All in Music That Makes Me Dance
Patter songs are delightfully energetic ditties that are often plugged into musicals for humor or inject energy, often an eleven o’clock number or as a pick-me-up after more serious moments. They are a lot of fun and usually a scene-stealing moment for a great comedic performer who can pull-off their rapid-fire delivery. The definition of a “patter song” is a musical sequence that is performed at a relatively fast tempo, rhythmic patterns that are staccato in nature, with each syllable of the lyric corresponding to a note. There is often internal rhymes, tongue-twister-style formatting, and the device is often paired with the “list song”, another musical theatre device where lists are shared as a humorous assault of information.
I will admit that I do not get as excited by newer musicals as I am by anything pre-Rent. I am, within reason, a traditionalist, attracted to the old-fashioned showtunes and plot structures .That's not to say that I haven't found composers and musicals in the last two-decades that are not traditional in style, but that do appeal to me. A David Yazbek or Jason Robert Brown project is always exciting, and Jeanine Tesori is quickly becoming one of my favorite composers. Fun Home and Bright Star are recent shows that both thrilled me in ways I hadn't expected. Hamilton, though I respect it and certainly love what it's achieving with the younger generations, left me cold, or at least not as stirred in ways that other musicals have. It is, however, with great excitement that I have found a new musical that compels me, thrills me, and absolutely makes me excited about new musicals again. That musical is Dear Evan Hansen.
I have no business writing a piece about football, let alone one that is in celebration of the Super Bowl. In all fairness, until I was fifteen, I thought the Super Bowl was the large concert venue where Bette Midler in the movie Beaches. It turns out, that was the Hollywood Bowl. When I was in college, my theatre friends and I would have an anti-Super Bowl party where we would drink, eat homemade chili, and watch videotapes of old Tony Awards ceremonies. My understanding of football (or lack thereof) is limited to some poor instruction in high school gym class (my school did not have a football team) and what little I have picked up from people talking about it around me. Once, I even won $400 on a football pool for the Super Bowl, though I had a more-knowledgeable friend choose the details of the scores for me (yes, I split my winnings with him). So, I have no understanding of football. Except…
If you are like me, a bitter, sarcastic Muppet-like creature, Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly your cup of tea. We of this ilk condemn the holiday as a commercially created reason to spend money on cards, flowers, sweets, and for the most entrenched of us, jewelry. We bemoan the coming of old February 14 and pray to God that Cupid’s arrow misfires and lands squarely between his own cherubic eyes.
