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Rosie O'Donell introduces Broadway stars Julia Murney, Gavin Creel, and Rosie s Broadway Belters, who sing and dance Supercalifragilistic , on the first night of a cruise to Mexico. Rosie and her Broadway star friends took turns entertaining the wonderfully diverse audience on the r family Vacations / PFLAG Spring Break 2008 cruise from San Diego, CA, to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. The charter cruise/vacation company founded by Rosie, her partner Kelli O'Donnell, and their friend Gregg Kaminsky, specializes in vacations for gay parents and their children, extended family, and all friends. In fact, the cruises set sail with a glorious and eclectic mix of people and performers, who bask in the warmth of the welcoming and open atmosphere. Look for info on the internet at rfamilyvacations.com. Check out the two-for-one special for the next cruise, in July, from New York to New England and Canada!

Rosie O'Donell introduces Broadway stars Julia Murney and Gavin Creel, who sing a song from Baby on the first night of a cruise to Mexico. Rosie and her Broadway star friends, took turns entertaining the wonderfully diverse audience on the r family Vacations / PFLAG Spring Break 2008 cruise from San Diego, CA, to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. The charter cruise company founded by Rosie, her partner Kelli O'Donnell, and their friend Gregg Kaminsky, specializes in vacations for gay parents and their children, extended family and friends. In fact, the cruises sail with a glorious and eclectic mix of people and performers, who bask in the warmth of the welcoming and open atmosphere. Look for info on the internet at rfamilyvacations.com. Check out the two-for-one special for the next cruise, in July, from New York to New England and Canada!

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!

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.

Julia Murney singing at High Fidelity CD launch

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!

Special Episode #1: When I decided I wanted to use "Man in the Moon" for a *special* podcast episode, it came to me in about a millisecond who HAD to sing it: Nancy Anderson. Not only because she's an amazing talent and friend, but also because no one captures the sound of the 20's and 30's like Nancy. Check out her wonderful new solo CD, Ten Cents a Dance, for conclusive proof. Nancy and I met in 2001, performing together in the Broadway production of A Class Act, where she was my "show girlfriend." Nancy created the role of "Mona" in the Manhattan Theatre Club production and subsequently made her Broadway debut in that role when the show moved to the Ambassador. She had already created a sensation Off-Broadway in Jolson & Company, which earned her her first Drama Desk nomination. Since then, she has been dazzling audiences with her many stellar performances, most notably as Lois/Bianca in the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, first on the US Tour and then in the West End production, which was later filmed for PBS. (Does she nail the period or what?) Don't forget her wonderful performance in the 2003 revival of Wonderful Town! (Period!!) This past season, at the York Theatre, she won over critics and audiences alike in the title role of Fanny Hill. (She even nailed the 18th Century, as well as a second Drama Desk Nom!) If you're wondering whether she can pull off a contemporary role (yes!), then you must have missed her hot, hot performance in this year's Off-Broadway play, Burleigh Grime$. In this episode, Nancy sings "Man in the Moon", an audition spec song I wrote this summer. (What this means is, when producers are considering several different people or teams to write their new show, sometimes they'll ask them all to write songs for that project as part of the audition process.) The project in question takes place around 1930, and that's about as specific as I can be right now. (Recorded 11/3/06.) Luckily, you'll have some opportunities to see and hear Nancy coming up! Foremost among her many November appearances is her engagement at The Metropolitan Room, two Tuesday night shows, November 14 and November 28, at 9:30 PM. Not to be missed! And speaking of other things not to miss, I'd also like to remind you about the Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Concert at Birdland on Monday, November 20th at 7PM, featuring Liz Callaway, Victoria Clark, Michael McElroy, Mary Testa, and Alysha Umphress! Call 212 581 3080 to reserve, or buy your tickets online.

