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Let the drums roll out--MasterVoices leader Ted Sperling joins me to discuss this new version of the Gershwins/Kaufman classic musicals, with songs in renditions by Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tony Bennett and more.
THE KING AND I Music by Richard Rodgers | Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon | Original Choreography by Jerome RobbinsWorks Consulted & Reference :The King and I (Original Libretto)Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution by Todd S. PurdumMusic Credits:"Overture" from Dear World (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jerry Herman | Performed by Dear World Orchestra & Donald Pippin"The Speed Test" from Thoroughly Modern Millie (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Dick Scanlan | Performed by Marc Kudisch, Sutton Foster, Anne L. Nathan & Ensemble"Why God Why" from Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording (Original Cast Recording / Deluxe) | Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr. | Performed by Alistair Brammer"Back to Before" from Ragtime: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Performed by Marin Mazzie"Chromolume #7 / Putting It Together" from Sunday in the Park with George (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim | Performed by Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Judith Moore, Cris Groenendaal, Charles Kimbrough, William Parry, Nancy Opel, Robert Westenberg, Dana Ivey, Kurt Knudson, Barbara Bryne"What's Inside" from Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles | Performed by Jessie Mueller & Ensemble"Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I (The 2015 Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Kelli O'Hara, Ted Sperling, Orchestra"Maria" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Evadne Baker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon"My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Julie Andrews"Corner of the Sky" from Pippin (New Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Performed by Matthew James Thomas“What Comes Next?” from Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda | Performed by Jonathan Groff
The Bollotta-philes are back! Anthony and Alex have been on summer hiatus for the past 4 weeks and they are back (sans guest) to talk about their summer travels. Alex had an adventure on the other side of the world as she traveled through Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain and has some delightful stories about making connections with people during her journey. Cruise ship talk as Alex remembers her soul lifting windy nights and Anthony remembers his time performing at sea. On Anthony's summer has been filled with live entertainment. Locally in San Diego Anthony's been to shows like the Jinx Monsoon's Everything at Stake Tour and Ted Sperling with the San Diego Symphony Under the Stars at the Rady Shell. Mr. Bollotta also ventured to New York City after a gig in Chicago and took a tour through the Broadway Museum and his thoughts on the shows he saw (Sweeney Todd, Shucked, Some Like It Hot & Kimberly Akimbo).ASK ANTHONY at www.bollotta.com/podcastFollow @BollottaEntertainment on Instagram
I am so happy to announce the release of Backstage Babble's 99th episode with Tony-winning musical director and orchestrator Ted Sperling. In addition to his Broadway career, Ted is also the artistic director of Mastervoices, under whose auspices he will be presenting an all-star concert of Anyone Can Whistle at Carnegie Hall this Thursday, March 10, starring Vanessa Williams and Elizabeth Stanley. It's a must-see event for all theater fans, and tickets are available here: Anyone Can Whistle In the meantime, tune in today to hear Ted tell some of the stories of his illustrious career, including getting his start from Paul Gemignani, his long partnership with Victoria Clark, why he decided to leave Ragtime, the tense environment of Titanic, what it was like casting My Fair Lady, the uniqueness of William Finn, building his own circle of collaborators, the very strange experience of Roza, his collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, why Anyone Can Whistle is relevant today, and so much more.
Come play wiz us as we celebrate Stephen Sondheim's unique score with Ted Sperling, artistic director of MasterVoices. Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, plus Madeline Kahn, Mandy Patinkin, Steve Lawrence and more.
Adam Guettel's astonishing song cycle transforms into a multiple-episode virtual presentation by MasterVoices. Its artistic director, Ted Sperling, joins us to look at this work along with performances by Audra McDonald, Renee Fleming, Kelli O'Hara, Mandy Patinkin and more.
On this edition of Bagels and Broadway, Valerie speaks to filmmaker Mark Moscowitz, who talks about his latest series, "It Was the Music" following accomplished musicians (and married couple) Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams on the road, musician, conductor, orchestrator and director Ted Sperling, artistic director of MasterVoices, with a number of song cycle performances coming up, Gianni Valenti, owner of the legendary Birdland Jazz Club talks about what he is doing to keep the legendary performance space alive, and podcaster Rick Sommers co-host of "Middle Age Warriors." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's Thursday, and time again for a visit with theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck, who regales us each week with her reviews of the region's rich thespian offerings. Today, she spotlights the new touring production of My Fair Lady, now on stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Kennedy Center show launches the national tour for the Lincoln Center Theater production of the much-beloved musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe, who adapted it from George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play and Gabriel Pascal's 1938 film, "Pygmalion." The story of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from phoneticist Henry Higgins so that she can pass as a cultured lady, was a major commercial and critical success when it opened on Broadway in 1956. Boasting such enduring songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” My Fair Lady earned four Tony Awards and set a record at the time for the longest run of any show on Broadway. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous award-winning revivals. The current touring revival by the Lincoln Center Theater in New York is directed at the Kennedy Center by Bartlett Sher, with music supervision by Ted Sperling and choreography by Christopher Gattelli. The show's 33-member cast is led by Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle, and Laird Mackintosh and Henry Higgins. My Fair Lady continues at The Kennedy Center in Washington through Sunday, January 19th. For showtimes and ticket information, click here.
