All tagged Liza Minnelli

Binge-Watching Christmas Songs from the Stage and Screen

Binge-Watching Christmas Songs from the Stage and Screen

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

It’s that time of the year again. For some, it has already started. For others, it will be ushered in with Thanksgiving. It is time to play Christmas music: merrily, joyously, incessantly. Growing up in my home, we had a rule that Christmas carols could not be played until after Santa Claus arrived at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Nowadays, it seems we are pelted with them like soggy snowballs from the minute Tiny Tim climbs on the school bus in September. But who am I to be such a Scrooge when we are so close to Thanksgiving, even the curmudgeonly Theatre Guy’s heart grows a few sizes and he embraces the yuletide when it comes around. With that in mind (and heart), I thought I’d put together a collage of Christmas Caroling clips of songs from movies, television and stage musicals for all of us to celebrate the countdown to December 25th.  It’s guaranteed to put you in the mood for the season.  

Liza, Chita and The Rink

Liza, Chita and The Rink

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

In 1983, a musical prepared to open on Broadway that would star two of Broadway’s most-beloved and enduring talents: one a Tony-nominated (several times over) triple-threat known particularly for her electric dancing prowess, the other the daughter of Hollywood royalty (Judy Garland) who had carved her own exciting niche in entertainment outside of her mother’s shadow, having won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. They were, of course, Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli, respectively. Together they would appear in the next Broadway musical by composers Kander and Ebb who had created scores for gritty musicals such as Cabaret and Chicago. Writing the original story was playwright Albert Innaurato, best-known for the comedic family-drama Gemini. Direction was to be by Arthur Laurents who had directed, among many other things, the original Gypsy. The musical that was shaping up to be the exciting event of the season was The Rink.

"Colored Lights" - The Rink - The Deeper Connection

"Colored Lights" - The Rink - The Deeper Connection

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Kander and Ebb are best known for their brassy showtunes, set distinctly to ignite some Fosse-esque, bump and grind dance number, complete with a racy lyric or two. "Wilkommen," "Cabaret," "All that Jazz," "The Cell Block Tango," "When You're Good to Momma," "Nowadays," "Where You Are," and "Gimme Love" are perfect examples of what I am talking about. What we forget is that there is also a quieter, more organic side to the duo's music that established a deeper connection with character development and emotional understanding. I am speaking of the Kander and Ebb who wrote "The Happy Time," "Life Is," "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer," "Say Yes," "It Couldn't Please Me More" and "All the Children in a Row." I think we have a tendency to forget that Kander and Ebb were capable of something far richer than the bawdy and the brash.