It is hard work being a composer - and even harder to get a show put on, as any composer will tell you. But there are ways to make your work get heard - and far more widely than West 45th Street or Shaftesbury Avenue and their environs. It’s called, of course, the internet; and the London debut of American songwriter Jeff Blumenkrantz last night has demonstrated perfectly how its reach can work.
Last night’s concert happened, in fact, thanks to Facebook, and a Danish postgrad student at Mountview called Thomas Bay Pedersen; and due, in turn, to Jeff’s personal website, which brought his music to the ears of one of Thomas’s tutors back home in his native Denmark in the first place, and who introduced Thomas to Jeff’s work via the podcasts he offers there of many of his songs. Thomas duly connected with Jeff on facebook - and as they were chatting, Thomas mentioned how great it would be if Jeff could appear in London. Jeff replied that he was coming over in June, and Thomas suggested he contacted Amy Maiden - another Facebook ‘friend’ who has previously produced one-off concerts for other American writers Jason Robert Brown, Andrew Lippa and Georgia Stitt in London.
And so it is that Jeff was appearing in St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge last night under Amy’s auspices.
And it’s thanks to the internet, that I found about it, too. My friend Richard who was at Maria Friedman’s Menier concert the second time I went had fallen in love with her rendition of his song “I Won’t Mind”, and was back there for a second time, too, to hear it again; he had duly tracked Jeff back to his website, and found out there that he was going to make this London debut - and suggested we went. So he duly booked the tickets - online, of course (there was, in fact, no other way!) - and then, in the middle of the week before last, left me a message asking me where and when we should meet to see it.
That’s where the human fallibility of the web occurred, as I previously reported here - I checked Jeff’s site for the start time, but didn’t notice the start date! And so it was that I turned up a week early! Still, at least I wasn’t a week late, and I didn’t miss it entirely. If I had, I would have missed one of the best musical cabaret evenings of the year. It’s always a thrill to hear almost entirely new music - and, “I Won’t Mind” apart, it was indeed all new to my ears. (Some of it was even receiving its live performance premiere, as when a song written for Broadway star Sutton Foster’s new album was heard for the first time).
For many American theatre composers, cabaret is a genre which make it possible to get songs “out” there quickly — and like John Bucchino (currently represented on Broadway for the first time by his score for A Catered Affair) and David Friedman - Jeff has found this to be a fertile arena to do so in. In fact, both Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Lippa, who have also appeared at St Paul’s, started out in cabaret together - and are still both brilliant cabaret exponents of their own work. I am delighted to now add Jeff to their front ranks; and the pedigree of people who have not only performed his songs in the past - from Audra McDonald and Victoria Clark to Megan Mullally, Rebecca Luker, Emily Skinner and Judy Kuhn - was demonstrated last night, too, by the stellar line-up of three of the brightest young talents on the UK scene, Alexandra Silber, Lauren Ward and Damian Humbley (though none of them, as Jeff pointed out last night, are in fact British!).
Each had their own moment to shine - and also, in a finale trio, to join with Jeff in a song he had written for a film short, Freefall (and that, in another example of his web reach, can still be seen on youtube here). But though Jeff gives these terrific singers a wide range of moods and textures to draw1 on, it is in his renditions of his own songs — and particularly those for a musical called Hush about a gay Jewish New York theatre composer — that he truly shows his own voice, in every sense. He does what the best cabaret writers and performers always do: they make it intimate and personal. (It is, paradoxically, this attribute that sometimes makes it difficult for them to break out into the wider, character-driven world of musical theatre, since those characters often end up sounding like the writer, too). He is also, of course, his own fine accompanist.
Just as Sondheim once offered an “Invocation and Instructions to the audience” in his show The Frogs, Jeff opened his set with a song of his own that offers a contemporary update, with instructions about turning mobile phones off - and last night, even had a personal name check for me! (“And unless you’re Mark Shenton throwing superlatives around/don’t make a sound”). I am more than happy to make a loud noise about this!