In advance of the MasterVoices concert at City Center, we're joined by Ted Sperling as we survey the saga of this Weill/Gershwin classic, with a bevy of ladies including Gertrude Lawrence, Lotte Lenya, Julie Andrews, and Ute Lemper.
This week, Jamie and Rob are joined by Ted Sperling and John Miller, the music director and artistic advisor, respectively, of the new NYU Broadway Orchestra, a program to train the next generation of pit musicians. Ted is a musical director, supervisor, conductor, arranger, composer, and orchestrator extraordinaire with 15 Broadway credits under his belt, including the current revival of My Fair Lady. John is a legendary bass player, music coordinator, and occasional actor and vocalist who has worked on more than 130 Broadway shows! Before the interview, Jamie and Rob argue about 1776 the musical and a bit later, Rob gives us a little more information about the size and locations of Broadway pit orchestras. This week's music: “Opening Doors” from Merrily We Roll Along, the Overture to Gypsy, “Come Follow the Band” from Barnum, and the NYU Broadway Orchestra's Anything Goes Overture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Part of our new Reprise Series we are bringing back some of our favourite episodes from the archives.Miranda loved talking family, love and hats when we spoke to Jonathan about Light in the Piazza and so she wanted to relive those glory days with our listeners again.This week Julie, Miranda and, Zane will chat with Jonathan Hickey about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the modern classical musical - The Light in the Piazza!Critic John Simon, in New York magazine, wrote: "Anyone who cares about the rather uncertain future of this truly American genre should — must — see the show, think and worry about it, and reach his or her own conclusions . . . Craig Lucas’s book seems perfectly adequate to me, but the emphasis must be on Adam Guettel’s music and lyrics . . . the music, though fluctuating between the Sondheimesque and offbeat but still Broadwayish and the art-songlike and even operatic, is steadily absorbing, even if only intermittently melodious. One duet, “Let’s Walk,” is an unqualified hit, but the rest, without fully cohering, is also arresting. Ted Sperling and Guettel’s jaunty orchestrations add to the slightly disorienting but wholly fascinating harmonies and instrumentation."- FURTHER READING -Wiki - Musical, Film, NovellaIMDbiTunesSpotify- CELEBRITY SHOUTOUTS -Elizabeth Spencer, Craig Lucas, Adam Guettel, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison, Michael Berresse, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Aaron LazarLike us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.comVisit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.comOur theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com
This week Julie, Miranda and, Zane will chat with Jonathan Hickey about which of life's truths can be gleaned from the modern classical musical - The Light in the Piazza!Critic John Simon, in New York magazine, wrote: "Anyone who cares about the rather uncertain future of this truly American genre should — must — see the show, think and worry about it, and reach his or her own conclusions . . . Craig Lucas’s book seems perfectly adequate to me, but the emphasis must be on Adam Guettel’s music and lyrics . . . the music, though fluctuating between the Sondheimesque and offbeat but still Broadwayish and the art-songlike and even operatic, is steadily absorbing, even if only intermittently melodious. One duet, “Let’s Walk,” is an unqualified hit, but the rest, without fully cohering, is also arresting. Ted Sperling and Guettel’s jaunty orchestrations add to the slightly disorienting but wholly fascinating harmonies and instrumentation."- FURTHER READING -Wiki - Musical, Film, NovellaIMDbiTunesSpotify- CELEBRITY SHOUTOUTS -Elizabeth Spencer, Craig Lucas, Adam Guettel, Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison, Michael Berresse, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Aaron LazarLike us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Support us on Patreon!Email us: musicalstaughtmepodcast@gmail.comVisit our home on the web thatsnotcanonproductions.comOur theme song and interstitial music all by the one and only Benedict Braxton Smith. Find out more about him at www.benedictbraxtonsmith.com
