New Season – Songbook (9/26/16)

I'm posting this directly online, which is not my favorite way to go. But ...

Will Aronson, composer and lyricist, was celebrated on Monday, Sept. 26 (appropriately the beginning of Songbook's 26th season).

I really liked his stuff, though I'm not sure I heard his lyrics (unless he collaborates with book writers and lyricists on his shows). And yes, I say shows. Several have been produced, though still works in process, and several have upcoming productions (most notably, in Korea!).

The format was great—we got songs from already written shows grouped together (with a few exceptions).

Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter
Mother, Me & the Monsters
Pete the Cat (split)
Wind-Up Girl
What I Learned from People

My first notes from hearing Come Home Safe (H & G & H & G) were, "Nicely complex composition that is totally believable and understandable." While this didn't hold true for the entire evening, it set a great tone. Dear Random Stranger was an effective story/patter song duet for Hansel & Gretl. The third piece from this segment also highlighted great harmony, both in the composition and singing.

Mother, Me & the Monsters, the opening number from its show, had shifting, overlapping rhythms and text that was a little cluttered, but it grew on me. Poem on My Pants had a rock flair with a touch of hip-hop. Sometimes Someone You Love was styled very successfully, with a light pop/rock feel.

The Sneezing Song, from Pete the Cat (currently on tour) was a cute novelty (ah-choo!) song.

The songs from Wind-Up Girl (Work in Progress, Clockwork World) were a little obvious—lots of clicking and clacking but pleasant.

We then revisited a song from H & G & H & G, Best. Meal. Ever. (sung by the witch) which was a bit over the top for me, but it may work in the context of the show.

The four songs from What I Learned from People seemed the weakest to me. It's going into production in Korea soon, and my guess is that there will be some fine tuning going on. Interestingly, a string quartet was involved in a 'mood piece' here, and the cellist (when asked what he was up to—John Znidarsic does this with everyone) commented that he was involved with a new concert series, Concerts on the Slope. I scoped them out and went to one of their concerts on October 2. How cool is that? But I digress.

The finale was VW Bus from Pete the Cat, which was an old-school rock 'n' roll number sung by three great performers, singing with a great vibe.

In fact, that was the tone of the entire evening—truly polished compositions from a composer/lyricist who really teamed well with other lyricists and book writers.

ConcertMeister
This was definitely one of the better Songbooks I've seen in a while.