All in Odds & Ends

The Great Musical Theatre Brunch

The Great Musical Theatre Brunch

Mark Robinson
Odds & Ends

ave you ever been sitting around with friends and had that conversation that begins “If you could have any person, dead or alive, sit down and chat with you for an hour, who would it be?” Sure you have! Those of us with musical theatre obsessions play this game all of the time. I’m going to take it a step further because I like to imagine what it would be like to hold a Musical Theatre brunch. A brunch you say? Brunch is my favorite meal, so if I am going to host, that’s what it will be. Crepes, quiche, fresh fruit, pastries and mimosas. The rule of the game is that I can only invite ten people to the event and they must be living (without the latter restriction, I could never whittle the list down). Here’s the guest list and why I chose them.

Into the Woods – When a Musical Is More than Just a Musical

Into the Woods – When a Musical Is More than Just a Musical

Mark Robinson
Odds & Ends

We all have our favorite musical, this is something most of us cannot deny. We feel guilty choosing one, but we do. Still, some of us take our obsession with a particular musical to a new level, and mine has always been with the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical Into the Woods. There is so much wisdom and understanding of human nature buried inside this musical that, every time I return to it, I learn something new or make an observation that I hadn’t the first 200 times I’ve watched, listened to, or read it.  

The Bane of Broadway Aficionados: Soundtrack or Cast Recording?

The Bane of Broadway Aficionados: Soundtrack or Cast Recording?

Mark Robinson
Odds & Ends

The great faux pas of young musical theatre enthusiasts is that they will use the words "soundtrack" and "cast recording" interchangeably, or omit the latter and defer to the former as a catch-all. Let's clear things up, once and for all: if it's a recording of a movie musical, it's a motion picture soundtrack. If the recording is of a Broadway show, it's an original cast album or cast recording. Never the twain shall meet.

The Love of Theatre: Theatre for Theatre’s Sake in Arts Education

The Love of Theatre: Theatre for Theatre’s Sake in Arts Education

Mark Robinson
Odds & Ends

It has become de rigueur for those in the world of arts education (and theatre as a whole) to default to excuses as to why theatre (and the arts as a whole) is beneficial beyond the experience of art in order to justify its existence. It is understandable that, in a world where Common Core defines content, test scores define value, and grant applications for theatre projects demand making these connections, those who love and teach the arts will use whatever means necessary to make a case for their project. This is really a sad commentary on where we, as a society, place the arts in terms of importance.

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