Tag Archives: musical

To the Woman Who Sat in Rear Mezz B 106 During Last Night’s Performance of THE BAND’S VISIT

Posted on December 22, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

This post is not really about “The Band’s Visit”, the marvelously unlikely new Broadway musical hit show, enchanting critics and sold out houses. This is about you, the sad selfish woman sitting diagonally behind me. You see, about halfway through … Continue reading →

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The Young Lovers’ Path to Speak Easy

Posted on June 25, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

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 →

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SPEAKEASY – The Irony of the Young Lovers’ Duets

Posted on June 22, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

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 →

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SPEAKEASY – Advice from a (Lesbian) Caterpillar

Posted on June 19, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

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 →

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SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH JAKE – Will it Lead to Sunday in the Cinema with Jake?

Posted on April 17, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

  When you see a theater production of a piece you know well and love well, after having  seen wonderful and celebrated productions of the piece many times before, including the original Broadway production, and watched the dvd of that production … Continue reading →

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CANNIBALISM IN THE CARS – a Musical Take on Mark Twain’s Succulent Satire of Congress

Posted on April 11, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

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 →

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Speakeasy Highlight Reel

Posted on February 19, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

It’s the one year anniversary of the workshop performances of “Speakeasy – John and Jane’s Adventures in the Wonderland“.  To mark the occasion, here are some screen shots of the Speakeasy Highlight Reel, a 13 minute edit of selections from … Continue reading →

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Holiday Repost: HAPPY HOLIDAYS – How this Carol Curmudgeon Ended Up Unwittingly Writing Three Seasonably Suited Carols Himself

Posted on December 28, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

(Originally posted last Christmas… Last Christmas … sniff… R.I.P. George Michael…) I plead guilty to being a bit of a Christmas Carol Grinch.  OK, I used to be a BIG Christmas Carol Grinch, really loathing most carols and sometimes resorting … Continue reading →

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN with Notes from a Composer

Posted on October 29, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

As Halloween falls on a Monday this year, I think it makes sense to call this a long Halloween Weekend.  Much costumed celebrating and ghoulish goings-on will have already begun yesterday and continue through today and Sunday into the official … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber Works, Cinema Scope, Musicabilia, Notes in the News, Poe Musicabres, The Teaching Artist, Two-fisted Touristing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI – a mini musical adaptation

Posted on July 15, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

  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 →

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SINGING HAMILTON IN CARS

Posted on July 7, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

Celebrities, Politicos, Soccer-Moms and Babies gettin’ their Alexander on! Exploring the intermittently sublime sub-sub-sub genre of singing along to Hamilton while riding in a car!   Above is the famous Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke starring James Corden and Lin-Manuel … Continue reading →

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Introducing the MARK TWAIN MUSICAL Page

Posted on July 5, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

  It’s been a while since I’ve built a new permanent page on Notes from a Composer.  See the black banner border above?  Where you can access the following pages, or skip to the following content: Home Bio Credits & … Continue reading →

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The Best Hamilton Anecdote Ever (well, surely one of the best)

Posted on June 13, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

The actor Rob McClure (currently performing in Something Rotten) just posted the following anecdote about Hamilton on his Facebook page.  It’s going viral, as they say nowadays.  Read it to see why:   “Hamilton deserved every Tony. Here’s one of … Continue reading →

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ANTOINETTE LOVES ALEXANDER – 11 Tonys for Hamilton

Posted on June 12, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

To no one’s surprise, the musical Hamilton dominated the Tony awards show tonight, winning a near record 11 Tonys (after racking up a record breaking 16 nominations). But beyond the electric charge and grace not only exhibited by Hamilton, but … Continue reading →

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NfaC Pride Month Repost: THE NEARLY INVISIBLE BISEXUAL MALE

Posted on June 4, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

June is Pride Month.  So I thought I should make my first post of the month a post that deals heavily with LGBTQ issues.  And although my many posts related to my musical Speakeasy almost invariably deal with LGBTQ issues, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginnings, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, The Speakeasy Chronicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SPEAKEASY – Douglas McDonnell sings “Dance into the Light”

Posted on May 31, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

The tenor Douglas McDonnell sang two songs from Speakeasy at last weekend’s Lower East Side festival at the Theater for the New City: “Dance into the Light” and “All You Are”.  Unfortunately technical difficulties got in the way of recording … Continue reading →

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