Songbook (10/29/18)

Daniel Green, composer and lyricist, and book writer

This guy is a good composer. Great? I’m not certain. The program gave us songs from The Remarkable Journey of Prince Chen, The Museum of Broken Relationships, and Window Treatment. We may hear more from/about these musicals as we go along.

You Won’t was a stand-alone song that featured Mr. Green as pianist and singer, with two backup singers contributing niftily. I liked it.

Three songs from The Remarkable Journey of Prince Chen followed. I’m Gonna Stay with You was very wordy but had a ‘you’re stuck with me/I’m really effective’ vibe. It earned a + in my notes. Standing by Your Side had a rippling accompaniment and two views of unrequited feelings—can love be far behind? The last, I Will Never Give In, was a little more mysterious, in a searching (literally and figuratively) manner.

Perfect Day for Sailing was a stand-alone Sondheim-esque piece but in a good way, very sweet. After another stand-alone song, we moved on to The Museum of Broken Relationships, which is, apparently, a real museum in Croatia!

All four songs from this were interesting, if a little dark—not that there’s anything wrong with that. The theater (and musical theater) should probe deeper, darker feelings.

Window Treatment, from Window Treatment, was a hoot. A gal stalks her neighbor—not literally, but only visually. She imagines herself eating the meals she watches him prepare. She imagines herself in his relaxing evenings. She’s crazy! But really funny. Carly Kincannon learned this song just for this performance (though I’m sure it will be in her rep for a long time). It was a tour-de-force, both as a performance and as a composition (music by Daniel Green, lyrics by Deborah Zoe Laufer). We may be hearing from them again. (As a side note, I just finished reading a recounting of the eleven seasons of the Carol Burnett Show on CBS. In it, she calls out and congratulates the writers who were responsible for specialty material for their broadcasts—in retrospect, that’s what Window Treatment, the song, reminds me of.)

Reborn was a song from a new project. It had a dark accompaniment but was quite powerful. Hmm, more from new projects?

The finale to the concert was also the Act I finale of The Museum of Broken Relationships. In this iteration, the museum is in its Brooklyn guise, and people embrace the concept—and the cause—wholeheartedly.

Will this flourish into a full-fledged musical? I don’t know. I do know that this is a very talented composer who surrounds himself with terrific musicians. Is that a recipe for success?

Waiting around is so difficult. But hearing such great music while waiting around is a joy that I enjoy.

ConcertMeister