Episode #20: I can't imagine a better person to have as my final special guest star than the super-special star of TV's Will and Grace, Megan Mullally. Megan and I met twelve years ago when we were mere children performing on Broadway in our respective revivals, Megan in Grease and myself in Damn Yankees. Soon thereafter, I had the amazing opportunity to actually perform with her in yet another revival, How to Succeed.... From the first read-through, it was obvious she was a talent super-power, turning even the dullest lines into sparkly gems. Since then... well, I don't have to tell you what she's been up to for the past eight years, but suffice to say, it has involved an Emmy Award, three SAG Awards and countless DVDs. Let me take this opportunity to say how a) thrilled I am to know some of the people at the center of that amazing show, b) how proud I am to have appeared in an episode, and c) how appreciative I am to the creators of that show for the significant world shifts that I believe it generated. Yeah, yeah, back to Megan: So everyone in America knows that Megan is a genius comedienne, but how many know about her flourishing singing career? Have you heard her duet with Carly Simon on Will & Grace: Let the Music Out? Or my all-string arrangement of "Silent Night" which Megan sang so beautifully on the NBC Celebrity Christmas CD? And above all, have you checked out her own CD with her band, The Supreme Music Program, Big as a Berry, where she first recorded the song she sings on this episode? It's packed with stellar singing, great style, and interesting song choices, like this one! "Lament" is a setting of yet another Edna St. Vincent Millay poem, and it's also the last song from the songbook to be recorded for this podcast. I'm so pleased that Megan is here to bring the song and podcast into "home." Recorded 6/19/06. Be sure to tune in to your local NBC station this fall for the premiere of Megan's new daytime talk show, The Megan Mullally Show. I don't care what she says... I'm watching all five hours a week.

Bonus Episode #9: Wow, I can't believe this is the last episode! Doing this podcast has been such a wonderful experience for me. I've had the great privilege of hearing my songs performed by the creamiest of the crop, I've received beautiful emails from some very kind and supportive listeners, and I've even sold a bunch of songbooks along the way. Doing this podcast has left me very inspired to embark on my new projects! Meanwhile, I'd like to close out this series with a song I wrote a few years ago for my father's 60th birthday, which coincided with Thanksgiving that year. It's called "Giving Thanks," exactly what I wanted my last episode to be about. Recorded 6/25/06. My sincerest thanks to the amazing singers (and cellist!) who donated their time and talent to support me in this endeavor, to the lyricists who okayed the inclusion of their songs on the podcast, and to the listeners who invested their time in me, my guests, and my songs. Thank you all for your incredible generosity. Incidentally, if you have techno-phobic friends who you think would enjoy these songs, please do explain to them that they don't need an iPod to listen to the podcasts. (I've found that that is the most common response when I tell people I have a podcast.) Give them the url for my podcast page: http://jeffblumenkrantz.com/podcast.html and show them how to click on the song names for their instant listening pleasure. If you like what I do and want to keep hearing about what I'm up to, the best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for my mailing list. If you have something you want to tell me or ask me, you can always post a message on my message board or email me at jeff@jeffblumenkrantz.com. Until my next songbook or podcast or concert (or full-length musical!), this is the ever-grateful Jeff B., saying "G'byeeeeee!"

Episode #2: Jeff sings "Hold My Hand." Recorded on 12/13/05. (N.B. The sound quality of the original recording was unsatisfactory so I rerecorded the song on 6/24/06.) Note: there will be no new episode next week. Happy Holidays! For more info about the songbook, check out: http://jeffblumenkrantz.com/songbook.htm.

Bonus Episode #8: Wow, I can't believe it's almost the end of the podcast! When I started this bad boy, it seemed like such a long road ahead of me, and now here it is, just weeks from the GRAND FINALE! OK, enough sentimental talk. I'll save that for the actual last episode. I'm here with another bonus/filler song (i.e. a song not in the songbook). It's the song I wrote for my best friend, Tracy Katz, on the occasion of her wedding to Mark Paladini ten years ago. Tracy and I met as teens at Stagedoor Manor, Performing Arts Training Center, a summer theatre camp where theatre geeks like me could thrive amongst fellow theatre-lovers all summer, while we mustered up the courage to return to the oppression of our local high schools. (For more about this, check out the excellent, new documentary, Stagedoor.) Tracy went on to build a career around the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, which she still occasionally and convincingly/brilliantly plays today, although her main gig is raising my two gorgeous godkids in Virginia Beach. In 1996, after 17 years of best-friendship, Tracy insisted I write a song specifically for her wedding, and I didn't even bother putting up a fight. After all, I was her Man of Honor, and Men of Honor must often go above and beyond the call of duty. After multiple, failed attempts to come up with a funny song, I ultimately opted to write this song from the heart. "When It Comes to You" was recorded 6/11/06. By the way, I don't know what I was thinking when I said Mark had been a casting director in New York. Most of his casting career has happened in Los Angeles. And the name of the sci-fi series I couldn't think of is Babylon 5!

