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The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast — Music
The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast

Hear live recordings of the songs from the Tony-nominated composer’s new songbook.

Latest Episodes:

You're Not Perfect Anymore - sung by Alysha Umphress May 16, 2006
Show notes

Bonus Episode #6: Hey everybody, it's time for another episode celebrating Raw Impressions! This organization enables artists to produce new projects VERY quickly, which is how I met my lovely guest star of the day, Alysha Umphress.
Alysha, a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory, made a splash last year at the Chelsea bar, XL, winning their American Idol-type competition, XL Star. (Check out her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" recorded live in the XL Star finals.)
I fell for Alysha this past March, when she was one of the cast members assigned to me when I wrote a ten-minute musical for Raw Impressions Music Theatre #20. My collaborator for that project, playwright Chantal Bilodeau, and I came up with a piece called "The Living Room OCD." Alysha played a lesbian stalker chick who broke into her true love's perfect little house while she was away on vacation, tied up her house-watcher, and wreaked havoc on the place. When the show begins, the homeowner is just returning and discovering the damage, the bound-and-gagged housewatcher, and Alysha singing this song: "You're Not Perfect Anymore." Recorded 5/16/06. Reminder: this is Raw Impressions, i.e. I had two days to write this score. Raw.
This episode is particularly timely because:
a) Alysha's going to be appearing with me in a Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook concert this Friday (5/19) at 7PM at The Duplex! My other special guest stars will be David Perlman (one of the stars of my Raw Impressions/RIPFest movie, Freefall) and **just added!** the amazing leading lady of Urban Cowboy, Jenn Colella. For reservations, call (212) 255-5438.
and
b) I'm going to be making my Raw Impressions acting debut in a RIPFest #8 movie musical this coming week! Screenings are 5/23-24 in New York and 5/23 only in Los Angeles. It's amazing what people are able to create, with only 16 days... Check it out!

Vouloir - played by Peter Sachon May 09, 2006
Show notes

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.

He'll Never Get What I Do - sung by Jeff Blumenkrantz May 02, 2006
Show notes

Bonus Episode #4: I warned you that there'd be a few bonus episodes coming up....
This week it's "He'll Never Get What I Do", written for a musical entitled Hush, which dealt with the relationship between a gay theatre composer and a deaf video artist. This song is sung by the composer and is pretty self-explanatory. Music and lyrics by me. Recorded 5/2/06.
As for Hush, I worked on it for a while with the marvelous playwright, Tina Howe, but we couldn't crack the story to our mutual satisfaction, so it's on the shelf. Writing an original musical is a complicated proposition, to say the least. Makes me REALLY appreciate the ones out there that work...
...like, for instance, my favorite new musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, which opened on Broadway last night. It's directed by a certain Mr. Casey Nicholaw, whom I met doing my first show in NY (The Pajama Game at the Equity Library Theatre - Does that date us or what?). Seeing his spectacular production of The Drowsy Chaperone left me awestruck and in tears (literally, hysterical tears of pride, joy, and awe). The show is heaven - don't miss it!
Meanwhile, some of the fabulous people I got to chat with at the opening night party:
George Lee Andrews, the longest-running actor on Broadway, and star of my favorite teen-years album, Starting Here, Starting Now. George is an admitted listener of this podcast, and I'm honored.
Nellie McKay is the brilliant Polly Peachum in the new Threepenny Opera at the Roundabout. She has no idea who I am or that I have a podcast, but I enjoyed chatting with her, and I love her songwriting and her fancy debut double CD, Get Away From Me.
And last but not least, the kids from [title of show] were all there. They recently ended their initial run at the Vineyard, but they'll be back there this summer for a recently-announced return engagement! Dare I see it a 6th time? I dare! Don't miss this one either.
Check out my recommendations page for more things I like!

