Children of Eden

This two-act musical  with lyrics and music by Stephen Schwarts and book by John Caird that turns around the tale of the Book of Genesis. The first act tells the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, whereas the second Act deals with Noah and the Flood. 

Even though it uses the Bible as a source, this musical doesn't have a specificly religious poin of view, using the text freely to ilustrate the relationships between parents and children. 

The musical was released in 1999, where it ran a short while in London's West End, yet it never played in Broadway. One can find some footage done by schools and universities.

I'm not a religious person and I admit that the title threw me off a bit, makeing me reluctand to listen to it. When I finlay did, I have to admit that it let me astonished by the beauty of the music. It pays a lot of attention to the figure of God and what he's feeling. One song that reflects it is 'Father's Day', in which he marvels over his children, Adam and Eve: 

"Sleeping there like angels

Innocent and simple

I think she's got my nose

I think he's got my dimple"

I think that these verses show pretty well the not religious aproach as he only 'thinks' Adam and Eve have his dimple and nose, whereas if it were strictly religious approach he would be certain for he has given them to Adam and Eve. And probably if it where a more religious musical God's point of view wouldn't be so important. Children of Eden pictures God as any other father in the world, watching his "children sleep."That's probably one of the reasons why God is called Father in most of the productions and even on the information found in Internet. 

"For I have built a universe, spectacular and new.

And I sat there in my universe adn learned that this was true:

What use is a universe with no one to give it to?

Not a hill of beans 

'Till you pass along your genes

'That's what it means to be a Father."

There's another great song about parenthood, sung this time by both God and Adam, in which both reflect on how hard it is to let their children go ("The Hardest part of love").

One of my favourite songs is 'Children of Eden' sung by Eve at the end of the first Act, which has some really beautiful lyrics:

Like this brief day
My light is nearly gone
But through the night
MY children you will go on
You will know heartache
Prayers that don't work 

And times of bitter circumstances

But I still believe in second chances

Children of Eden

Where have we left you

Born to uncertaity

Destined for pain

Sins of your parents

Haunt you and test you

This yor inheritence 

Fire and rain

Children of Eden 

Try not to blame us

We were just human to error prone 

Children of Eden will you reclaim us

You and your children to come

Somedya you'll come home

Children of Eden

Where is your garden

Where is the innocence

We can't reclaim

Once eyes are pened

Must those eyes harden

Lost in the wilderness

Must we remain

Oh my precious children

If you think of us try not to blame us

We were just human to error prone

Children of Eden you will reclaim us

You and your children to come

Someday you'll come home. 

The second act isn't all that beautiful, but still has some nice songs and a really beautiful instrumental song called 'The Return of the Animals'. The song I like most from the second act is 'A piece of Eight' in which the youngest son of Noah presents his wife-to-be to his family and the family nearly dies of a seizure. 

I find it a real pitty that there isn't more footage about this musical, and I would really like to watch it life. Most of the footage available is from colege and low-budget productions. 

Next To Normal

When I first opened The Music Shelf this was one of the musicals I wanted most to review. It became very quickly one of my favourites and for the last two years it has been there. 

It was written by Tom Kitt with a books and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and it tells the story of a 'nearly normal' family, with a mother who struggles with bipolar disorder  and delusions, and the effect that her illness has on her family: with a husband that tryes hard to hide the fact that his wife is disturbed and a talented teenage daughter who's also trying to cope with her mother's delusional episodes and competing constantly with his brother.

This is one of the most complex musicals I've heard with a lot of issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse and ethics in modern psychiatry. The songs are very crude and the characters very well defined. 

Next to normal debuted in 2008 in an off-Broadway production. It closed on January 16, 2011 after 21 previews and 733 regular performances. It has been performed not only through the USA and Canada, but also through Norway (2010-2011), Helsinki (2010), South Korea (2011-2012),  The Netherlands (2012), Denmark (2012), Sweden (2012) and Israel (2012) among others. It has also released its soundtrack  with the norwegian cast and a karaoke version, which I don't recommend if you haven't listened to the original cast. 