Episode #19: Carolee Carmello wouldn't let me gush about her on the podcast as much as I wanted, so I'm going to have to do it here! Carolee and I met doing a production of Grease at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1989, and her career since then has been continuously and completely jam-packed with goodies, many of which we didn't even get to discuss!! Broadway shows like Mamma Mia!, Urinetown, and Kiss Me, Kate, which took great advantage of Carolee's ridiculously powerful and versatile voice and great sense of humor. Or Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and this season's Lestat, which let her flex her impressive dramatic leading lady muscles. And let's not forget her brilliant performances in such high-profile Off-Broadway productions as john & jen, Hello Again, Infinite Joy, A Class Act, and Elegies, all of which were recorded, fortunately for us! Add to all that a few more Broadway shows (City of Angels, Falsettos, and 1776), a slew of regional and tour productions (Arthur, Chess, Bells Are Ringing, The King and I, etc.), a TV show (Remember WENN), and a Broadway star husband and two beautiful kids, and you start to realize that Carolee is a true Wonder Woman. In this episode, Carolee sings "My Book", the "Sloth" song from the Audra McDonald song cycle, The Seven Deadly Sins. Clearly meant to be performed in front of a live audience, Carolee gamely rolled with it and chose me for all the audience participation duties. I have to add: given how dense this song is, can you believe that this is literally Carolee's third time singing through it... ever?? DIVA! Recorded 6/5/06. Look for Carolee in the upcoming Broadway by the Year: 1978 concert on June 19th at Town Hall. And you can hear her wonderful performance on the Lestat recording when it's released in July. Don't forget to watch for her (and several other podcast guest divas) on the Tony Awards this Sunday, June 11!

Bonus Episode #7: 46 years ago this month, Rita Gardner was opening as Luisa in The Fantasticks, a then unknown Off-Broadway musical. Could she ever have imagined at the time that the show would have such an historic run, that she would be rapping on Broadway today, that there would be such a thing as podcasts and that she'd be on one? Lucky for us, it's all true. I met Rita last year in rehearsals for The Transport Group's production of The Audience, directed by Jack Cummings III. I was fortunate enough to have been one of the songwriters on the show, and my assignment was to write a piece for Rita's character, Rosie, a woman who attends the theatre with her dead husband's ashes. In a private moment, she sings to the urn. Rita stopped the show every night with her sensitive rendition of "I Think." Recorded 5/22/06. Now, Rita's stopping another show with a very different kind of performance! She's appearing as Rosie, the rapping grandma, in this season's Broadway crowd pleaser, The Wedding Singer, based on the Adam Sandler film of the same name. She sings, she raps, she does gymnastic tricks (well... not really) - she's wonderful! And next month marks the release of Rita's new CD, Try to Remember: A Look Back at Off-Broadway, a live recording of her show chronicling her career Off-Broadway. It's filled with stories, songs, both classic and unknown, and of course, Rita's glorious voice. P.S. Rita appeared in a ten-minute Raw Impressions movie musical in RIPFest #6 and was kind (read "game") enough to make a cameo appearance in my RIPFest #6 film, Freefall!

Episode #18: Marin Mazzie has established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies, and it's easy to see why: with her rangy and beautiful voice, her serious acting chops, her comic bent, and her cover girl looks, who wouldn't want to cast her? Marin made her Broadway debut in Big River, and next was Into the Woods, where we met as fellow understudies and I got to see Marin perform Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the Witch in the same week! After that came Marin's three Tony-nominated performances, as Clara in Passion, as Mother in Ragtime, and as Lilli/Kate in Kiss Me Kate. She also took over the role of Aldonza, opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell, in the revival of Man of La Mancha. Most recently, she has been wowing audiences in the staged concerts of On the Twentieth Century as Lily Garland, and Kismet as Lalume. What a resumé! (And I haven't even touched on her extensive regional, stock and television credits!) On this episode, Marin sings a song that's actually in the songbook! "Walking the Wrong Way" is a self-contained, cabaret-type song with lyrics by Libby Saines ("I Won't Mind," "I'm Free") and music by yours truly. Recorded 5/19/06. On the concert and recording front, her leading man (onstage and off) is her adorable and talented husband, Jason Danieley. Marin and Jason recently released a duet CD, appropriately titled Opposite You. They'll be appearing together with the Boston Pops on June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Check them out - they do a great show!

