Scene to Song May Newsletter
"May we entertain you?"
Thank you all for your patience with new episodes! I have some scheduled to record, but the schedules did not align for May, so there is one re-release of an episode this month and nothing new.
But May was an exciting month for me in the musical theater world. It started with a cabaret of my songs, a night shared with composer Julia Meinwald. I am still working on getting the videos up, but there is one ready, which you can watch on YouTube. I then presented research at the StageStruck! Musical Theater Conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on May 16th. The theme of this conference was Women and the American Musical, and I spoke about the 1971 musical Inner City, the first musical in the modern musical theater era with a score by two women. Part of my research was the Scene to Song episode on this musical, which is the episode I re-released this month. Please take a moment to revisit this episode if you haven’t already, as I think it’s an important documentation of this musical’s story, and the guest, writer and director Michael Boyd, sadly passed away a few months after recording it.
You can learn more about the papers presented at the conference on both Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, writer and director Julie Taymor spoke, and we were also treated to an exhibit on treasures from the Library of Congress archive. I’ve posted some of my photos of these treasures below in lieu of the usual guest profiles. These were indeed treasures, and the exhibit definitely made me want to go back to the library to do research and see more of them.
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— Shoshana
StageStruck! Musical Theater Conference
This month, I presented research at the StageStruck! Musical Theater Conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Below are photos from their exhibit on treasures from the Library of Congress archive.
My favorite of these treasures was a letter from Sister Gregory to Richard Halliday and Mary Martin in 1958. Rodgers and Hammerstein apparently consulted with Sister Gregory on their final musical, The Sound of Music, and from this letter and Hammerstein’s notepad pages you can see how Hammerstein took the sentiments from this letter about Maria’s character and turned them into the lyric for “Climb Every Mountain.” For writers, seeing this process is so relatable because we take lyric inspiration from so many places. Here is the letter, with a red arrow pointing to Sister Gregory’s paragraph about Maria’s character. It reads, “The whole purpose of life, it seems to me, is pin-pointed in Maria’s struggle to choose between vocations. Like every adult human being, she must find the answer to the questions: ‘What does God want me to do with my life? How does He wish me to spend my love?’”
Hammerstein then writes these questions at the top of his notes and riffs from there.
He then gets to the chorus of “Climb Every Mountain.”
And the lyric takes shape, although not all of these lines were ultimately used.
Another favorite from the collection was this letter from producer Cheryl Crawford to West Side Story bookwriter Arthur Laurents in April of 1957. Crawford was a producer on West Side Story but left the project. The first line reads, “This is for your eyes alone,” which makes us feel like such a fly on the wall reading this now. It continues, “I think we are in trouble.”
You can read the entire letter here:
And here are some more goodies. Gwen Verdon’s annotated script for Chicago in 1974:
A telegram from Barbra Streisand to Ethel Merman on March 29, 1970.
Stephen Sondheim’s lyric notes for Sweeney Todd’s “A Little Priest”
A photo of composer Kay Swift in 1934.
A lyric sheet for what became “Changing My Major” in Fun Home (it was originally called “Sex with Joan”) with annotations in composer Jeanine Tesori’s hand.
The unpublished copyist manuscript for “It Takes a Whole Lot of Human Feeling” by Micki Grant for Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope in 1971.
The “Prologue/Many Moons Ago” from Once Upon a Mattress in composer Mary Rodgers’s hand, 1958.
Portrait of composer/lyricist Ann Ronell circa 1934.
Musical of the Month
No musical of the month this month, but Happy Birthday, Fiddler on the Roof librettist Joseph Stein. Stein was born on this day, May 30th, in New York City in 1912. Stein's additional Broadway musical credits include Alive and Kicking, Mr. Wonderful, The Body Beautiful, Juno, Take Me Along, Zorba, Irene, Carmelina, The Baker's Wife, Rags, Enter Laughing and its musical adaptation, So Long, 174th Street. Celebrate him by listening to episode 28 on Bock and Harnick’s Musicals Fiddler on the Roof and The Rothschilds.
Also in May…
May 2: Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George opens on Broadway (1984) and Caroline, or Change opens on Broadway (2004). Listen to a discussion of the song “Move On” from Sunday… in episode 63 on Latinx Stories and Bilingualism in Musical Theater and discussions on Caroline, or Change in episode 22 on Representations of Judaism in Musical Theater and episode 109 on Jeanine Tesori Musicals.
May 3: Happy Birthday, lyricist Howard Ashman (1950) and lyricist and librettist Betty Comden (1915), Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella opened on Broadway (1956), and The Fantasticks opens Off-Broadway (1960). Celebrate Ashman’s work by listening to episode 76 on The Musicals of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and celebrate Comden’s work in episode 104 on Leonard Bernstein's New York City.
May 8: Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove, and Larry Gelbart’s A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum opens on Broadway (1962). Listen to a discussion on this musical in episode 108 on The Bimbo or Ditz Character in Sondheim Musicals.
