Jeff Blumenkrantz Videos

Special Episode #7: It's been so long since I've done one of these episodes that I omitted a word from my intro! (Did anyone catch it?) I'm thrilled to welcome back the incomparable Sutton Foster. Not just a ridiculous talent, but also one of the warmest, most generous people with whom I've had the privilege of collaborating. Sutton is currently giving a stellar performance as Princess Fiona in the musical Shrek, but only through January 24, 2010, so if you haven't seen her in it yet, get moving! With one Tony Award and three Tony nominations under her belt, she is one of Broadway's great leading ladies, infusing everything she does with her idiosyncratic charm, humor, and heart. Sutton is here to sing "My Heart Was Set on You," the song I wrote for her wonderful debut CD, Wish. A new activist, Sutton has been outspoken in her support of Marriage Equality and has sponsored a bus to take people to the National Equality March in Washington DC this weekend. Check out Sutton's video for the organization Broadway Impact. Coming soon is her eponymous website, a concert tour, and a teaching stint at NYU! Those lucky kids!! To see what kind of soup I served her from my Jeff and Martha cooking project (a la Julie and Julia), visit my blog! This episode was recorded on October 9, 2009.

Special Episode #6: Kate Shindle may have come to our attention first as Miss America 1998, but she has clearly staked out a place of her own in the musical theatre world. She's appeared on Broadway in Jekyll and Hide, headlined as Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes/Rob Marshall revival of Cabaret, and originated the role of Vivienne in Legally Blonde, the musical. Kate was always on my radar because a) she's a fellow Northwestern University alum, and b) she was a super cool Miss A., in that she was really talented and she had a great platform (AIDS awareness and education). So when I was asked to write a song for a benefit and I heard Kate was one of the singers I could write for, I snapped her up PDQ! It's great to finally work with her after years of rubbing elbows at Northwestern events and Julia Murney's annual Pancakes and Bacon Party. The benefit, called Broadway in South Africa, will take place on October 6th at Symphony Space. Ten songwriters (including Henry Krieger, Michael John LaChiusa and Bill Russell) were asked to write songs inspired by the essays and drawings of South African children. I took my inspiration from Khensoni Mabaso's sketch of Johannesburg, which features a very tall building with the word "Voda" on top. This piqued my curiousity, so off I went to research what turned out to be the Ponte City Tower, a 54-story cylindrically-shaped apartment building with a hollow core. ("Voda" is short for Vodacom, a cellular phone company that owns a huge LED wraparound sign on the top three stories of the building.) When Ponte was built in 1975, the surrounding neighborhoods were "whites only," but with the end of Apartheid, the area quickly filled with blacks and immigrants, and the white people fled to the suburbs. The building became notorious for criminal activity, suicide jumpers, and the garbage that built up inside the core. The building is currently being renovated and resold as high-style condos. Last October, before the sales office opened, the building co-sponsored an event with the city to offer people the opportunity to "Abseil off Ponte," i.e. rappel down the building on ropes like mountain climbers use. (Sorry to those who downloaded the original version of this episode with the audio issues. This new version is issue-free.) "The Core of Ponte" was recorded on 9/27/08.

Special Episode #5: I had so much to talk about that I simply HAD to do a new episode. Tune in to hear all about my upcoming UK concert "tour, " and find out about my limited-time special songbook offer. Also, check out this never-heard-before trunk song, "My Time with You," written for the now-abandoned Betty Boop musical. (Recorded 4/24/08.) If you can't make it over to Nottingham or London for my June concerts, why don't you hop/skip/jump down to the Jersey Shore for my July 17th benefit concert for the Jewish Community Center in Deal, NJ? Hope to see you there!

