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Congratulations, Paul Loesel!

Bob & Jan pose with Paul at the Norma Terris Theater

Bob & Jan pose with Paul at the Norma Terris Theater
We’re late on the draw, here, but it’s about time we offered some public congratulations to former student and friend Paul Loesel, whose new musical, LMNOP, received a full-scale workshop production this summer from Goodspeed Musicals.

“When letters begin to fall from a monument in town, government officials ban them one by one. Chaos ensues until a determined teenage girl rallies the community to fight for freedom of speech. This unique musical is part romance, part clever word game and part adult fable that reminds us of how precious our liberties are; how quickly unbridled extremism can take them from us; and how important it is to have the courage to stand up for what we believe. A captivating story you’ll n_v_r forg_t!”

Based on Mark Dunn’s novel, Ella Minnow Pea, with music by Paul and book/lyrics by Scott Burkell, LMNOP received its first production at University of Michigan and, later, a three-week Lab production in New York, ultimately leading them to this gorgeous production at Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theater.

We were lucky enough to attend a performance in August, and were blown away by both Paul and Scott’s work and the work of the cast and creative staff.

For a taste of what you may have missed (and what we’ll hopefully all have a chance to see in its next incarnation!), check out this “Sizzle Reel” from Third Coast Creative:

Congratulations, Paul and Scott! Read more about their work at scottandpaul.com.

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Uses for a theater major

Parents are often concerned about “what will you do?” if a child decides to major in theater. This post suggests why it might be a fine idea.

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3 Things Thursday: Characterization & Emotional Truth

Originally published at Manga Bookshelf.

Though I rarely wax nostalgic over flame wars, I’ll admit that searching for the comment I quoted in yesterday’s “Soapbox” post led me to revisit the material that inspired it. I won’t reiterate the entire argument here, or even my entire premise, but here’s a brief excerpt that I think expresses quite well what my purpose is in experiencing and writing about fiction:

[Read more…] about 3 Things Thursday: Characterization & Emotional Truth

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Dear Glee:

This is a reprint of a blog post originally published elsewhere on March 23, 2011

Dear Glee:

I don’t always watch you. I’ll admit that until last week’s episode, I hadn’t watched you all season.

There are several reasons for this, from the unevenness of your writing to the fact that I sometimes wish that your adult characters actually did not exist. Another, though, (and my father is about to collapse from shock) is your myopic musical selection.

I defended you in the beginning. While my dad, a lifelong arts educator, was lamenting the relentlessly pop-oriented vocals and shallow musicality so often a part of “show choir” sensibility, I argued that anything that got teenagers excited about singing was to be placed staunchly in the “good” column. Even your over-produced, auto-tuned, obviously-dubbed performances were well-designed to appeal to audiences unaccustomed to the messier aesthetics of live singing. As long as your message was getting kids into music and revitalizing their schools’ performing arts programs, you were definitely doing your part.

That was then, this is now.

[Read more…] about Dear Glee:

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Make Your Garden Grow

While driving to work one day recently, I decided on a whim to listen to some recordings of my college choir concerts (c. 1989). One of the programs included a couple of pieces from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, arranged by our director, Dr. Robert Page. As the second of these pieces, “Make Our Garden Grow,” began, I felt tears welling up and I had to stop and marvel at that for a moment. The performance was far from perfect. The piece was being sung by both of the university’s choirs combined, which means that the skill level of the singers (both in technique and musicality) varied greatly. [Read more…] about Make Your Garden Grow

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“Every Little Step”

This wonderful documentary is about the musical, A Chorus Line. It tells the history of making the original stage production and also follows the casting process for the latest Broadway revival. Fascinating – and surely a must for anyone considering a career in theater. It also speaks to everyone who does something because it is “their passion.” EVERY LITTLE STEP is in theaters now. Go see it.