Ensemble, My Fair Lady)

I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady)

Anything You Can Do (Bernadette Peters, Tom Wopat, Annie, Get Your Gun)

The Hostess With The Mostes' On The Ball (Ethel Merman, Call Me Madam)

After You Get What You Want (You Don't Want It) (Marilyn Monroe)

Sisters (Rosemary Clooney, Trudy Stevens, White Christmas)

Steppin' Out With My Baby (Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)

Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee (Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, Kevin Chamberlain, As Thousands Cheer)

How About Me? (Judy Holliday, Trouble Is A Man)

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

The Surrey With The Fringe On Top (Alfred Drake, Oklahoma)

In My Own Little Corner (Julie Andrews, Cinderella) 

Shall We Dance? (Kellie O'Hara, Ken Watanabe, The King And I)

Bali Hai (Juanita Hall, South Pacific)

There Is Nothin' Like A Dame (Ensemble, South Pacific)

The Man I Used To Be (Will Chase, Pipe Dream)

All Er Nuthin' (Gene Nelson, Gloria Graham, Oklahoma)

The Sound Of Music (Mary Martin, The Sound Of Music)

You'll Never Walk Alone (Renee Fleming, Carousel)

Something Good (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)

Some Enchanted Evening (Ezio Pinza, South Pacific)

Playlist For Sunday, September 26, 2021: You can schmear HERE!

 

Well, if I want to see Hugh and Sutton in The Music Man, I think I've jumped on that Wells Fargo Wagon too late! Earliest ticket I can grab now is well past Groundhog Day. (The actual day, not the show.) And Six? Or Doubtfire? I doubt it. However, I realize I'm not in that much of a rush to "do" NYC just yet. Part of me is terrified that some of the places I loved and frequented every visit may well be gone. And that's just depressing. Little Poland? John's Italian Restaurant? Little mom and pops that had trouble thriving even during the best of times? Plus having to jump on a packed plane makes me sort of ...shudder. Hmmmm...

 

Visions of Steve Martin and John Candy, cozy on a plane/train/automobile.

Which is a real pain, because who wouldn't want to spend a birthday or 7 back on Broadway? 

 

Little Poland (across from my old apartment on 2nd Ave.)

and an interior shot of John's Restaurant, around the corner

(SOMEBODY had to have been shot here).

 Instead I've planned a Skaneateles road trip come mid-October, for antiquing and round-the-lake bike riding. Only thing to decide is do I bike clockwise OR counter-clockwise aroung that B Team Finger Lake ? Since it's in THIS hemisphere, I guess I should go with counter, but then I've always been a bit of counter-tarian. :)

One thing hasn't changed: Classic Broadway. And I thought it might be nifty to do a "series!" (Hey if Jeff Harris can do it, "Let's Do It!") A composer/lyricist series of the Greats (later we'll do the Not-So-Greats, I promise). Three at a time, so no one gets to hog the spotlight for long, and this week it's Cole, Richard and Larry, and George and Ira. If you need last names, it's evident that you really aren't listening to me. Harrumph. Well, a silent harrumph. I still like you.

 

 

 

Even tho I do play these ICONS on almost every 2OTA, I'll gang 'em up and chat a bit about their beginnings or their eccentricities (which is always more fun), and next week I'll pick ANOTHER 3, but I'm not telling who YET. So hope you enjoy. No need to bus, train, or plane to those big expensive Bway theatres right now; just pull out your radio (or ask Alexa to), whirl up an egg cream (or schmear up a bagel), pull the lever on that Lazy Boy, and let 2OTA rip. We can definitely "Take Manhattan" soon enough!

Anything Goes (Sutton Foster, Anything Goes)

It's De-Lovely (Hal Linden, Barbara Lang, Anything Goes)

Make It Another Old Fashioned (Ethel Merman, Panama Hattie)

Take Me Back to Manhattan (Eileen Rodgers, Anything Goes)

I Love Paris (Frank Sinatra, Maurice Chevalier, Can-Can)

After You, Who? (Fred Astaire, Gay Divorce)

Let's Misbehave (Helene York, Brooks Ashmanskas, Bullets Over Broadway)

Tom, Dick or Harry (Lisa Kirk, Harold Lang, Ensemble, Kiss Me, Kate)

Too Darn Hot (Stanley Wayne Mathis, Ensemble, Kiss Me, Kate)

Johnny One Note (Judy Garland, Babes In Arms)

My Funny Valentine (Trudy Stevens, Pal Joey)

You Took Advantage Of Me (Elaine Stritch, On Your Toes)

Ev'rything I've Got Belongs To You (Bob Dishy, Jacqueline Alloway, By Jupiter)

There's A Small Hotel (Bobby Van, Kay Coulter, On Your Toes)

This Can't Be Love (Jack Cassidy, Portia Nelson, The Boys From Syracuse)

Ten Cents A Dance (Doris Day, Love Me Or Leave Me)

Zip (Vivienne Segal, Pal Joey)

That Terrific Rainbow (Chorus Girls, Pal Joey)

Manhattan (Lee Wiley)

Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered (Marin Mazzie)

Isn't It Romantic (Michael Feinstein, Romance On Film, Romance On Broadway)

S'Wonderful (Gene Kelly, Georges Guittary, Oscar Levant, An American In Paris)

Funny Face (Fred Astaire, Funny Face)

They Can't Take That Away From Me (Robert Fairchild, Max Von Essen, Brandon Uranowitz, An American In Paris)

Embraceable You (Harry Groener, Jodi Benson, Crazy For You)

Do It Again (Marilyn Monroe)

Sam And Delilah (Louise Carlyle, Girl Crazy)

K-RA-ZY For You (Bobby Short, I'm K-RA-ZY For Gershwin)

Dear Mr. Gershwin (Klea Blackhurst, Radio Gals)

I Got Rhythm (Robert Fairchild, Brandon Uranowitz, Max Von Essen, An American In Paris)