Author Archives: dannyashkenasi

About dannyashkenasi

I'm a composer with over 30 years experience creating music theater. I'm also an actor, writer, director, producer, teacher and general enthusiast for the arts.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor

Posted on July 5, 2019

  The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus   Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land;   Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand   A mighty woman with a torch, … Continue reading →

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50TH PRIDE NYC

Posted on July 1, 2019

    11 Hours of Pride NYC – Watching and Marching – a Photo Diary     11:30am – Ed and I perched ourselves at 17th Street and 5th avenue to await the start of the 50th NYC Pride march … Continue reading →

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WALLPAPER FROM HELL – Tell-Tale Shoot Diary #5

Posted on June 25, 2019

Spoiler alert! This post may give away some Tell-Tale movie musicabre design secrets!   Why suddenly a spoiler alert?  I have been blabbing about the main plot points of “The Tell-Tale Heart – a  musicabre” in several posts already, why … Continue reading →

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PRIDE MONTH DAILY MOVIE PLAYLIST

Posted on June 18, 2019

And so the daily LGBTQ movie shout out commences: Call that blog post by its name here.   That Queer Movie blog post is its own country here.  

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TIGER LILIES MUSIC QUIZ

Posted on June 13, 2019

  Lily Song Query 1: Who is the classic Hollywood star here singing about Lily Marlene? (As ever with these quizzes, the answers can be found tucked in the tags below)     Tiger Song Query 1: Name the boxing movie that … Continue reading →

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WE WILL SURVIVE – again and again

Posted on June 6, 2019

A Pride Month Special Look at “I Will Survive” and Some of its Many Covers with particular ruminations on what we will survive, or not     The Original – Gloria Gaynor   If one were to choose one song … Continue reading →

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The Belligerent Homophobe Who Ruined Rocketman For Us

Posted on June 1, 2019

  The three or four loud sneezes that erupted behind us during the 20 minutes of previews were a warning shot that all would not turn out alright for us during this screening of “Rocketman” in midtown Manhattan. But the … Continue reading →

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The Knight Marries the Prince

Posted on May 26, 2019

  A Kindergarten Original Blesses a Quaker Wedding   Friday morning I heard a wedding song I realized I would have to sing that night at an actual wedding.  Class K-1 at the Brooklyn Children’s School was the third kindergarten … Continue reading →

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CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND TAIKO DRUMS

Posted on May 19, 2019

  Pink Splendor and Banging Dramatics on the Esplanade   The end of April the Brooklyn Botanic Garden holds the Sakura Matsuri Festival, scheduled to coincide with the spectacular blossoming of the cherry trees on the Garden’s Esplanade.  Nature holding … Continue reading →

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450 DEGREES OF MORTAL TERROR – Tell-Tale Shoot Diary #4

Posted on May 13, 2019

    Presently I heard a slight groan And I knew It was the groan of mortal terror It was not a groan of pain or of grief Oh no It was the low stifled sound That arises from the … Continue reading →

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BACKYARD BEAUTIES’ Flower Music Quiz

Posted on May 7, 2019

  Time for another Notes from a Composer music quiz!  Today’s theme: Flowers!   Flower Music Query #1: We’ll start easy.  You’ve heard this classical piece before.  Maybe even know it’s called the Flower Duet.  Do you know the name … Continue reading →

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Up Close and Personal with the Maine Monument

Posted on May 1, 2019

  The other day I was walking 35 blocks from the Upper West Side to Midtown, when I lingered at the Maine Monument at Columbus Circle to take some up close and personal pics of its statues.     The … Continue reading →

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Introducing the New Headshots

Posted on April 26, 2019

  A few weeks ago I shared my head shot bloopers with you, those moments during my head shot photo shoot that went rather wrong, amusingly so. Today I share the final versions of my actual new head shots.  The … Continue reading →

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THE DAY I MURDERED MY HUSBAND – Tell-Tale Shoot Diary #3

Posted on April 22, 2019

  Welcome back to the “Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” film shoot diary, and the day I murdered my husband.  Repeatedly.  Take after take after take.     Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” centers on a “very very dreadfully … Continue reading →

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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Posted on April 15, 2019

4/15/19 – 4:40pm EDT I am watching with horror and sadness the incredible destruction by fire of Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral. In grief and helplessness I decided to go through the pictures I took when Ed and I visited … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE ALIENS RIDE PEOPLE’S HEADS!

Posted on April 10, 2019

  Another Year, Another Silly First Grade Opera! Actually, another three first grade operas at the Brooklyn Children’s School, created, written, composed and performed by first graders themselves, under the direction of their teachers and their teaching artist Mister Danny. … Continue reading →

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