P.A.'s Turn - sung by Jeff Blumenkrantz Apr 25, 2006
Show notes

Bonus Episode #3: Stalling... stalling.... There are only three more songbook songs left! And the amazing singers who are scheduled to record them aren't available for a spell, so it's time for another bonus episode.
This week, I took a little detour down memory lane and picked a song in honor of my upcoming trip to my alma mater, Northwestern University, for the 75th anniversary of the big, splashy, student-written extravaganza, The WAA-MU Show. As a student at Northwestern, I contributed songs to all four WAA-MU shows (1983-1986) and performed in two of them, as well. It was an amazing and formative experience, particularly as a young songwriter, to see and hear my songs so fully realized (i.e. professional orchestrations for a 30 piece orchestra, huge ensemble, major production values, etc.).
"P.A.'s Turn" was written for the '84 show. It was a tribute to the great pull the show has over its participants, as a production assistant (PA) aspires to WAA-MU greatness. Recorded 4/24/06.
The song has music by me, and lyrics by myself and my (still to this day) dear friend, Tracy Christensen, whose name you may recognize as the wonderful costume designer of such productions as this season's Broadway charmer, Souvenir, starring Judy Kaye, and Candide at the New York Philharmonic, filmed for PBS/Great Performances, starring Patti Lupone and Kristin Chenoweth (and featuring yours truly as Maximillian).
"P.A.'s Turn" was originally sung by my WAA-MU muse, Marietta DePrima, whom you may know from her extensive TV acting career. (Check out her reel from The Hughleys!)

Moving Right Along (Women's Version) - sung by Ruth Gottschall and Mary Testa Apr 18, 2006
Show notes

Episode #17: Twice the talent, twice the laughs, twice as long! But when you're in the room with Ruth Gottschall and Mary Testa, you just don't want to leave! I had a fantastic afternoon with the two of them, chatting and websurfing and singing "Moving Right Along", the women's version. Yes, this is the same explicit song that you heard back in January for two guys in a gay bar, rewritten for two women in a singles bar. (The lyrics for this version appear in the back of the songbook.) Recorded 4/12/06.
Where to begin? Ruth is a veteran of eight Broadway shows, most recently Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only, however her longest run of late was as Eulalie Shinn in the revival of The Music Man, a role she will recreate this summer at the Sacramento Music Circus. Before that, you can catch her as Mrs. Upson in the sure-to-be-fabulous Kennedy Center production of Mame. Also, let PBS know that you want to see the educational series, Character Studies, so you can catch Ruth on the "Harold Hill" episode.
Mary Testa's resumé is so impressive, I don't know what to mention first! Should I start with her two Tony nominations, for On the Town and 42nd Street? Her numerous Off Broadway credits and the Obie award for On the Town and From Above? Her amazing performances on the original cast recordings of In Trousers, Lucky Stiff, A Funny Thing Happened...Forum (with Ruth too!), A New Brain, Marie Christine, and most recently, Michael John La Chiusa's See What I Wanna See? Or should I just mention that she loves Faith, the Biped Dog and Michelle Collins' blog, You Can't Make It Up? Mary fans can catch her in the concert, Hands Across the Sea, at Merkin Hall on May 16th and 17th, as well as in Jam & Spice, a Kurt Weill revue at the Westport Playhouse in June.

Moving Right Along (Women's Version) - sung by Ruth Gottschall and Mary Testa Apr 18, 2006
Show notes

