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.

LIGHTSCAPE at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Posted on December 7, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

A magical trail of fantastic light installations weaves its way through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at night these days. Ed and I took the tour.

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Mainstreet Musicals touts FEEDSTORE QUARTET

Posted on December 4, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

“Feedstore Quartet”, a musical created by Jack Hilton Cunningham and myself, has been selected by Mainstreet Musicals, a non-profit that “promotes development opportunities for new musicals throughout regional America”, as a Director’s Choice Award Winner. Jack and I met at … Continue reading →

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Pit & Pendulum Posters

Posted on December 1, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

Introducing the poster design for “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre“: and its alternate / sibling poster: You probably noticed some imagery from the film that is being introduced for the first time on my blog’s discussions about … Continue reading →

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P&P – Day 2 – The Destruction of the Cello

Posted on November 24, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

That’s a beautiful cello, don’t you think? A little worn at the edges perhaps, but to the composer who plays it, a poor fellow who lives in a garret in 17th century Spain, this instrument is his most prized possession, … Continue reading →

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P&P – Day 2 – The Merchant’s House

Posted on November 18, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

In “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre”, my second short film musical adaptation of a classic gothic tale by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist is seen working at his desk in a garret apartment, while soldiers of the … Continue reading →

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LOVING – Photographic Treasures from the Nini-Treadwell Collection

Posted on November 13, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

Glimpses at a Photographic History of Men in Love 1850 – 1950 Twenty years ago Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell were browsing through stacks of vintage photographs in a Dallas antique store when they came upon a 1920s photograph of … Continue reading →

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TELL-TALE SUBTITLES 2 – Spanish

Posted on November 4, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

It’s time for another episode of Fun with Tell-Tale Subtitles! The first time I shared screenshots of my musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” with Portuguese subtitles. Today Spanish gets its turn. These screenshots are … Continue reading →

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FREE TELL-TALE HALLOWEEN SCREENING

Posted on October 29, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

FREE OUTDOOR SCREENING OF “THE TELL-TALE HEART – A MUSICABRE” HALLOWEEN NIGHT IN MANHATTAN’S EAST VILLAGE My first Edgar Allan Poe musical short film adaptation “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre” will screen for free as part of the Theater … Continue reading →

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P&P Portraits in Color Grading

Posted on October 25, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

Here is a little portrait gallery from “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre“, my second short film musical adaptation of a classic Edgar Allan Poe short story (after “The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre“). I’m focusing on close-ups … Continue reading →

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HEXEN in HOF TONIGHT

Posted on October 21, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

A Bewitching Production Born out of a Pandemic My musical “Hexen” (“Witches”) is back on the boards, or rather the foyer, in Theater Hof in Germany. Originally premiered in the fall of 2020, it is back in repertory this season, … Continue reading →

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SCHWARZWALD – Views of the Black Forest

Posted on October 18, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

The Schwarzwald – Black Forest – is one of the most famously beautiful regions in Germany. Located East of the Rhine and North of the Alps in Germany’s Southwest, this bucolic region of rolling hills, quaint towns and, yes, romantically … Continue reading →

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P&P – Day 2 – Blood on the Floor

Posted on October 7, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

On day two of the shoot for “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre” there was blood on the floor. My head got conked. A gash opened just below my hairline. And droplets of blood rained onto the floor … Continue reading →

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TELL-TALE SUBTITLES 1 – Brazilian Portuguese

Posted on October 3, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

“The Tell-Tale Heart – a musicabre“, my musical short film adaptation of the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, was seen in over 80 film festivals all over the world. Most festivals, regardless of where in the world they took … Continue reading →

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NEUSCHWANSTEIN – King Ludwig’s Fairy Tale Castle

Posted on September 22, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

On a high hill flanked by the Tegeler Mountain in the Bavarian Alps sits Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig’s “Fairy Tale Castle”. King Ludwig didn’t look far to build his fantasy castle. Hohenschwangau Castle, where Ludwig was raised, lies just across the … Continue reading →

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P&P – Day 1 – Home Invasion

Posted on September 13, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

It was our first day of shooting. I was nearly naked, in a too small bathtub of cooling water, being watched by a crew of a dozen or so people, most I’d met for the first time today. And this … Continue reading →

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The Obama Portraits at Brooklyn Museum

Posted on September 6, 2021 by dannyashkenasi
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