Special Episode #4: I'm so thrilled to add Donna Lynne Champlin to my list of special guest stars, first at my Birdland concert in November, and now on the podcast. After loving her performances in such Broadway shows as By Jeeves, Hollywood Arms, and Sweeney Todd, it's a real treat for me to get to hear her sing my songs. I do feel the need to mention: As wonderful as Donna Lynne has been in other people's shows, she could never be better than she is in her own one-woman show, Finishing the Hat. It is, hands down, the most spectacular solo show I have ever seen in my life. Donna Lynne tells a series of stories about herself and her life (chosen from a hat by the audience), and she does so with a level of wit and comedy and pathos and musicality and drama that is truly in a league of her own. DO NOT MISS THIS if she ever does it again. (Donna Lynne, do it again.) In the meantime, you lucky D.C.er's can catch her at the Kennedy Center in Henry (Dreamgirls) Krieger and Bill (Sideshow) Russell's Up in the Air, playing February 7-10. In this special episode, she sings "I Burn," from the dearly departed, unfinished musical, Hush. (Recorded 1/11/08.) The song is from a show-within-the-show, i.e. the main character, Miles, is writing a musical which deconstructs Great Expectations and centers around the character of Miss Havisham. This song finds Miss H. on the morning of her wedding day, before she discovers that her fiancé has been deceiving her and will not marry her after all. The song would later be reprised as a duet between young Miss H and old Miss H, as the latter dies in a fire, still wearing her wedding dress. By the way, The BMI Workshop Songbook Podcast is now officially up and running. Tune in to hear me interview the wonderful members and alumni of this acclaimed writers' workshop and to listen to performances of their songs by our too, too talented guest stars! Subscribe here via iTunes.

Special Episode #3: After a long break, I'm back! Last month, I finally got to meet Jose Llana at, of all places, Broadway Idol. (He was there as a judge, I was a there as a screaming Alysha Umphress fan.) As we were talking, I realized that I needed him to sing this song, so I pounced. And here he is! Jose is remembered, most recently, for his portrayal of the adorable Chip Tolentino ("My Unfortunate Erection," anyone?) in the Drama Desk Award-winning original cast of the Off-Broadway/Broadway hit, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A Broadway "veteran" at 31, he made his debut at the tender age of 19 as Lun Tha in the '96 revival of The King and I, and he's been working non-stop ever since. On Broadway, he's also appeared in Street Corner Symphony, as Angel in Rent, and as Ta, the leading man, in the '02 revival of Flower Drum Song. Add to that his stints in Off Broadway's Saturn Returns (aka Myths and Hymns) and On the Town at the Public, the National Tour of The Return of Martin Guerre, appearances on the HBO series Sex and the City and the feature film Hitch, and an eponymous solo album, Jose, that reached #2 on the charts in Manila, and you'll realize we are talking about an amazingly accomplished young guy! Jose will be singing a self-contained song I wrote this past year, "Why Can't I Kiss You?" (Recorded 10/24/07.) After having spent the preceding six months writing songs for a project that was set in the 30's, clearly I was still in the mood. As for what inspired the song, I'll never tell.... But if you want to hear this and lots of other never-heard-before songs of mine, then hop on over to Birdland on November 4th at 7PM for a concert where I'll be bringing out the secret goodies, with the help of my amazing guest stars , Adinah Alexander, Donna Lynne Champlin, Laura Patinkin, David Perlman, and Alysha Umphress. Call 212 581-3080 for reservations, or get your tickets online now.

Special Episode #2: I'm so thrilled to be joined today by the uber-talented and outrageously foxy Michael McElroy. You probably remember his stand-out, Tony-nominated performance as Jim in the Deaf West/Roundabout revival of Big River a few seasons ago. Or perhaps you have been enjoying his fantastic performances on the original cast recordings of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party or Violet or Blue or Tommy. Or maybe you watched him in the Chenoweth/Lupone Candide telecast (with Yours Truly). Or maybe you're a fan of The Broadway Inspirational Voices, the gospel choir that he founded and directs. Or maybe you heard his killer gospel arrangement of Sondheim's "Sunday" for Billy Porter's CD, At the Corner of Broadway and Soul. Or maybe you just like checking out pictures of his cute self. No matter how you slice it, he comes up delicious and nutricious. For this second special episode, I'm breaking tradition. Instead of a performance recorded live at my piano, I'm using a recording from a concert of my music presented at Birdland on November 20th, 2006. The song, "Vonce," like "Man in the Moon," is a spec song I wrote this past summer to audition to be the composer/lyricist of a new musical. (I'm currently working on that show, although I'm still not at liberty to discuss it freely.) It's unlikely that this song will end up in the show, but I wanted to share it with you all, because Michael sings it so beautifully. As it is a jazz tune, I felt that this concert recording with band was a much better way to present the song. Michael and I got amazing support that night from Todd Groves on sax, Peter Donovan on bass, and Sean McDaniel on drums. (The interview with Michael was recorded 1/13/07.) Bonus video! My friend (and Freefall star) David Perlman was kind enough to videotape that Birdland concert for me, so you can also check out Michael singing the song on YouTube!