Episode #17: Twice the talent, twice the laughs, twice as long! But when you're in the room with Ruth Gottschall and Mary Testa, you just don't want to leave! I had a fantastic afternoon with the two of them, chatting and websurfing and singing "Moving Right Along", the women's version. Yes, this is the same explicit song that you heard back in January for two guys in a gay bar, rewritten for two women in a singles bar. (The lyrics for this version appear in the back of the songbook.) Recorded 4/12/06.
Where to begin? Ruth is a veteran of eight Broadway shows, most recently Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only, however her longest run of late was as Eulalie Shinn in the revival of The Music Man, a role she will recreate this summer at the Sacramento Music Circus. Before that, you can catch her as Mrs. Upson in the sure-to-be-fabulous Kennedy Center production of Mame. Also, let PBS know that you want to see the educational series, Character Studies, so you can catch Ruth on the "Harold Hill" episode.
Mary Testa's resumé is so impressive, I don't know what to mention first! Should I start with her two Tony nominations, for On the Town and 42nd Street? Her numerous Off Broadway credits and the Obie award for On the Town and From Above? Her amazing performances on the original cast recordings of In Trousers, Lucky Stiff, A Funny Thing Happened...Forum (with Ruth too!), A New Brain, Marie Christine, and most recently, Michael John La Chiusa's See What I Wanna See? Or should I just mention that she loves Faith, the Biped Dog and Michelle Collins' blog, You Can't Make It Up? Mary fans can catch her in the concert, Hands Across the Sea, at Merkin Hall on May 16th and 17th, as well as in Jam & Spice, a Kurt Weill revue at the Westport Playhouse in June.

The Spring and the Fall - sung by Kelli O'Hara Apr 11, 2006
Show notes

Episode #16: I'm gay and even I have a crush on Kelli O'Hara, the dreamy, creamy-voiced Broadway "Babe." For the past six years, she has been accumulating street cred with her lovely performances in such Broadway and Off-Broadway shows as Jekyll & Hyde, Follies, Sweet Smell of Success, My Life with Albertine, and Dracula. Finally, last year, she hit pay dirt, when her spectacular, break-out performance as Clara in The Light in the Piazza earned her a Tony-nomination and a permanent place in the hearts of musical-lovers far and wide. Now this season, she has confounded expectations by taking on the belty role of Babe opposite Harry Connick Jr. in the current hit revival of The Pajama Game at the Roundabout. Two strikes in a row, Kelli! (Bowling strikes, that is.)
And somewhere in there, she managed to shoot a film, an adaptation of Craig Lucas' play, The Dying Gaul, which is now available on DVD.
Today Kelli sings "The Spring and the Fall", another setting of an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem. Recorded 4/10/06.
Keep an eye out for the cast recording of The Pajama Game (aka Harry on Broadway), as well as Kelli's solo recording debut!

Another Guy - sung by Jenn Colella Apr 04, 2006
Show notes

Episode #15: Jenn Colella gives new meaning to the word "irresistible." The second I laid eyes on her, I fell hard, and the love affair continues. I daresay that goes for anyone who's ever met her. She is the most fun-loving, open-hearted, life-affirming person working in the theatre, not to mention ridiculously gorgeous and outrageously talented. She made her big Broadway debut in the lead role of Sissy in Urban Cowboy, and I was the lucky duck who got to write her first song in the show, "Another Guy," which she sings on the podcast today. Recorded 4/2/06.
Seems like playing Sissy in Urban Cowboy started a casting trend for Jenn, as she subsequently appeared in workshops of The Great American Trailer Park Musical and Ring of Fire, the Off-Broadway production of Slut, the musical, as well as Twyla Tharp's new piece, The Times They Are A-Changin', which recently finished its premiere engagement at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Let's hope that this show (or High Fidelity, another upcoming Broadway-bound musical) will put Jenn back on Broadway where she belongs.
In the meantime, if you act fast (i.e. tonight), you can catch Jenn singing with the amazing Jason Robert Brown at Birdland, April 4th, where you can hear another one of her original songs from Urban Cowboy, JRB's "Hopalong Heartbreak."