In 2010 Next to Normal won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it was nominated to "Outstanding Actress in a Musical" and "Outstanding Music" for the 2008 Drama Desk Awards. And in 2009 it won four Tony Awards and was nominated for 8 more:

• Best Musical ---> NOMINATED
• Best Book of a Musical [for Brian Yorkey] ---> NOMINATED
• Best Original Score [for Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey] ---> WON
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical [for J. Robert Spencer] ---> NOMINATED
• Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical  [for Alice Ripley] ---> WON
• Best performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical [for Jennifer Damiano] ---> NOINATED
• Best Direction of a Musical [for Michael Greid] ---> NOMINATED
• Best Orchestrations [for Michael Starbin and Tom Kitt] ---> WON
• Best Scenic Design [for Mark Wenland] ---> NOMINATED
• Best Lighting Design [for Kevin Adams] ---> NOMINATED
• Best Sound Design  [for Brian Ronan] ---> NOMINATED

In the original cast where Alice Ripley in the leading role as Diana Goodman. Her voice is not entirely beautiful, it sounds somewhat broken and stressed, which gives a lot of character to the role. Brian d'Arcy James played Dan Goodman, Diana's husband in the  Original Off-Broadway Cast and was then replaced by J. Robert Spencer in the Original Broadway Cast. Natalie Goodman, Diana's daughter was played in both off and on- Broadway by Jennifer Damiano. Gabriel 'Gabe' Goodman, Diana's son was played also on both productions by Aaron Tveit. You can find a lot of similarities between this character and the Peter Pan figure. Adam Chanler-Berat performed as Henry, Natalie's boyfriend. Henry's a little bit the odd one, being the onlyone who's not from the family but sufferes the consequences from the Goodman's problems. And Dr. Fine [that's subtile, don't you think?]  and Dr. Madden were played by Asa Somers in the Original Off-Broadway production and Louis Hobson on Broadway. 

The literary references and allusions of this musical are very varied and on the staged version appear a lot of books about mentally unbalanced people. But perhaps the most clear of those references appears in the son 'Didn't I see this movie?' in which there are clear allusions to the movie One flew over the Coockoo's Nest. Another very curious alusion apears in the song 'Who's Crazy'/'My Psychopharmacelogist and I' where the chorus sings clearly to the melody 'My favourite things' from the musical The Sound of Music. 

'My Psychopharmacelogist and I' is also one of the most critical songs from all the musical. It tells about the evolution of Diana and how her doctor try to find the correct medication for her and ends with Diana saying: "I don't feel anything." And the doctor replaying "patient stable." That sentece hammered itself into my brain and left me with cold feet for a week. 

Diana's character is best described through the song 'Superboy and the invisible Girl' in which the teenager compares herself with Gabriel, showing to the audience that hers is not a normal teenage-rant but a completly justified inferiority complex. The viewer sees how imposible it is for her to reach the high standards her brother has put. 

'It's gonna be good' is, on the other hand a perfect portrait of Dan, Diana's husband. He trys and hopes against hope to give his wife a daughter a normal life and in his desperation he denies the reality. In the end he's just a normal guy who loves his wife and doesn't know what to do or how to do it. 

The musical was recorded ilegally and you can find it whole in youtube. I don't really have a problem with how it is staged. There's a lot of effort put into it and while it relays heavilly on the complexity of the story and depth of the songs, the stage isn't very impressive - at least judging by the not so high quality videos. It has a big iron structure that forms all the scenery, being both the Goodman's house and the different hospitals. It plays a lot with the lights and illumination, while the structure stays put all the musical suffering minor changes. 

It is interesting that the house-structure is made of iron and glass, portraiting the fact that the musical is like spying on the private  life of a 'normal' family, as well as the fact that, even though living in a 'glass house' the characters don't seem to see each other. They have a lot of trouble communicating with each other - one of the mayor issues in the song 'You don't know Reprise'. I think that this incommunication is also one of the mayor reasons why Diana relays so heavilly on Gabriel. 

Some of the characters reactions are purely based on movements, which is why it is advisable to watch the recording even if it's not all that good, for you can hardly form yourself a good image of Dianas and Gabriel's relationship based purely on the CD. 

I can't recommend this musical enough, it doesn't have a single song I don't like and it's really very difficult for me to select only five for the top five, but here they go:

1. Aftershocks  -- sung by Gabriel. [starts at the minute 1:20]
2. I miss the mountains -- sung by Diana it is a very good window into this woman's felings
3. I'm alive -- sung by Gabriel [listening to this might contain spoilers]
4. Who's Crazy/ My Psychopharmacologist and I -- sung by Dan, Doctor FIne, Diana and ensemble [which is done by Dan, Natalie, Henry and Gabriel]
5. Why Stay? / A promise -- Diana, Natalie, Dan and Henry [this contains mayor spoilers as well as the songs how could I ever forget, it's gonna be good (reprise), why stay/ a promise, i'm alive (reprise) and the break) If you want to whatch the whole thing without spoilers, DON'T WATCH THIS VIDEO]

The Civil War

This musical was written by Gregory Boyd and Frank Wildhorn with a book by Jack Murphy and music by Wildhorn. It centers on the American Civil War and it shows the conflict through the viewpoints of Union, Confederate and slaves and it has a lot of different musical styles that go through Country, Rock, Folk, Blues and Gospel. It was first performed on September 16, 1998 at the Alley theatre in Houston, Texas.

