Follow me on Twitter
My TweetsCATEGORIES for all posts
- Beginnings (43)
- Chamber Works (15)
- Cinema Scope (49)
- LGBTQ Alphabet Soup (57)
- Literary Lyricism (23)
- Live! On Stage (54)
- Melodies Linger On (82)
- Musicabilia (27)
- Notes in the News (82)
- The Speakeasy Chronicles (75)
- The Teaching Artist (21)
- Two-fisted Touristing (50)
Archives
- July 2017 (3)
- June 2017 (7)
- May 2017 (4)
- April 2017 (8)
- March 2017 (6)
- February 2017 (7)
- January 2017 (8)
- December 2016 (5)
- November 2016 (8)
- October 2016 (7)
- September 2016 (6)
- August 2016 (8)
- July 2016 (10)
- June 2016 (10)
- May 2016 (6)
- April 2016 (7)
- March 2016 (10)
- February 2016 (13)
- January 2016 (10)
- December 2015 (12)
- November 2015 (11)
- October 2015 (11)
- September 2015 (8)
- August 2015 (10)
- July 2015 (10)
- June 2015 (13)
- May 2015 (9)
- April 2015 (10)
Blogroll
- Ashkenasi You Tube Channel Videos of excerpts from several of Ashkenasi’s musicals
- Speakeasy Songs Soundcloud demo recordings of songs from the musical “Speakeasy”
- Follow Notes from a Composer on WordPress.com
Notes from a Composer
Category Archives: Literary Lyricism
The Young Lovers’ Path to Speak Easy
Two Fawns in the Wood Dance into the Light Maybe it’s just a dream. Maybe it’s real. Maybe it doesn’t matter either way. For the shame and the betrayal are felt just as acutely. In the musical Speakeasy, an … Continue reading
Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Literary Lyricism, The Speakeasy Chronicles
Tagged 1920s, 1930s, adultery, Alice in Wonderland, Dance into the Light, Dream, Fawn, Fawn in the Wood, Gershwin, Jane Allison, John Allison, Lewis Carroll, magical realism, musical, Prohibition, Queer, same-sex, sexual identity, Speakeasy, Through the Looking Glass, Trial of the Tarts
Leave a comment
SPEAKEASY – The Irony of the Young Lovers’ Duets
Curious Colorful Night – It’s a Dream – Momentary Bliss Three lovers’ duets that are not what they seem to the ear Ah, young lovers’ duets. A hallmark of musicals, especially those of the 1920s and 1930s, and so of … Continue reading
Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Literary Lyricism, The Speakeasy Chronicles
Tagged 1920s, 1930s, Curious Colorful Night, curiouser, drag ball, duet, ingenue, irony, It's a Dream, Jane Allison, John Allison, Lewis Carroll, lovers, magical realism, Momentary Bliss, musical, Queer, Roaring Twenties, Speakeasy, Subculture, Wonderland
Leave a comment
SPEAKEASY – Advice from a (Lesbian) Caterpillar
Two songs from “Speakeasy” explore two sides of a closeted 1920’s lesbian For many years I hoped to write a musical about the queer subculture of Roaring Twenties New York, but didn’t find my “in” until I came upon the … Continue reading
Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Literary Lyricism, Notes in the News, The Speakeasy Chronicles
Tagged 1800s, 19th Century, Alice in Wonderland, Caroline Chrysalides, Caterpillar, Female Friendships, flappers, Jane Allison, Jazz Age, lesbian, Lewis Carroll, LGBTQ, magical realism, musical, My Passion, operetta, Roaring Twenties, sexual revolution, Speakeasy
Leave a comment
The Passing of The Oriole’s Song
The Last Question I do not remember what my father said when we last spoke. But my mother remembers … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Literary Lyricism
Tagged 1930, BJ Elder, bombing raid, china, Dave Elder, EastBridge, girlhood, Hunan, Kendal, Meeting, memoir, memorial, poetry, Quaker, The Oriole's Song, wartime, World War 2, Yuan River, Yuanling
4 Comments
SPAMALOT infiltrates EMILY DICKINSON in A QUIET PASSION
Arthur: But I’m alone (Patsy: oh no you’re not!) So all alone (Patsy: I’m here you twat!) All by myself I’m all alone I’m All Alone (from “Spamalot”) – Tim Curry and Michael McGrath What do Monty Python and … Continue reading
CANNIBALISM IN THE CARS – a Musical Take on Mark Twain’s Succulent Satire of Congress
Congress … yuck! A distasteful subject! Quite literally even, according to Mark Twain. Every year Congress gives us more reasons to loathe it. This year perhaps more than ever. Thinking ill and making fun of Congress is a sport that … Continue reading
SONGS OF JOB’S DESPAIR – “I’m Alive” & “Divine Intervention”
