(Well, not exactly.) This year has been a non-stop celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, and if you’re like me, the only shame is that it isn’t like that every year. As it is, I’m still luxuriating in the events from Steve’s 75th birthday, and I got to participate in one of those events inRead More »

In the best improvisation, it’s the soloist’s job to navigate the maze between the beginning and the end, with nothing but the most rudimentary map. I’m always amazed to hear improvisers like Fred Hersch, who can find impossibly elegant but unexpected routes through that maze. Thelonious Monk, on the other hand, gives the joyful senseRead More »

As a followup to my previous sound blog, which was about an ill-fated collaboration with David Lindsay-Abaire, today I’ll focus on one of my collaborations with David that worked out very well indeed. After the original production of Parade closed in New York, I was in parlous financial straits and needed to get out ofRead More »

In the summer of 2002, I had a meeting with a producer about writing the score for a new musical based on a beloved cartoon character from the 1930’s. In a dénouement that will be no surprise to regular readers of this blog, it didn’t work out as expected. The original rights-holder of this cartoonRead More »

[Part 1 can be read here, and Part 2 can be read here. You’re in for a long night.] I was in Philadelphia in May 1996, doing the very first reading of Parade. Every night was spent arranging and rewriting material, and all day was spent rehearsing with Hal and the cast. It was exhilaratingRead More »