There isn't really a narrative structure behind the musical, and as I have only been able to find some loose videos on the internet, and listen to the whole soundtrack I can be mistaken here, but I think it's more like a concert than a musical. In 1999 The Civil War was nominated for both Tony Awards [Best Musical and Best Original Score]and Drama Desk Award [Outstanding Musical, Outstanding featured Actor in a Musical - Michel Bell; Outstanding Featured Acress in a Musical - Cheryl Freeman]

I think that "The Civil War" is remarcable precisely because it features the views of all three parties of the war. The worst thing about a civil war is that it tears families appart. If war is stupid in itself, a civil war moreso, and the music transmits exactly that feeling. It doesn't take sides as many war stories do. 

The musical evolution follows the soldiers from their initial joy ['By the sword/ Sons of Dixie'] of the young soldiers who believe they'll come back in a few weeks, with tons of medals and fame, to the horrors of the battlefield ['The Day the Sun stood still'] and ending in the hope of the winners that war won't be repeated ['The Glory']. 

The song 'By the sword/sons of Dixie' is one of my favourites and it shows the point of view of the Union and Confederate soldiers, which is the same. Exactly the same but for the battle cry. The equality of both parites is shown in 'Northbound Train', where a soldier writes to his wife about an encounter he had with a 'southern boy' with whom he talked before the battle. 

As allways I leave you here a few of my favourite songs:

1. By the sword/ Sons of Dixie
2. How many Devils
3. If prayin' were horses
4. The Day the sun stood still
5. Old gray coat
6. The Glory

Please note that the videos have nothing to do with the music.

Tanz der Vampire

This musical was composed by Jim Steinman with a book from Michael Kunze and was first staged in Vienna in October 1997. It's a musical adaptation of Roman Polanskis movie "The Fearless Vampire Killers".  

In the original cast Steve Barton played the role of Graf von Krolock,  Cornelia Zenz the role of Sarah, Gernot Kranner as Professor Abronsius and Aris Sas as Alfred. 

Like Polanskis movie, the musical tells the story of Professor Abronsius, a mad scientist, who goes to Transilvania in order to prove  the existence of vampires, getting so the recognition and respect of his fellow scientis and a Novel price. Together with his asistant, a young boy named Alfred, they arrive at an inn, where Alfred falls in love with the innkeepers daughter, Sarah. The second night Alfred and Professor Abromsious stay at the inn, Sarah runs away into the forest to attend to the Vampire Ball. The Ball is an anual party Graf von Krolock throws for his fellow vampires and to which he invites Sarah as a special guest in order to turn her into a vampire. Sarah ignores her parents warnings and flees to the castle, for she's secretly in love with the elder vampire.

The music of Tanz der Vampire is magnificent. It's in german with a lot of witty lines and funny lyrics.  I love nearly every piece of it.
The songs by the humans are full of life and very cheerfull ["Alles ist hell"/ "Everything's bright" or "Knoblauch"/"Garlic"], while the ones by the vampires are very agressive and ferocious, ["Tanz der Vampire"/"Vampire Ball" or "Ewigkeit"/"Eternity"].

Krolock is a very sad and melancholic character and he laments and reflects often on the tragedy of being a vampire. ["Gott ist tot"/"God is dead" or "Unstillbare Gier"/ "Endless Appetite"]

There are two comical relieve characters in this musical: one of them is Chagal [James Sbano], the innkeeper and Sarah's father who's in love with the hot readheaded maid, Rebecca [Anne Welte] and gets turned into a vampire while chasing after his daughter. And the other one is Herbert [Nik Breidenbach], Graf von Krolock's homosexual son who falls in love with Alfred. As  well as by Professor Abromsius, who although he's very intelligent never gets things quite right.

Something I really like about the musical is that, even though it's ment to be a comedy, it has some very serious and 'dark' lines. The whole song of "Unstillbare Gier" is a hard critic on the immorality of society. While "Tanz der Vampire" at the ending of the musical, embraces that immorality and somehow 'justifies' it saying: well, if that's what you need to do to survive, then go ahead and do it'.

