Playlist for Sunday, June 26, 2022: Moon over Strawberry Shortcake

 Okay, so how have I lived for 66,000 years and never heard of a Strawberry Moon until last week? I mean, NOW I finally know what the heck it is! Not like I could scientifically explain it to anybody, but I do know it's a moon that's BIG and CLOSE. There. I think prior to this past week, I just called it a BIG, CLOSE moon. Everything has to be so technical now. STRAWBERRY. Okay, then. 

 

 

                                                              versus

Before I blather on too much, apologies that this past week's edition of 2 On The Aisle refused to upload to MixCloud. So it will not appear "in the vault" on Jazz901.org. Not MixCloud's fault. Probably something from the USB interface back towards the "operator." Ugh and Argh.

So that (blame it on the Strawberry) Technology failed me.

But it's a busy week, filled with a Jazz Festival, a bike ride for charity, visitors, and summer in general, so I'll have to give this blog short shrift. I'm typing it in shorts. And a shrift (I mean shirt). MOONING is the theme: Moonshine, Moonlight, and Moon River. Blue Moons, Harvest Moons, Devil Moons, and Honeymoons...but none with Strawberries. Maybe that one is waiting to be written, and WILL be, now that we all know what it is. Might be a decent lyric, even romantic (if just red), and FAR better than BIG FAT Moon. Hmmmm....

 

The Addams Family mooning versus Breakfast At Tiffany's mooning.

Who wore it better?

 

 

So tune in, will ya? And help the mooning process with your stage presence and (occasionally profound) perspective. Pray for my techno to worko, and you can once again be treated to rewind possibilities. 

 

 Meanwhile, I'm still saving you that seat (maybe even a "boxed" rendition, like the ones above. Can you imagine the sight lines? Don't wear a hat.)(Does anyone still wear...?) Hey, sit down already, John, and see ya on Sunday! :)

 

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

What A Little Moonlight Can Do (Audra McDonald, Lady Day At Emerson's Bar And Grill)

Moonshine Lullaby (Bernadette Peters, Annie Get Your Gun)

Musical Moon, Oh You Wonderful Boy, All Aboard For Broadway (Joel Grey, Betty Ann Grove, Jerry Dodge, Bernadette Peters, George M!)

When You're Driving Through The Moonlight (Julie Andrews, Cinderella)

Moon In My Window (Elizabeth Allen, Carol Bruce, Julienne Marie, Do I Hear A Waltz?) 

The Moon And Me (Kevin Chamberlain, The Addams Family)

Dancing In The Moonlight (Ruth Etting)

It's Only A Paper Moon (Cliff Edwards)

Moon Song (Annette Hanshaw)

Shuffle Off To Buffalo (Karen Prunczik, Joseph Bova, Carole Cook, 42nd Street)

Ada Daba Honeymoon (Debbie Reynolds, Carleton Carpenter, Two Weeks With Love)

Choo-Choo Honeymoon (Sally Stark, Joseph Sicari, Dames At Sea)

The Honeymoon Is Over (Robert Preston, Mary Martin, I Do! I Do!)

Shine On Harvest Moon (Liza Minnelli)

In Other Words (Fly Me To The Moon)(Kaye Ballard)

Moonlight Serenade (Glenn Miller & His Orchestra)

Moon River (Audra McDonald)

Betsy's Getting Married (Brynne O'Malley, Honeymoon In Vegas)

Airport Song (Tracee Beazer, Gaelen Gilliland, George Merrick, Honeymoon In Vegas)

Higher Love (David Josefsberg, Honeymoon In Vegas)

There's A Rising Moon (For Every Falling Star) (Doris Day, Young At Heart)

Moon River (Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast At Tiffany's)

Stars And The Moon (Sutton Foster, Take Me To The World)

Blue Moon (Ann Hampton-Callaway, Blues In The Night)

The Man In The Moon Is A Lady (Bea Arthur, Mame)

Ridin' On The Moon (Stanley Wayne Mathis, St. Louis Woman)

That's Amore (Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, The Caddy)

Shine On Harvest Moon (Judy Garland)

Moon Dance (Van Morrison)

Playlist For Sunday, June 19, 2022: Tony Glow...and Onward!

So yeah, the Tonys! From the over-the-top musical numbers (did you count the number of shows that opener referenced? Tho IMHO, the BEST opener is still that Neil Patrick Harris one from 2013, "Bigger"...google it!) to La LuPone, to the absence of Angela!?!? Understandable that at the age of 96, AL elected not to participate, but not to do a tribute to her during the prime time section of the show? That was rotten. A Poor Decision on the part of Those Making Decisions. I was disappointed and a bit pissed. I hope she's okay. But more time and honor shouldda been paid to Mame-y. 

It was nice, of course, to get a taste of all the new shows, from SIX to Loop to Paradise to MJ. Like a personally addressed, embossed, embroidered and ecru-flavored invitation: Come Back To Broadway! One huge advert, but that's okay. We don't really need the invite: we DO need the inspiration.

 

This Sunday's meager 2OTA offerings (compared to The TONYS! A one-person kickline rarely impresses.): Birthday salutes to Judy Holliday and George Hearn, audition songs, pride-full songs (not talkin' Lion King here), and silly themes about doors (open, closed, next door, indoors) and of course a couple of DAD songs (yup, it's Father's day. Buy a tie.)! I'm no Neil Patrick Harris, but I keep trying.  