“I’m Alive” and “Divine Intervention” are two songs that speak to humanity’s age-old despair, in the person of one man crying out against overwhelming unspeakable events outside of his fault and control. They were written for The Song of Job … Continue reading
Posted in Literary Lyricism, Musicabilia
Tagged 9/11, Book of Job, Divine Intervention, I'm Alive, Job, Old Testament, oratorio, song cycle, The Song of Job 9:11
Leave a comment
LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI – a mini musical adaptation
I recently created the TWAIN page, where you can read about stories and listen to musical excerpts from my Mark Twain musical comedy beTwixt, beTween & beTWAIN. Below I will reproduce a complete scene from the musical, the mini-adaptation … Continue reading
So, Apparently the Corpse of Harry Potter Washed Up on a Beach
SPOILER AND ODOR ALERT: The following contains details of the movie Swiss Army Man, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, as well as of the Harry Potter series which many will consider spoilers. As well as ghastly many references to … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Scope, Literary Lyricism
Tagged canon, corpse, Daniel Radcliffe, dead body, Deatheater, Dobby, Expelliarmus, farts, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, magic, Paul Dano, spells, Spielberg, Swiss Army Man
Leave a comment
Speakeasy inspired ART by PETER BONNER
Peter Bonner is a New York based artist originally from Australia. We met as members of the choir singing the Ode to Joy in Carnegie Hall with the World Community Orchestra. He has been reading the libretto and listening to … Continue reading
Posted in Literary Lyricism, The Speakeasy Chronicles
Tagged 1920s, 1930s, Alice in Wonderland, art, Australia, Carnegie Hall, charcoal sketch, collage, dance, kentile, Lewis Carroll, LGBT, magical realism, musical, Ode to Joy, oil painting, Peter Bonner, Queer, rabbit hole, sexual liberation, sketches, Speakeasy, Theater for the New City, WCO, Wordl Community Orchestra
2 Comments
The BROADWAY BLOG spotlights SPEAKEASY
The Broadway Blog has posted an article about Speakeasy. Find it here or read the excerpt below: Opening — ‘Speakeasy: John and Jane’s Adventures in Wonderland’ February 8th, 2016 Matthew Wexler Before there was Hedwig and the Angry Inch, there … Continue reading
Posted in LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Literary Lyricism, Notes in the News, The Speakeasy Chronicles
Tagged 1920s, 1930s, Alice in Wonderland, Broadway Blog, Danny Ashkenasi, Gay, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Lewis Carroll, LGBT, Mathew Wexler, musical, Prohibition, Queer, Speakeasy, Theater for the New City
Leave a comment
Speakeasy – THE LOBSTER QUADRILLE vs. THE LOBSTER CHARLESTON
Introducing the latest dance craze from the Roaring Twenties: The Lobster Charleston! The Lobster Charleston Yes, it’s a novelty dance, like the Turkey Trot, or the Chicken Dance, or the Macarena, the Mashed Potato and Gangnam Style. But it’s imaginary, … Continue reading
Speakeasy Photo Shoot Extra: The Unbearable Cuteness of Jane and John
Or perhaps I should say, the off-the-charts adorableness of Rosalie Graziano and Matias Polar as Jane and John Allison? The last shot of the day we did at the press photo shoot was a shot of Jane and John reading … Continue reading
Behind the scenes at the SPEAKEASY PRESS PHOTO SHOOT
It is an odd reality of our production of Speakeasy that our Public Relations officer required press photos before we even launched into rehearsals. So we had to “create” moments from the show before we had yet gotten around to … Continue reading
A Halloween Treat: THE TELL-TALE HEART – A MUSICABRE and the roommate from hell who planted its seed
Just in time for Halloween the Tell-Tale Heart page goes live today, showcasing the audio of a live performance of my musical adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The Tell-Tale Heart is the ultimate bad roommate story, as … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, Literary Lyricism, Musicabilia
Tagged alcohol abuse, Americana, cello, chamber opera, cocaine, Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Franko, festival, Halloween, literature, madness, Metropolitan Playhouse, monologue, murder, musical, Poe, psychopath, roommate, The Tell-Tale Heart
Leave a comment
