Sunday, September 12, 2004

Fred Ebb

Sorry to hear of the death yesterday of writer-lyricist Fred Ebb...and I'll confess that I have a selfish, personal feeling of regret here. A mutual friend had been trying for a couple years now to arrange a meal at which I could meet one of my favorite Broadway lyricists (or lyrist, as some of them insist on being called) and we were never able to coordinate it. Had it happened, I would have enjoyed telling Mr. Ebb how much I always admired, not just his "hits" like the songs from Cabaret and Chicago and Funny Lady, as well as the ubiquitous, "New York, New York," but also some of his less well-known works. The songs from The Happy Time are every bit as good as those. They just had the misfortune of being in a show with a less-than-satisfactory book. So were the songs in Flora, the Red Menace and Steel Pier and any number of others. He really laid down an amazing run of quality work.

Not long ago, someone sent me a DVD that I enjoyed very much — Broadway & Hollywood Legends: The Songwriters - Kander & Ebb and Alan Jay Lerner. Half is Mr. Lerner and some folks singing his songs. Half is Mr. Ebb singing tunes that he and John Kander penned, with Kander accompanying him on the piano. Neither is a polished performer but there's always something wonderful about seeing a songwriter, however weak a vocalist he may be, doing his own material. You get to hear, more or less, how the author heard it in his head when he wrote it — which may or may not be the way it ultimately reached the mass audience — and it's always performed with gusto and pride. On the DVD, Ebb fares better than most, though he perspires at a rate that will remind you of that scene with Albert Brooks in Broadcast News.

What's especially interesting are the gestures and the way he "sells" the material. Liza Minnelli often said that everything she learned about performing that was not genetic, she learned from Kander and Ebb. If you didn't know that, you might watch his performance and think, "Hey, that guy moves a lot like Liza." But of course, it was probably the other way around.

• Posted at 5:18 PM · LINK

Your Mother Was a Hamster

Eric Idle has written another chapter in his ongoing diary of how he and some associates are turning Monty Python and the Holy Grail into a Broadway show. Sure hope they include Ralph the Wonder Llama.

• Posted at 2:51 PM · LINK

Crossover Audience

Even if you don't agree with their politics, I hope you'll admire the enterprise and wit of folks like Freewayblogger. It's a new way of making a political statement, probably more effective than a lot of things we could all be doing. And some of his signs are either funny...or too true to be funny.

• Posted at 12:40 PM · LINK

Flying Somewhere?

Want to get the most comfortable seat on the plane? Then consult the Seat Guru.

Sunday, September 12, 2004

Recommended Reading

• Posted at 10:29 PM · LINK