Amongst those hearing it last night were Matthew Warchus, whose wife, of course, is Lauren Ward - and who had their third child less than two months ago! In fact, I spoke to Matthew in a phone interview about his current touring revival of Our House when he was opening Boeing-Boeing in New York last month, when Lauren had just had it; he came home for 24 hours to welcome their new child into the world - but had missed the birth itself. “I heard my child born via my phone when I was at JFK, about to board the flight home”, he told me. Last night marked Lauren’s welcome return to performing - and her proud husband managed to be there this time!
But where, I wonder, were the members of Musical Theatre Matters, the British group set up to promote the work of local musical writers? At a panel discussion between critics and the group that I participated in back in April, one member made a plea for critics to play a greater role in attending and supporting the development of new musicals; but as I replied at the time, how many of them had been to Notes in Heels, a show that introduced a set of American women composers to London ears for the first time that had taken place the night before our seminar? None was the answer; and they were conspicuous by their absence last night, too. I think that MTM’s members might be able to learn a thing or two about their craft from Jeff - and also about his use of the internet to promote it.
Where were the people form Musical Theatre Matters? The answer is pretty plain - they weren't there because Jeff Blumenkrantz, or the Notes in Heels women , or Andrew Lippa or Jason Robert Brown are all AMERICAN. Serious musical theatre writing happens in America, not Britain. Part of the reason is that musical theatre writing here in the UK is part of the pantomime tradition. Learning it at a conservatory level is simply not taken seriously because of that and until the Musical Theatre Matters people wake up and import teachers and lecturers from America, musical theatre writing in Britain will continue to be bad.
Americans have no problem importing British experts on Shakespeare - why oh why are the Brits so stubborn about acknowledging something that they simply aren't good at. Until that door is opened we're going to have only a single handful of musical theatre writers in this country .
Frank indeed....!
I'll apologise in advance for a long "comment" - this is a subject of course close to my heart!
A most interesting blog, Mark - again you highlight the fact that American musical theatre is blossoming even this side of the Atlantic. And the comments from Frank are interesting too. Bearing in mind that the biggest shows in the States seem to be the powerhouses with Disney and Dreamworks and so on, your opening statement about being a composer getting one's work heard rings so true. I would imagine that a good few US writing teams feel the same, especially talented members of the major development workshops. I know a few!
It's easy to join the duldrums of negativity about British writing as Frank does, but I for one must of course take exception to his sweeping generalisation. Then again when one's own work seems to be flourishing more in the United States than here in the UK, maybe there just isn't the quality of new writing here to make people believe that UK writers can come up with the goods. Perhaps we are all tarnished by the same brush.
Getting a show on here is indeed a laborious, excrutiatingly long process. My show "Tomorrow Morning" premiered at the New End Theatre in 2006, after it's first public workshop was in 2004, after many years previous work. The show was showcased in Chicago in 2007, and has two US productions this year alone (one of which though I must credit UK producer Hilary Williams as being instrumental in). There is a chance of a UK production next year, but the "big" UK production didn't happen yet as it looked like it might. It's a David in a land of Goliaths.
And the West End is at once a glistening possibility and a ferocious swamp. But the fact is, getting a show on is a long process in the States too - we just only hear about the shows once they're on! The difference is that, as Frank points out, people in the States can study seriously and there are professional forums where writers are nurtured. I am working on a new piece (with an American bookwriter, mind) in conjunction with Andy Barnes, producer of Perfect Pitch and involved in Musical Theatre Matters. Andy has been very supportive of the project and is doing a lot to move things forward for UK writers such as myself. I don't know many people doing more.
I have no idea whether this new piece, "Through the Door", (which was workshopped in May thanks to Andy and to the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone) will find it's life first over here or over there, but I have an inkling. I do know that if it is here, then it won't be in a hurry, because at a regional level there is not the appetite for new musicals, and that is as much a geographical situation as an artistic one.
What is perhaps equally relevant would be to look at the type of escapist musical theatre that is coming out of the States in a post 9/11 culture; perhaps we need to lighten up our subjects here and write some unashamed great tunes and bring-down-the-house dance numbers, and put a few smiles on people's faces. I for one find myself having to be looking in that direction!