The Philosopher - sung by Emily Skinner Mar 28, 2006
Show notes

Episode #14: Well, it was only a matter of time before I dragged my friend Emily Skinner onto this podcast. Emily has all my favorite actor-ingredients: a boundless and beautiful voice, a major sense of humor, fearlessness, creativity, intelligence, and above all, a ton of heart. She's given some of the most memorable performances on Broadway in recent years: Vicki in The Full Monty, Mary Jane in The Dead, Kitty in Lincon Center's production of Dinner at Eight, and of course, as Siamese twin, Daisy Hilton, in Side Show, a performance which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Actress.
This doesn't even touch on her appearances Off-Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, in the Encores Series productions, and at various regional theatres across the land. And she always manages to deliver a show-stopping or heart-breaking or gut-busting or all-of-the-above performance. I'm so excited to feature her on this podcast singing "The Philosopher,", my setting of the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem of the same name. Recorded 3/14/06.
Need more Emily Skinner in your diet? Go see her at the 92nd Street Y from April 8-10 in the concert, Other People's Lyrics. Or take a trip to DC in June for what promises to be a great Mame, with Emily as "Gooch."
Or maybe you need some CDs! There's her solo CD, Emily Skinner, there are her duet CDs with Side Show co-star, Alice Ripley: Duets and Unsuspecting Hearts, as well as performances on the following show/concert CDs: Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens, Dreamgirls in Concert, and My Life with Albertine.
But wait! There's more! She directs: Broadway by the Year - 1956 on April 3, tickets at Ticketmaster. And she's narrated a book on tape! Jennifer Weiner's Goodnight, Nobody. You can listen to it as you're driving to DC to see Mame!

All Because of You - sung by Sally Mayes Mar 21, 2006
Show notes

Episode #13: Howdy! I'm so excited to be reunited with the great Sally Mayes on this week's episode. It was Sally who gave birth to my first Broadway song-baby (Is that a horrible metaphor or what?) in the 2003 production of Urban Cowboy, the musical. Unfortunately, that score was never recorded, but here, on the JBS Podcast, we are making Sally's first-act solo, "All Because of You," available for your listening pleasure. Recorded 3/14/06.
Sally has enjoyed an incredible career on stage and in the recording studio. Her albums are wonderful and many: The Dorothy Fields Songbook, Our Private World, The Story Hour, Boys & Girls Like You and Me, and the most recent release, Valentine. And that's not even counting the recordings of her many, brilliant stage performances: Closer Than Ever (who doesn't love "Miss Byrd"??), Das Barbecü, her Tony-nominated turn as Ilona in She Loves Me, and the hysterical Pete 'n' Keely. Also, that was Sally as Mrs. MacAfee in the Jason Alexander TV version of Bye Bye Birdie!

Freefall - sung by Becca Ayers, Joe Cassidy, Jessica Grové, and David Perlman Mar 14, 2006
Show notes

Bonus Episode #2: Yes, it's another "very special episode" - a song... well, songs really... that are NOT in the songbook. None of my upcoming guest stars were available to record this week, so I'm taking this opportunity to tell you about a wonderful organization called Raw Impressions, which brings random artistic people together to accomplish some specific creative endeavor unreasonably quickly. My first involvement with R.I. was last spring when I participated in RIPFest #6, a 16 day event during which seven short movie musicals were conceived, written, recorded, shot, edited, couriered cross-country, and screened in NY and LA. "WHAT??" you say? It's true, it's all true. You can't believe it until you've lived it. Freefall is the name of the RIPFest film for which I wrote the songs. The Freefall experience was heaven, start to finish, even amidst all the craziness. The stars were aligned when our team was assembled: the creators were Lonny Price-director , David Simpatico-screenwriter, Jessica Hendricks-choreographer, and myself-songwriter. Our amazing cast included Becca Ayers, Joe Cassidy, Jessica Grové, and David Perlman. And our producers were the wonderful Jane Abramson and Laura Penney. These songs were recorded 5/11/05, with Jeff Greenwald on drums, Randy Landau on bass, Peter Sachon on cello, Gary Sieger on guitar, and myself on piano. RIPFest was such a great experience that I'm taking the plunge again this coming week, albeit in a different genre. This time it's Raw Impressions Music Theatre #20, which means we're creating short musicals (to be performed live, not on film) and we only have ten days to do it! Come check out our performances on March 26 and 27! Also, don't miss Jessica Grové in the upcoming musical Iron Curtain (April 8-30, West End Theater) and Becca Ayers in the title role of Sarah, Plain and Tall (March 19-April 30, Lucille Lortel Theater). Clockwise from top left: Becca Ayers, Joe Cassidy, Jessica Grové, David Perlman

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