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.

BEST SONG OSCAR SURPRISE? – The movie song I predict will be this year’s stealth surprise Oscar Best Original Song nominee

Posted on December 14, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

A few days ago the Academy, aka the people who hand out the Oscars, revealed the list of songs from this year’s movies that are eligible to be nominated as best original song in a motion picture.  There are 74 … Continue reading →

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“CAROL” & THERESE – “SPEAKEASY” & JANE – stories from the time when lesbian love dared not say its name

Posted on December 11, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

      I love the movie “Carol”.  It is one of the best movies of the year, masterful on all levels.  While I was watching it, I kept on thinking: “How exquisitely swoony”.  Refined and restrained on the one … Continue reading →

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THANK YOU

Posted on December 8, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Thank you everybody who came to the reading Monday night. Thank you for your enthusiasm and all the wonderful comments. Thank you to the performers for all their incredible talent and hard work. Much was accomplished and much learned putting … Continue reading →

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Sneak Peek Photos of the cast of Monday’s Speakeasy Reading

Posted on December 6, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Monday, December 7 at 7pm, we will present the first public performance of “Speakeasy – John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland” as a book-in-hand reading of the musical. It will be a way to introduce Speakeasy to the Theater … Continue reading →

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BroadwayWorld.com Spotlights Speakeasy Reading!

Posted on December 3, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

BroadwayWorld.com just posted this article about Speakeasy: New Musical SPEAKEASY to Receive Reading at TNC Next Week           The creative team of Speakeasy: John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland, a fantastical musical of Prohibition-era NYC … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY GOES OFF TO THE BALLROOM – The Great Drag Balls of the 1920’s/1930’s

Posted on December 2, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The centerpiece in Act Two of the new musical “Speakeasy – John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland” is the great drag ball at the Jefferson Lodge Ball.  Chet Cheshire presides over the festivities, attended by a sparkling variety of … Continue reading →

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THE SPEAKEASY KICKSTARTER REWARDS – from Signed Collectible Postcard to VIP On Stage Performance Cameo

Posted on November 28, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

When we decided we would need to turn to Kickstarter to raise the funding necessary to mount a showcase production of “Speakeasy – John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland”, we learned that creating an attractive set of rewards for … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY Reading December 7

Posted on November 27, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

R  E  M  I  N  D  E  R There will be a reading of SPEAKEASY John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland by Danny Ashkenasi December 7 7pm at the Theater for the New City 155 First Avenue, between 9th … Continue reading →

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CYNDI LAUPER Just Wants to Have Lots and Lots of Fun (and so do many guys)

Posted on November 24, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is the song that put Cyndi Lauper on the scene and to this day is the song she is most identified with, even though she has had many other hit songs since, recorded dance … Continue reading →

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JULIAN CARNATION / JULIAN ELTINGE – Speakeasy’s Red Queen and Mad Hatter & Broadway’s Famous Female Impersonator

Posted on November 20, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

When I was researching Gay Culture of the 1920’s and 1930’s in preparation for writing “Speakeasy”, I came about an anecdote about a once famous female impersonator of the 1910’s and 1920’s, Julian Eltinge, a star of Vaudeville and the … Continue reading →

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Speakeasy – An interview conducted by author Rebecca Cantrell – updated

Posted on November 17, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The bestselling Author Rebecca Cantrell has posted an interview with me about Speakeasy on her blog.  In it I reveal some tidbits about Speakeasy and a song demo that had not yet found their way to Notes from a Composer. … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED!

Posted on November 16, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

The Day Has Come!  We Have Launched Our Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign! CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PROJECT PAGE!   Help bring this original, ambitious new musical onto the stage! “Speakeasy – John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland” brings … Continue reading →

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BLONDIE vs. SHEENA – Grudge Match of the Bond Themes

Posted on November 14, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

With the release of the latest Bond, “Spectre”, a whole bunch of internet articles listed rankings of the Bond theme songs.  Sultry “Nobody Does it Better” generally wound up the #1 choice of most of these polls, followed by the … Continue reading →

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TROUBLE BUBBLES – The Songs from Childhood that Loom Large All One’s Life

Posted on November 11, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I was three years old when Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released and became the one of the most popular songs of its time.   One of my earliest memories is of me, small boy hardly taller than … Continue reading →

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SPEAKEASY CAMPAIGN VIDEO PREVIEW – plus Audition and Facebook News!

Posted on November 8, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Speakeasy Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign Video: Above is a sneak peek at the video we created for our upcoming Kickstarter fundraising campaign for Speakeasy.  Look forward to the fundraiser being launched in a little over a week.  Meanwhile you can now … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE OPERAS: New Similarities and Differences

Posted on November 5, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

When all three first grade classes chose “Magic” as the theme for their original operas I worried that the three pieces would all end up being too similar.  However, the three “Theme Sentences” (for 1-1: “Magic can control people’s minds”; … Continue reading →

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