#1
Posted: 8/2/05 at 9:28pm
Over the past few months, I've become aquainted with the works of several bright up-and-coming musical theater composers, notably Jeff Blumenkrantz, Peter Mills and Steve Lutvak. I met Steve through his contribution to my favorite show of the year, SONGS FROM AN UNMADE BED (He sat next to me, and I turned and said "You'll really like this show, this is the fifth time I'm seeing it" and he replied "I co-wrote one of the songs in it - "Exit Right") As it was one of my favorites in the score, I used the LcZ rule that states that if someone wrote ONE good song, they've written other good ones too - and bought Steves solo CD, THE TIME IT TAKES. I guessed right - Imagine a gay, out Billy Joel with smarter lyrics and you will get some idea of his stuff: bright, tunes and equally catchy ballads. I was pleased to see that Lutvak had written the theme song for the film MAD HOT BALLROOM (which I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned as a potential Broadway musical) and I ran to see his show last Friday at the Duplex.
Happily, Lutvak has turned his attention to three new, soon-to-be-workshopped book musicals, THE WAYSIDE INN (co-written with Ron McGee) and two written in collabotration with lyricist Robert L. Freedman (Lutvak also contributed lyrics to all three shows): KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (a musical adaptation in of the classic Alec Guinness film), and most intriguingly,
CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY, a political musical based on Upton Sinclair's unsucessful race to be Govenor of California in 1934 (the socialist-turned Democrat was the victim of an organized smear campagn orchestrated by William Randolph Heast and Louis B. Mayer, and Aimee McPherson and Shirley Temple - who had a 'no politics' clause in her Fox contract - were recruited to campaign against him). Lutvack, accompanied by singers
Catherine Walker and John Hellyer performed selections from the scores, the majority from CORONETS which sounds like a cross between DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and Gilbert & Sullivan (and that's a compliment) and alone, Lutvak performed a number of solos, notably "Exit Right" (Lyrics by Mark Campbell), "The Dinner Party (Bagelmakers to the Czar)" "I'll Imagine You a Song" (Lyrics by Carol Hall; written in honor of Nancy LaMott) and a beautiful new lullaby to a sleeping lover that's not on CD yet. I don't know in what stages of development the other two musicals are, but on September 19, CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY will get a full reading and I plan on attending it.
Lutvak is performing the last Friday night of every month till December at the Duplex, and I don't care if you call me a shill - I highly recommend his show (which will be a bit different each month with diffrent guest stars). Go see him, he writes good stuff!
Happily, Lutvak has turned his attention to three new, soon-to-be-workshopped book musicals, THE WAYSIDE INN (co-written with Ron McGee) and two written in collabotration with lyricist Robert L. Freedman (Lutvak also contributed lyrics to all three shows): KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (a musical adaptation in of the classic Alec Guinness film), and most intriguingly,
CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY, a political musical based on Upton Sinclair's unsucessful race to be Govenor of California in 1934 (the socialist-turned Democrat was the victim of an organized smear campagn orchestrated by William Randolph Heast and Louis B. Mayer, and Aimee McPherson and Shirley Temple - who had a 'no politics' clause in her Fox contract - were recruited to campaign against him). Lutvack, accompanied by singers
Catherine Walker and John Hellyer performed selections from the scores, the majority from CORONETS which sounds like a cross between DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and Gilbert & Sullivan (and that's a compliment) and alone, Lutvak performed a number of solos, notably "Exit Right" (Lyrics by Mark Campbell), "The Dinner Party (Bagelmakers to the Czar)" "I'll Imagine You a Song" (Lyrics by Carol Hall; written in honor of Nancy LaMott) and a beautiful new lullaby to a sleeping lover that's not on CD yet. I don't know in what stages of development the other two musicals are, but on September 19, CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY will get a full reading and I plan on attending it.
Lutvak is performing the last Friday night of every month till December at the Duplex, and I don't care if you call me a shill - I highly recommend his show (which will be a bit different each month with diffrent guest stars). Go see him, he writes good stuff!
"Christ, Bette Davis?!?!"
Updated On: 8/2/05 at 09:28 PM
