Musicals and the Pulitzer Prize

Musicals and the Pulitzer Prize

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is given every year to a theatrical piece that stands out, above and beyond the rest of the pack in a given calendar year. Many amazing plays have been awarded the prize while just as many game changers have been overlooked honoring what are arguably less-deserving candidates. On a rare occasion, such as what happened this week with Hamilton, a musical is awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Nine musicals have been crowned with this honor that may be the only accolade that supersedes the Best Musical Tony Award. Today's blog is a celebration of those nine musicals, ranking them in order of their significance, power and shelf-life. 

Musicals that Need NEW Recordings for a NEW Life

Musicals that Need NEW Recordings for a NEW Life

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Broadway cast recordings are the best way we have to preserve great Broadway scores for future generations to enjoy and critique. Some original cast recordings were done in an era where recording session sound quality was hit or miss. In other cases, the score was longer than the two-sides of an LP record could hold, with so much wonderful material excised in order to make the show fit. Whatever the reason, there are a handful of musicals that were given a disservice with their original cast recordings and are deserving of new ones. Here are my suggestions for the musicals I would love to see given this opportunity. 

Reflections on Fun Home

Reflections on Fun Home

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

I am a little late coming to the table at Fun Home. Complications of time, money and geography made it impossible for me to see it any sooner, though I have listened to the Broadway cast recording, again and again, in anticipation of what turned out to be a very unique show that deeply affected me when, and only when, I was able to witness it in the round, live, at the Circle in the Square Theatre.

Rodgers and Hart: My Spring Fling

Rodgers and Hart: My Spring Fling

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

There is something about the coming of spring, the earthen smell in the air and the flowers poised to bloom, that puts me in the mood for the songs of Rodgers and Hart. There is a loveliness and gaiety that I associate with their music that comes to life right around the time the earth does. Spring is all about pastoral beauty and romance, something that Rodgers and Hart deal with in spades. Today’s blog is simply a celebration of the ten Rodgers and Hart songs that put the “spring” in my step, the ditties that won’t seem to leave my brain until July.

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