May 11: Happy Birthday, Irving Berlin (1888)! And George Abbott, Robert Russell, John Kander, and Fred Ebb’s Flora the Red Menace (1965) opens on Broadway. Listen to a discussion of the song “A Quiet Thing” from Flora the Red Menace in episode 61 on The Musicals of Cy Coleman.
May 12: Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford, and Lawrence D. Cohen’s Carrie opens on Broadway (1988). Listen to a discussion on Carrie and the song “And Eve Was Weak” in episode 46 on Horror in Musical Theater.
May 14: Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso’s Working (with various composers/lyricists) opens on Broadway (1978). Listen to discussions of Micki Grant’s song “Cleanin’ Women” from Working in episode 9 on The Female Gaze in Musical Theater and in episode 71 on Black Women in Musical Theater History.
May 17: Happy Birthday, composer/lyricist Bob Merrill (1921) and Stephen Schwartz's Godspell opens Off-Broadway. Celebrate by listening to episode 80 on Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, and Isobel Lennart's Funny Girl and episode 89 on The Musicals of Stephen Schwartz.
May 18: Happy Birthday, Meredith Willson (1902)! Celebrate by listening to episode 8 on Meredith Willson’s The Music Man.
May 21: Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents's Gypsy opens on Broadway (1959). Listen to a discussion of this musical in episode 97 on The Character of Rose in Gypsy.
May 23: Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, F.E. Miller, and Aubrey Lyles's Shuffle Along opens on Broadway (1921). Listen to episode 87 on Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller, and Aubrey Lyles’s Shuffle Along.
May 24: Jerome Lawrence, Robert Edwin Lee, and Jerry Herman’s Mame opens on Broadway (1966). Listen to a discussion on Mame in episode 34 on The Musicals of Jerry Herman.
May 26: Happy Birthday, Al Jolson (1886)! Celebrate by listening to a discussion of his film The Jazz Singer in episode 24 on The Formation of White/White Jewish Identity in America and the Racial History of America Constructed through Musical Theater.
May 28: Rodgers & Hammerstein's Me and Juliet opens on Broadway (1953). Listen to a discussion on Me and Juliet in episode 65 on Artist Characters in Musical Theater.
May 30: Happy Birthday, Fiddler on the Roof librettist Joseph Stein (1912)! Celebrate him by listening to episode 28 on Bock and Harnick’s Musicals Fiddler on the Roof and The Rothschilds.
Find more musical theater history for May at musicals101.com.
New Musicals!
While Scene to Song mainly looks at musicals already part of the canon, I definitely want to highlight new musicals and musicals in development.
Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical
The new musical Mrs. Dalloway has just started performances at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, through June 15th.
Creative Team: Book, Music, and Lyrics by Lindsey Augusta Mercer
Synopsis: It is 1923 and the pandemic and WWI have ravaged Europe, but Clarissa Dalloway is determined to throw the greatest party London has ever seen. While she buys the flowers and makes last minute preparations, serendipitous reunions force her to confront the past. As she dismantles the façade she tirelessly upholds, she rekindles connections with friends and lovers, awakening her inner desires for the words she never spoke and the paths of love she never took.
Development History: Originally commissioned by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Learn more about and listen to songs from Mrs. Dalloway.
Something Wonderful
Some additional recommendations for May:
Podcast: “Broadway Bound: The Musicals That Never Came to Broadway” Former podcast guest Robert W. Schneider’s excellent podcast returns for season two, which is called “You’re Only As Good As Your Last,” Broadway-bound musicals that were written by major songwriters.
Article: “Audra McDonald’s ‘Gypsy’ Showstopper Is a Revelation” in The New York Times. “Near the end of ‘Gypsy,’ the Tony-nominated actress sings a song that makes you rethink the show you’ve been watching. I talked to her about it.”
Tour: Highland Farm Tours Reopen for the Summer. “We are delighted to offer guided tours of Oscar Hammerstein II's cherished estate where he penned the lyrics to many of his most famous works. Whether you're a seasoned theatre enthusiast, a history buff, or simple seeking a unique and enriching experience, Highland Farm offers an opportunity to step back in time and unlock the stories that shaped the world of musical theatre.”
Hosted by writer Shoshana Greenberg, Scene to Song brings on a guest to talk about a musical, musical theater writer, or a topic or trend in musical theater. The theme music is by Julia Meinwald.
You can write to scenetosong@gmail.com with a comment or question about an episode or about musical theater, or if you’d like to be a podcast guest. Follow on Instagram at @ScenetoSong and on Facebook at “Scene to Song with Shoshana Greenberg Podcast.”
Shoshana Greenberg is a lyricist, librettist, singer, and theater journalist. Her musicals include Days of Rage with Hyeyoung Kim and Lightning Man with Jeffrey Dennis Smith. She has also written the opera “The Community” with Kevin Cummines. Her songs have been heard at venues from Lincoln Center to the Duplex, where she performed her one-woman show Not Coming Back. She’s written for American Theatre Magazine, is a contributing editor for the publication Musical Theater Today, and created and hosts the musical theater podcast Scene to Song. She holds an M.F.A. from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU and a B.A. from Barnard College.