I assure you that there is absolutely nothing quite as wonderfully awful as the fetid, foppish, phoniness of The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, which ABC brewed in a low-budget cauldron and unleashed upon an…
Tag: Johnny Mercer
Blog posts
A List of Songs Stephen Sondheim Wishes He Wrote Himself (At Least in Part), Volume 1
This most interesting list of songs Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim wishes he wrote himself (at least in part), originally appeared in the New York Times Magazine in 2000 and was a fascinating sidebar to a…
Annie Ross at the Metropolitan Room, New York City: The Singer as Actor
One of the beautiful things about the culture of jazz and cabaret music is that life experience, and the emotional deepening that it confers on its artists, is considered an attribute, not a reason…
Steve Allen’s 13 Favorite Songs, Courtesy of The Book of Lists 90s Edition
From The Book of Lists 90s Edition, here is Steve Allen’s list with the original introduction from the editors. I have taken the liberty of annotating his choices with writing credits, as well as…
Painful Corners: The Time I Was a Cabaret Singer For One Night
“We all have skeletons in our closet, but mine is belting Stephen Schwartz’ ‘West End Avenue’ in a cellar club on Bleecker Street.” I suppose desire for fame and fortune, to “make it big,” is…
Stargayzing Retaliates: I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow!
Stargayzing was recently quite disappointed by the legendary Barry Manilow, or at least his representative, in a perfect illustration of the old media/new media divide that runs like a fault line through our culture…
12 Essential Holiday Recordings…(You’ve Probably Never Heard)
So here my Christmas gift to you, dear friends, because you’ve been so good all year: a carefully curated list of 12 Holiday Songs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard
Notes From the West Coast: Hollywood and Vine
I had ambitious notions about multiple pieces chronically my adventures in Hollywood, but it just hasn’t turned out that way. It’s actually a good thing because any truthful account of my weeks in L.A.…
Straight Acting: It’s Fine to be Gay as Long as You Act Like a Guy, or “What Would Cher Do?”
Yesterday I auditioned for another student film, this time at my alma mater, New York University. The part was small but meaty and well-suited for me: a businessman who turns into an evil clown.…
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