Author Archives: dannyashkenasi

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About dannyashkenasi

I'm a composer with over 40 years experience creating music theater. I'm also an actor, writer, director, producer, teacher and general enthusiast for the arts.

The Colosseum

Posted on October 9, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

A Tour of the Famous Ancient Roman Amphitheatre In the center of Rome just east of the Roman Forum stands the Colosseum, the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world. It was built … Continue reading →

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The New Actor Reel Page

Posted on October 2, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

A new page has been added to the Notes from a Composer banner: Actor Reels. Here is where I will be periodically adding clips and edits from my work as an actor. I have been acting in a fair amount … Continue reading →

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Proverbs of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions

Posted on September 27, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

It’s been renamed Rathattan, and they’re celebrating. Continuing to mine the Old Testament for sequel titles, this is the 18th installment in the personal cartoon caption series. You can find the 17 previous installments in the Literary Lyricism archives. As well … Continue reading →

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TELL-TALE in MILLESIMO

Posted on September 21, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

“The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” wins Best Long Short Movie at the Millesimo – Cairo Montenetto International Film Festival Officially “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre“, the first of my now three short film musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptations … Continue reading →

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Comedy and Tragedy on the Bathroom Wall

Posted on September 17, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

It occurs to me that the title of this post may suggest we will be looking at particularly dramatic graffiti in public bathrooms, but no, sorry to disappoint on that account. I am sharing pictures of small tragedy and comedy … Continue reading →

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My Time as a Resurrected Corpse

Posted on September 12, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Adventures in Acting in Short Films As previously stated I have been cast in a number of short films lately. One of the more fun and “bloggable” shoots was for “Resurrection”, which filmed in Ithaca. I play a recently deceased … Continue reading →

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Climbing Up the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Posted on September 5, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Join Us On Every Single Step Up The Tilting Tower We took a day trip to Pisa, to see the famous tower in person and climb it. These three videos really give you the experience, starting with this vertical view: … Continue reading →

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Self Portraits in the Black

Posted on August 28, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Taking a break in shooting takes for my new short film Poe musicabre, I picked up my phone and took some selfies, taken by the stark look and angles created by the blacks I had set up behind myself in … Continue reading →

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A Dulcimer, A Fountain, and a Kiss

Posted on August 21, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

I’m touristing most two-fistedly in Rome at the moment (next stop Florence), which leaves me near to no time to blog, but will give me much material for future Two-fisted Touristing blog posts. I’ll give you a little taste with … Continue reading →

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Me as Poe (or) Poe as Me (or) The New Musicabre

Posted on August 12, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

A Little Sneak Preview at Coming Attractions I just got my hair cut, finally. The length it had before had been uncomfortable in the summer heat. But I couldn’t cut it earlier because I needed my hair long for my … Continue reading →

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I Take the Colbert Questionert

Posted on August 5, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Now that the Cowardly Broadcasting Service has caved to economic AKA political pressures and cancelled the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the chances of me ever taking the Colbert Questionert on the air are close to nil (they never were … Continue reading →

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Psalms of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions

Posted on July 29, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Trust me! We got no where to go but up! Episode 17 of the ongoing series. The New Yorker keeps making the cartoons available, and I just keep cranking out my captions. And then sharing the latest batch of six. … Continue reading →

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Study in Crossed Legs and Shadows

Posted on July 25, 2025 by dannyashkenasi
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SOLID GOLD

Posted on July 20, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I caught the elaborate Solid Gold exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum before it closed a few weeks ago. I took lots of pics to share; not all there was to see (because it was a lot!), but still … Continue reading →

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MANHATTANHENGE

Posted on July 13, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

This last Friday and Saturday was Manhattanhenge. Ed and I each took some pictures on 42nd Street while it happened around 8:20pm on Friday. Manhattanhenge is what we call those days when the sunset aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s street grid. … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Ed – Evocation XXXII

Posted on July 12, 2025 by dannyashkenasi

It is Ed’s birthday today. And for the 32nd time in 32 years I have composed a viola/piano duet for my husband, a tradition that will continue until we reach the morbid part of the generally expressed marriage vow (Although … Continue reading →

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