Episode #17: Twice the talent, twice the laughs, twice as long! But when you're in the room with Ruth Gottschall and Mary Testa, you just don't want to leave! I had a fantastic afternoon with the two of them, chatting and websurfing and singing "Moving Right Along", the women's version. Yes, this is the same explicit song that you heard back in January for two guys in a gay bar, rewritten for two women in a singles bar. (The lyrics for this version appear in the back of the songbook.) Recorded 4/12/06. Where to begin? Ruth is a veteran of eight Broadway shows, most recently Jackie Mason's Laughing Room Only, however her longest run of late was as Eulalie Shinn in the revival of The Music Man, a role she will recreate this summer at the Sacramento Music Circus. Before that, you can catch her as Mrs. Upson in the sure-to-be-fabulous Kennedy Center production of Mame. Also, let PBS know that you want to see the educational series, Character Studies, so you can catch Ruth on the "Harold Hill" episode. Mary Testa's resumé is so impressive, I don't know what to mention first! Should I start with her two Tony nominations, for On the Town and 42nd Street? Her numerous Off Broadway credits and the Obie award for On the Town and From Above? Her amazing performances on the original cast recordings of In Trousers, Lucky Stiff, A Funny Thing Happened...Forum (with Ruth too!), A New Brain, Marie Christine, and most recently, Michael John La Chiusa's See What I Wanna See? Or should I just mention that she loves Faith, the Biped Dog and Michelle Collins' blog, You Can't Make It Up? Mary fans can catch her in the concert, Hands Across the Sea, at Merkin Hall on May 16th and 17th, as well as in Jam & Spice, a Kurt Weill revue at the Westport Playhouse in June.

Bonus Episode #6: Hey everybody, it's time for another episode celebrating Raw Impressions! This organization enables artists to produce new projects VERY quickly, which is how I met my lovely guest star of the day, Alysha Umphress. Alysha, a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory, made a splash last year at the Chelsea bar, XL, winning their American Idol-type competition, XL Star. (Check out her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" recorded live in the XL Star finals.) I fell for Alysha this past March, when she was one of the cast members assigned to me when I wrote a ten-minute musical for Raw Impressions Music Theatre #20. My collaborator for that project, playwright Chantal Bilodeau, and I came up with a piece called "The Living Room OCD." Alysha played a lesbian stalker chick who broke into her true love's perfect little house while she was away on vacation, tied up her house-watcher, and wreaked havoc on the place. When the show begins, the homeowner is just returning and discovering the damage, the bound-and-gagged housewatcher, and Alysha singing this song: "You're Not Perfect Anymore." Recorded 5/16/06. Reminder: this is Raw Impressions, i.e. I had two days to write this score. Raw. This episode is particularly timely because: a) Alysha's going to be appearing with me in a Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook concert this Friday (5/19) at 7PM at The Duplex! My other special guest stars will be David Perlman (one of the stars of my Raw Impressions/RIPFest movie, Freefall) and **just added!** the amazing leading lady of Urban Cowboy, Jenn Colella. For reservations, call (212) 255-5438. and b) I'm going to be making my Raw Impressions acting debut in a RIPFest #8 movie musical this coming week! Screenings are 5/23-24 in New York and 5/23 only in Los Angeles. It's amazing what people are able to create, with only 16 days... Check it out!

Bonus Episode #5: If Yo Yo Ma is the cello star of the classical world, I'm going to say that Peter Sachon is the cello star of the musical theatre world. Not only has he played on such wonderful shows (and recordings) as the recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, Off Broadway's A Man of No Importance and The Thing About Men, and the magically delicious The Light in the Piazza, but he's an entrepreneur as well. Peter hatched the idea to approach a handful of composers/orchestrators/musical directors and ask them each to contribute an original cello piece to a program he called The Cello Project, which he performed in March 2005 at Symphony Space, courtesy of The New Voices Collective. (Some of the composers represented on that bill were Stephen Schwartz, Michael John La Chiusa, Bruce Coughlin, Steve Marzullo, and myself.) The evening was such a success that he followed it up with The Cello Project II roughly a year later, adding Stephen Flaherty, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jeff Marx, Andrew Lippa and Ted Sperling (among others) to the list of contributors. The music was wonderful, and the playing was virtuosic. (Not to mention, he's pretty easy on the eyes.) On today's bonus episode (and just to be clear, bonus episode means that the featured song does NOT appear in my published songbook), Peter plays my contribution to The Cello Project, "Vouloir," written for cello and piano. Recorded 5/5/06.