Special Episode #12: In anticipation of the upcoming release of the cast recording of Encores Off Center's production of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater starring Santino Fontana, I bring you a podcast episode featuring Santino himself! I had the privilege of playing a small role in the show, so I got to watch Santino at work, and he is truly a brilliant artist. You'll hear me acknowledge him in this episode, and although it sounds like I'm praising a mere ability to memorize quickly (one of my pet peeve compliments), what I meant and didn't quite articulate was that he seemed to arrive at a full and complete performance, i.e. emotional depth, sense of humor, facility with the language and music, almost immediately with no ostensible effort. It was pretty amazing. And for the record, the name of the complicated song he nailed in the cast recording is “A Firestorm Consuming Indianapolis.”Rosewater aside, Santino has graced many a Broadway production, including Billy Elliot, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cinderella, and Act One. Additionally, he is probably best known for his performance as Greg in the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and as the voice of Prince Hans in Disney's blockbuster film Frozen. But for me, first and foremost, he'll always be Aaron from the web series Submissions Only.In this episode, Santino sings “At Sea,” a song from the abandoned show Hashi, a piece on which I collaborated with Beth Blatt. Loosely based on the Pollyanna story, the young, recently orphaned boy Hashi has been sent to live with his Aunt Barb, a single, hardened New York City working woman. In this song, Barb's ex-boyfriend and upstairs neighbor Ben is back on a break from the cruiseline doctor job he accepted directly after their breakup. In a conversation with Hashi, Ben reflects on his choices over the past few years. (FYI, the sheet music and piano accompaniment track for "At Sea" have just been added to my online music store.)As for Santino, he is tireless! Here's what he has coming up:On July 21 and 22, he'll be performing in a concert with Laura Osnes and Ted Sperling in ChicagoOn July 28 he'll be doing a concert version of The Music Man with his wife, Jessica, in the PoconosFrom August 12-20, he'll be appearing on the Broadway on the Rhine River Playbill CruiseAlso look out for him in some upcoming episodes of Mozart in the Jungle, returning to play yet another title role, Mozart himself!This episode was recorded on April 20, 2017.
Tony Award winner Ted Sperling is one of Broadway's most sought after music directors. His brilliance and versatility have been on display in numerous Broadway musicals including Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, South Pacific; Guys and Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Kiss of the Spider Woman, My Favorite Year, Falsettos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Les Misérables, Roza, and Sunday in the Park with George. Now, Ted puts down the baton to discuss his career with Rob and Kevin. Ted pulls back the curtain on his career, including how a college production brought him to the attention of Stephen Sondheim, what it was like to play aboard the Titanic, and why Lady in the Dark needs a major Broadway revival! Also, Ted shines the spotlight on Victoria Clark, Ahrens & Flaherty, and Adam Guettel! Become a sponsor of Behind The Curtain and get early access to interviews, private playlists, and advance knowledge of future guests so you can ask the legends your own questions. Go to patreon.com and search Behind The Curtain: http://bit.ly/2i7nWC4 A big thank you to Michelle Tabnick of Michelle Tabnick PR for arranging this interview.
An in-depth look at the creation of the Off-Broadway musical, See What I Wanna See, with author Michael John LaChiusa, director Ted Sperling (who won a Tony for his orchestrations of Light in the Piazza), musical stager Jonathan Butterell and actors Marc Kudisch and Mary Testa.
An in-depth look at the creation of the Off-Broadway musical, with author Michael John LaChiusa, director Ted Sperling, musical stager Jonathan Butterell and actors Marc Kudisch and Mary Testa.
Bonus Episode #5: If Yo Yo Ma is the cello star of the classical world, I'm going to say that Peter Sachon is the cello star of the musical theatre world. Not only has he played on such wonderful shows (and recordings) as the recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, Off Broadway's A Man of No Importance and The Thing About Men, and the magically delicious The Light in the Piazza, but he's an entrepreneur as well.Peter hatched the idea to approach a handful of composers/orchestrators/musical directors and ask them each to contribute an original cello piece to a program he called The Cello Project, which he performed in March 2005 at Symphony Space, courtesy of The New Voices Collective. (Some of the composers represented on that bill were Stephen Schwartz, Michael John La Chiusa, Bruce Coughlin, Steve Marzullo, and myself.)The evening was such a success that he followed it up with The Cello Project II roughly a year later, adding Stephen Flaherty, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jeff Marx, Andrew Lippa and Ted Sperling (among others) to the list of contributors. The music was wonderful, and the playing was virtuosic. (Not to mention, he's pretty easy on the eyes.)On today's bonus episode (and just to be clear, bonus episode means that the featured song does NOT appear in my published songbook), Peter plays my contribution to The Cello Project, "Vouloir," written for cello and piano. Recorded 5/5/06.