Posted on July 4, 2024 at 10:29 pm

For over fifty years, the 92nd St. Y on the Upper East Side of Manhattan has hosted virtually every luminary of the musical theater through its Lyrics and Lyricists series. I am so proud to have added my name to that roster with an epic show this past May, with a stage finally big enough for my full band, nine feet of grand piano happiness, and two of the greatest soloists in this business, the peerless Mykal Kilgore and the luminous Heidi Blickenstaff.

The last time Heidi and I got to work together was twelve years ago, and since then, a LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, so it was a real joy to re-connect. Thus it was that I got to to hear her not only bring new shading and depth to one of the songs she sang back then (before The Bridges of Madison County had even premiered!) but to premiere a brand new song from an upcoming musical, which she did with sass, élan and complete star power. (And while one expects great things from professionals such as Heidi, it’s worth mentioning that she did all this on FOUR DAYS’ NOTICE when my previously announced guest had to withdraw. Heidi Blickenstaff, Just Your Average Relatable Stress-Free Olympic-Level Diva-Comic-Rockstar.)

And then, look, what can I possibly say about Mykal? I talked about him in 2017, I talked about him in 2019, then again in 2022 and then I didn’t even have a chance to write about him in 2023 but someone else did! The point is, no one sings like Mykal, no one connects to my songs like Mykal, no one is more fun to make music with than Mykal, and getting to hear Mykal premiere a song of mine is like being on the same team as LeBron in a pickup game. (Yes, Virginia, I will occasionally make a sportsball reference and no, I do not entirely know what it means.) You don’t have to believe me. You just have to watch this.

I’ve now gotten to do a couple of concerts with Danielle and Tasha singing backup, which means I’m forever spoiled and will always expect a choir of angels behind me.

The joy of having that whole stage full of great musicians is that I get to hear them interact, build on each other’s phrases, support one another and sometimes crash into one another and find a way to pull back together. Doing a show this intricate with twelve musicians and minimal rehearsal time means that we are all functioning at peak focus, one big music machine sending off sparks as it barrels down the tracks. There was no moment more joyous and revelatory than Todd and Alison having an epic throwdown during “The Western Wall,” provoking cheers and stomping from the sold-out house.

This kind of concert work has taken a back seat to my composing in the last couple of years, but I hope to get back to making music with my band more regularly soon. It is a pleasure and a privilege unlike anything else, and I’m so grateful to you all for sharing that gift with me.

You may have noticed it’s taken a while to post this set list, and that’s because two days after this concert, I started rehearsals for Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil here at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and I have only just yesterday gotten all my work done for that show (which opens Monday night). It’s a very unusual and powerful blessing to bring two brand-new musicals to life in the course of six months, and also exhausting and terrifying. But I feel like I’m finally back to regular respiratory activity, so over the next week, I’ll come back to talk about the other things that are going on in my life, including some that have not been announced yet!

I wish you all a wonderful summer, a happy Fourth of July for those who still can manage to celebrate in spite of their anxiety, and I’ll be back with more updates soon! Keep listening to that Connector cast album!

Hope from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
Step It Up (2019)
KPR (2022)
It All Fades Away from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Boat from Untitled New Musical (2021)
The Shed Shack from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (2024)
MYKAL: Let There Be Light from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (2024)
MYKAL: You Don’t Know This Man from Parade (1998)
MYKAL: Get Closer from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Sanctuary from Coming From Inside The House (2020)
*
Advice to the Playaz (lyric by William Shakespeare) (2013)
HEIDI: I Can Do Better Than That from The Last Five Years (2002)
HEIDI: Another Life from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
HEIDI: Zohra’s Song from Untitled New Musical (2023)
The Western Wall from The Connector (2024)
MYKAL: Flying Home from Songs for a New World (1995)
*
All Things In Time from How We React and How We Recover (2018)

JRB: piano, vocals, arrangements
Mykal Kilgore: vocal
Heidi Blickenstaff: vocal
Danielle Lee Greaves and Tasha Michelle: backup vocals
Gary Sieger: guitars
Randy Landau: bass
Lisette Santiago: percussion
Jamie Eblen: drums
Tony Kadleck: trumpet and flugelhorn
Alison Shearer: saxophone and flute
Ben Kono: saxophones
Clint Sharman: trombone
Todd Reynolds: violin
Horn section arrangement for “Step It Up” by Michael Nelson
Horn section arrangement for “Let There Be Light” by Alex Taylor

All photos c Richard Termine