Bonus Episode #4: I warned you that there'd be a few bonus episodes coming up.... This week it's "He'll Never Get What I Do", written for a musical entitled Hush, which dealt with the relationship between a gay theatre composer and a deaf video artist. This song is sung by the composer and is pretty self-explanatory. Music and lyrics by me. Recorded 5/2/06. As for Hush, I worked on it for a while with the marvelous playwright, Tina Howe, but we couldn't crack the story to our mutual satisfaction, so it's on the shelf. Writing an original musical is a complicated proposition, to say the least. Makes me REALLY appreciate the ones out there that work... ...like, for instance, my favorite new musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, which opened on Broadway last night. It's directed by a certain Mr. Casey Nicholaw, whom I met doing my first show in NY (The Pajama Game at the Equity Library Theatre - Does that date us or what?). Seeing his spectacular production of The Drowsy Chaperone left me awestruck and in tears (literally, hysterical tears of pride, joy, and awe). The show is heaven - don't miss it! Meanwhile, some of the fabulous people I got to chat with at the opening night party: George Lee Andrews, the longest-running actor on Broadway, and star of my favorite teen-years album, Starting Here, Starting Now. George is an admitted listener of this podcast, and I'm honored. Nellie McKay is the brilliant Polly Peachum in the new Threepenny Opera at the Roundabout. She has no idea who I am or that I have a podcast, but I enjoyed chatting with her, and I love her songwriting and her fancy debut double CD, Get Away From Me. And last but not least, the kids from [title of show] were all there. They recently ended their initial run at the Vineyard, but they'll be back there this summer for a recently-announced return engagement! Dare I see it a 6th time? I dare! Don't miss this one either. Check out my recommendations page for more things I like!

Bonus Episode #3: Stalling... stalling.... There are only three more songbook songs left! And the amazing singers who are scheduled to record them aren't available for a spell, so it's time for another bonus episode. This week, I took a little detour down memory lane and picked a song in honor of my upcoming trip to my alma mater, Northwestern University, for the 75th anniversary of the big, splashy, student-written extravaganza, The WAA-MU Show. As a student at Northwestern, I contributed songs to all four WAA-MU shows (1983-1986) and performed in two of them, as well. It was an amazing and formative experience, particularly as a young songwriter, to see and hear my songs so fully realized (i.e. professional orchestrations for a 30 piece orchestra, huge ensemble, major production values, etc.). "P.A.'s Turn" was written for the '84 show. It was a tribute to the great pull the show has over its participants, as a production assistant (PA) aspires to WAA-MU greatness. Recorded 4/24/06. The song has music by me, and lyrics by myself and my (still to this day) dear friend, Tracy Christensen, whose name you may recognize as the wonderful costume designer of such productions as this season's Broadway charmer, Souvenir, starring Judy Kaye, and Candide at the New York Philharmonic, filmed for PBS/Great Performances, starring Patti Lupone and Kristin Chenoweth (and featuring yours truly as Maximillian). "P.A.'s Turn" was originally sung by my WAA-MU muse, Marietta DePrima, whom you may know from her extensive TV acting career. (Check out her reel from The Hughleys!)

Episode #10: Until this year, Julia Murney was the biggest Broadway musical theatre star to have never actually appeared on Broadway. As we all know, that distinction was dashed with her performance in this season's Lennon, and it was about time! New York audiences know her from her fantastic performances in three Manhattan Theatre Club musicals, namely Time and Again, A Class Act, and Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, not to mention some high-profile concert appearances (Chess, Hair, Funny Girl). Julia's songbook selection today is "Take the Filter Off," from the unfinished musical, Fits and Starts, with music and lyrics by me. In this song, Randy is encouraging her now-gay ex-boyfriend to subvert his judgmental nature and find himself a man to love. (Think Will and Grace.) A fortuitous choice for this Valentine's Day podcast, no? Recorded 2/12/06. Warning: this song has a curse word in it! FYI, Julia is a fellow Stagedoor Manor alum. (Think Camp.) Coming up- Don't miss: Julia as Elphaba in the Wicked tour! and Julia's debut solo CD, I'm Not Waiting, on Sh-K-Boom Records!