Steve Barton as Krolock inviting Sarah to the Ball

Two of the most popular songs of the musicals where also used by Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf.
The Main Theme "Totale Finsternis" had been made popular in 1983 by Bonnie Tyler as "Total Eclipse of the Heart", when it became one of the bigest musical-hits ever.

The song sung by Krolock "Unstillbare Gier" was used by Meat Loaf to compose "Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are" in the album with the same name.

The staging of the musical is done in the most flashy way. The costumes a great, the props not all so small and with complex structures like the ones used in the mayor productions in broadway. There are a lot of different locations and a lot of different scenes every one of them done with very different props. I think it is remarcable and that it's very atractive visually speaking. For me it's a novelty as in Spain musicals tend to an economy of props. But it is not so unusual to see such efforts put into a musical in Austria and Germany. Both countries are not far behind of New York and London in their musical productions. And Tanz der Vampire is a very good example for that.

Tanz der Vampire was recorded with the original cast in 1999. This was the last time that Steve Barton ever sung as Graf von Krolock. It can also be found in the interent for downloading, buy I recommend you to buy the DVD, for the quality is generally not very good.  There had also been an attempt to take the musical to Broadway. But they changed so many things, that it ended up being something else entirely and failing monumentaly.

Other than that, the music is very good and can be easily enjoyed without the images. I personally like the musical better than the movie. Here I leave you four of my absolute favourite songs of this musical.

1. "Gott is tot" - ["God is dead" sung by Graf von Krolock]
2. "Einladung zum Ball" ["Invitation to the Ball" by Graf von Krolock]
3. "Unstillbare Gier" ["Unending Appetite" by Graf von Krolock]
4. "Knoblauch" ["Garlic" by the humans]
5. "Wenn Liebe in dir ist"["When you're in love" by Alfred and Herbert]

Before we begin...

Dear Reader: 

As I've been unable to make a way to surf easyly through the page called Music Shelf in Ghelik's Corner, I decided to go and make a new blog where I can put links to my hearts contempt. 

A few important hints about it: 

I haven't seen most of the plays, but only heard the music I found on the page Jukebox. If I've seen the musical, I'll post it on the Corner. 

Secondly: I do not encourage piracy. You can download the music from Jukebox, true. But the fact that I link you to that page is to let you know about the musicals so that you may listen to them and buy the music if you like it. And that - if you have the chance - you may go and watch the play, which is what I would do if I could. 

And last, but not least, I have absolutely no real knowledge about music. I'm half deaf and I can hardly distinguish between a Do [C] and a Mi [E]. So my opinions can be probably wrong in the eyes of an educated person. 

So, that would be all in this short introduction. 

Yours faithfully

                         Ghelik Black

The Pirate Queen

Claude-Michel Schönberg is one of my favourite musical authors. His plays are extremely beautiful with a tendency towards more classic composition: loads of string and melodic singing, with little recitative parts. 

This play ran from March to June 2007 on Broadway and is based on the life and adventures of the 16th century Irish chieftain and pirate Gráinne O'Malley. 

The main character was played by Stephanie J. Block. Her lover Tiernan was played by Hadley Fraser. Queen Elisabeth I was interpreted by Linda Balgord - who was nominated for the Drama Desk Awards in the category of "Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical" - and Marcus Chait in the role of Donal - Gráinne's husband.

As the musical ran only for a few months, you can probably guess that the reception of this piece wasn't very warm. Yet the music is entrancing and the singing very beautiful. You can easily follow the story with this soundtrack - which isn't always the case with the cast recording. The duets between Fraser and Block are entrancing. Block's voice is strong and beautiful. 

The pieces sung by the ensemble are funny and full of life ['Boys'll be Boys' is a nice example of this]. And the parts sung by the Queen are very well executed, even though I didn't really like some of her songs. 

The story evolves beautiful. The problems are specially in the keeping of time, which is rather difficult to hear at some points. For example how much time goes by between Gráinne's imprisonment and the moment she's released. If you're interested in the story you should check the wikipedia or another encyclopedia. It's actually very interesting

Anyway I really like this musical, and if you are able to listen to it I highly recommend it. 

Here I give you a few songs which I'm specially fond of:

1.  'I'll be there' --> sung by Tiernan after Gráinne's wedding

2.  'Woman' --> sung by Gráinnes at the begining of the musical

3.  'Let a father stand by his son' --> sung by Donal, Gráinne and Sir Bingham

4.  'Boys'll be Boys' --> sung by ensemble before the wedding

5.  'A day beyond Belclare' --> sung by Tiernan, Gráinne, Donal and the ensemble when Gráinne's father dies.