While the majority of leading ladies in American musical theater are cast as ingenues, there is one composer who found success writing many of his early shows for women over 40, some of which were in titular roles. This was Jerry Herman (1931-2019). In this post, I discuss these shows and their impact on American musical theater.
Tag Archives: repertoire
Growing Older – The Journey Continues
In my last blogpost about growing older, I described my journey from a wannabe musical theater performer to reluctant classroom music teacher to journeyman classical/opera singer in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. The journey continues, with a few pivots on the way – to Milwaukee, to teaching, back to Baltimore, and beyond.
Why I NATS
I’ve told you why I sing – I’ve told you why I teach – but today I’d like to tell you why I NATS (belong to the National Association of Teachers of Singing) and all the things I’ve gained from this journey! And tell you how you can be part of it, too!
Musical Theatre Repertoire for Women “of a Certain Age”
Okay, folks – I’m finally doing it. I’m writing a book. The current working title is: Growing Older – From Ingenue to Grande Dame And the focus is on Musical Theatre Repertoire for Women “of a Certain Age” What exactly does that mean? And why I am writing this? Well, first of all, the termContinue reading “Musical Theatre Repertoire for Women “of a Certain Age””
Wholistic or Holistic Voice Lessons?
Should you be taking voice with a holistic voice teacher or a wholistic one? Is there a difference? Is the latter an egregious and somewhat pretentious misspelling of the former (some would think so)? And what the heck is “wholistic/holistic” voice training, anyway? Definitions differ depending on where you look. According to Merriam-Webster, “wholism” isContinue reading “Wholistic or Holistic Voice Lessons?”
Breaking Down The I Want Song
The late Bob Fosse said that there were three kinds of songs that mattered to the director of a musical: The “I am” song – defining who the singer is The “I want” song – defining what the singer wants The “New” song – doesn’t fit the other two categories; could take things into aContinue reading “Breaking Down The I Want Song”
New Resource for Choosing Repertoire!!
Last week, I added yet another item to my list of things-to-spend-money-on-so-that-all-our-lives-can-be-better! This resource is MusicalTheaterSongs.com and offers thousands of songs from 1850 to the present day (with the purchase of a subscription – and my NATS membership gets me 50% off of the annual subscription price). For example – are you looking for a songContinue reading “New Resource for Choosing Repertoire!!”