 

Theatre Party Ladies (Jeffrey Haddow, John Driver, Roger Neil, Scrambled Feet)

I Hope I Get It (Company, A Chorus Line)

Makin' The Rounds (Jeffrey Haddow, John Driver, Evelyn Baron, Scrambled Feet)

Audition Sequence (Fred Barton, Ensemble, Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 1)

What's Gonna Happen (Sarah Stiles, Tootsie)

It's A Perfect Relationship (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)

An Occasional Man (Judy Holliday, Trouble Is A Man)

Is It A Crime? (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)

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

Colored Lights (Karen Mason, And The World Goes 'Round)

We See The Light (Kate Reinders, John Cariani, Brooks Ashmanskas, Something Rotten!)

My Daddy Always Taught Us To Share (Ben Vereen, Grind)

Not My Father's Son (Billy Porter, Stark Sands, Kinky Boots)

My Heart Belongs To Daddy (Mary Martin, Leave It To Me!)

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

Doors (Sally Mayes, Richard Muenz, Lynne Wintersteller, Closer Than Ever)

Not The Boy Next Door (Hugh Jackman, The Boy From Oz)

A Little More Mascara (George Hearn, La Cage Aux Folles)

Too Many Mornings (George Hearn, Barbara Cook, Follies)

Good Thing Going (George Hearn, Putting It Together)

Opening Doors (Lonny Price, Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, Jason Alexander, Merrily We Roll Along)

Close Every Door (Ensemble, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)

The Great Indoors (Mylinda Hull, The New Yorkers) 

Let's Lock The Door (And Throw Away The Key)(Jay & The Americans)

Someone Is Here (Andrea Marcovicci, Nefertiti)

Something To Point To (Company, Working)

This Is Me (Keala Settle, The Greatest Showman)

Playlist For Sunday, June 12, 2022: Antoinette Perry, pink typewriters, and SUMMER!

Holy Broadway, Batman! I'm LATE with carving this playlist! Because the year has finally kicked into high gear and I am socially swamped. Well, maybe not really swamped, more like ponded. Which is sorta like a swamp if you add more mosquitoes and mud. But hey...SUMMER!

Today was a heady example. The weather cooperated, the wind "played ball", and I got in a nice 75 mile ride to Batavia, home of a swell coffee shop (Coffee Press) which names its various breakfast options after newspapers...The Post (bacon?), The Journal (scrambled?), The Dispatch (avocado?). Plus they have a collection of old typewriters on display, most of which I salivate over and attempt to buy. They keep saying no and make me leave with my chai. Quickly. Oh well.

 

This is the one I drool for. 

Below, look what you can do with a little time and effort! :)

 ANNNNND last night was super, too. The Band's Visit "visited" RBTL and it was a very well done performance. As an extra perk, I got to meet a few of my 2OTA fans who were in attendance. We should have formed a kickline upon exiting, but they were a bit choreographically challenged. I still like them, tho. I mean, I DID save them seats! :)                               

Yup, that's me, evidently needing a haircut.

The touring company did a great job; in fact, the actor who played the "General" was the same one I saw on Broadway...Sasson Gabay.

 

 All to say, this is TONY AWARD Sunday, right? June 12th. Do you have your red carpet outfit steamed and pressed? (Got your tweed pressed? Got your best vest?) Do you have your red carpet vacuumed at least? Do you HAVE a red carpet? Jeez, get with the program! Caviar, pate, prosecco with chilled flutes...gotta get the apps ready and the ambiance just right. (You're ordering pizza? Hmmmm....okay, but next year, try an upgrade, will ya?) 

2OTA will celebrate with:

a.) Tony winners of the past 

b.) Judy Garland huzzahs (her birthday is June 10, 100 years ago!)

c.) Angela Lansbury, who'll get a special life-time achievement Tony award that night (her presence alone will make it worth watching)

and d.) a couple of songs from potential Tony winners. (I'm torn. A Strange Loop? The Girl From The North Country? Good thing I'm not a "betting man.")

And that's enough of my backstage babble. "See you" on Sunday, amigos.

 

I Feel A Song Coming On (Judy Garland)

But Alive (Laura Bacall, Applause)

Man Of La Mancha (Richard Kiley, Irving Jacobson, Man Of La Mancha)

Tradition (Zero Mostel, Company, Fiddler On The Roof)

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

How'd You Like To Spoon With Me? (Angela Lansbury, Til The Clouds Roll By)

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

That's How Young I Feel (Angela Lansbury, Mame)

Each Tomorrow Morning (Angela Lansbury, Dear World)

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

If You Were Gay (Rick Lyon, John Tartaglia, Avenue Q)

Why Are All The Dysquiths Dying? (Ensemble, A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder)

Get Happy (Judy Garland, Summer Stock) 

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

After You've Gone (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall,)

Seasons Of Love (Company, Rent)

Flying Away (Beth Malone, Sydney Lucas, Emily Skeggs, Fun Home)

The Ladies Who Lunch (Patti LuPone, Company)

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

The Man That Got Away (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)  

Do It Again (Judy Garland) 

It Never Was You (Judy Garland)

Almost Like Being In Love/This Can't Be Love (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall)

Wait For It (Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton)

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

Words Fail (Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen)

Way Down Hadestown (Chris Sullivan, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Hadestown)

Maybe It Starts With Me (Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night)

A Strange Loop (Jaquel Spivey, Company, A Strange Loop)

Stormy Weather (Judy Garland At Carnegie Hall)