LMW
Spot on Mr S.
There are many of us out here involved in the network of developing and improving new British musical theatre - working both in isolation (as most creative artists do) and amongst clubs, associations, development and producing networks.
Sadly not all of us can attend every event, workshop, presentation, showcase and concert that helps get work on its feet, but the fact is that organisations such as Mercury Musical Developments (for writers and creators), Musical Theatre Matters (for producers and influencers), the embryonic London International Music Festival, The King's Head and of course Perfect Pitch (helmed by the visionary Andy Barnes) are all beginning to work together to create a vibrant and valuable network which has never really existed here before.
There is a huge amount of positive energy along with a growing amount of (curently small) investment to help "make things happen" - and writers such as LMW are hopefully evidence of this. (I too saw the Maidstone workshop - supported by Mandy Hare from the local Hazlitt Theatre and was very impressed).
I know that Chris Grady from MTM has worked tirelessly with the George Square Theatre to create a platform at this year's Edinburgh Festival for almost 40 new musical theatre pieces; MTM's recent spring conference has led to a working group to set up the first London International Festival of Musical Theatre (inspired by the New York model); The King's Head are commercially producing seven shows this calendar year; MMD work all year round to bring experienced musical theatre practitioners together with writers of new work; Perfect Pitch is there for the third year running (and now in the West End) to showcase new Britsh musical theatre work.
However, all of us involved in all of this work are still probably guilty of not doing enough. I know I am. But - we all care, and we are all doing as much as humanly possible to create, nurture, support and even finance all this activity. It's not going to happen overnight, but there is a positive culture developing about new British musical theatre - and there will be success stories coming through in the months and years ahead, mainly due to a combination of the "players" and "stakeholders" mentioned here.
YouTube, Facebook, MySpace et al will more and more play an influential role in the distribution and communication process - and commentators such as The Stage (and the brilliant Daily Blog) will also play their part (particularly in nagging us when we don't keep the momentum going).
Most importantly - there are now more and more of us actually doing something about new British musical theatre, instead of just talking about it.
JC
Dear Mark and fellow commentators
Its fantastic that MTM:UK is getting so much attention. Thank you. I'd just like to say that MTM:UK is not really an organisation which goes to events as such. Its a gathering of 150 very different producers, theatre owners, critics, directors, festival managers, trainers, and programmers with shared hopes - that Musical Theatre continues to be a rich artistic medium for expression, that lots of new things happen to help the emerging creatives, producers and writers in the UK, and that the reputation of British Musical Theatre grows over the coming years. Whether there was someone from RUG, DMT, Nimex, Shakespeare4Kidz, The ROH, RSAMD, RADA, Neil Eckersley, the Finborough, the Landor, The King's Head, Andy Barnes Productions or one of the other members. I don't know. They may have all been knee deep in hosting their own shows.
Mark - you remain a fantastic champion of the form, from the earlist days of Buxton Festival of Musicals you have supported new work and new initiatives. Thank you. I hope in time you'll join MTM:UK as well, then there'll always be an MTM member at every event you attend.
I'm currently in New York about to head into the Tisch School for some meetings. I am, and have over many years, worked with US expertise to share ideas and creativity with those working in the UK. You missed our MTM Conference in March when we had 8 US guest speakers. But I'll make sure to keep you very up-to-speed when I get re-started the Month of Sundays writing programme in London, inspired through many discussions with Sarah Schlesinger from Tisch, and which seeks to help writers explore their craft. An early student of the programme went on to win Best new American Musical at last year's NYMF Festival - Sue Pearse from London. So you are so right - we need to share skills and experience. We are. We should be doing more, more quickly, but we are underway with loads of work. Hopefully the fruits of the 20 years we've all been working at it will pay off in the end.
MTM:UK is a great opportunity to share experience, and you will be a most welcome member. go to www.musicaltheatrematters.org.uk for more info.
Thanks for continuing to champion new work
Cheers
Chris Grady
www.chrisgrady.org