COMING UP – WEEK 14 PREVIEW

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Week 14

These are the songs I picked between 26 September and 2 October 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Miss Marmelstein – Barbra Streisand … In the booklet, Streisand talks about doing the number seated on a desk chair and sliding around the stage, which naturally I tried to recreate at my new job whenever nobody was watching.

A Quiet Thing / There Won’t Be Trumpets – Barbra Streisand

The Skin Of Our Teeth – Brent Barrett … As we waited for Bruce, John Kander came in the house with Eric Schaeffer. I was going to ask Kander to autograph the poster I had bought, but he and Schafer were having what it seems a serious conversation.

Tom, Dick Or Harry – Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, Bobby Van, Bob Fosse

Dressing Them Up – Brent Carver … Having the character sing this song elevates Molina from a sad middle aged lonely gay man with an active imagination to a man who can be passionate and committed to a cause, or someone he loves.

The Day After That – Brian Mitchell

Manhattan – Ella Fitzgerald

WEEK 13 – 19 SEPTEMBER TO 25 SEPTEMBER 2014

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85 FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2014

No One Is Alone – Kim Crosby, Danielle Ferland, Ben Wright, Chip Zien

085 Into the Woods (Musical Cast Recording)

Even when we are on our own, we’re not totally alone. We all live in a community and have an impact each other’s lives. From the person who holds the lift’s door when you’re carrying bags. Or the person who chases you down the street to hand you the umbrella you’ve dropped one block away. Even the person who is rude to you on the bus for no apparent reason; we all feed on the community we live in. It doesn’t matter how much we want to protect ourselves, others will always have an influence on us, and there’s basically nothing we can do about it. The person who holds the lift’s door will help you arrive faster to your destination. The one who hands you the umbrella will help you stay dry when the rain comes. The one who’s been rude may wreck your day for a bit, but another person will brighten it. In a matter of minutes, everything can change. You’ll be the one holding the lift’s door, handing the umbrella, and being rude to someone on the bus.

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COMING UP – WEEK 13 PREVIEW

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Week 13

These are the songs I picked between 19 September and 25 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

No One Is Alone – Kim Crosby, Danielle Ferland, Ben Wright, Chip Zien

What Kind of Fool Am I – Jason Danieley … It was only recently that I played close attention to the lyrics and noticed the Catch-22 nature of the song.

Loving You – Kym Hoy

I Won’t Send Roses – Rita Moreno

Medley (Almost Like Being In Love-This Can’t Be Love) * – Judy Garland … For younger readers, before iPods and CD burnings, people used to have “tape recording” parties, someone would bring a record and whoever was interested could make a copy of it on a cassette.

There’s No Business Like Show Business – Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand

Here’s To Us (outtake) – Judy Garland … It is such an extraordinary moment of self-determination and resilience, that you just want to snap your fingers twice and say: You go girl!

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 12 – 12 SEPTEMBER TO 18 SEPTEMBER 2014

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78 FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2014

It Only Takes a Moment – Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennan

077 Hello, Dolly! (The Original Broadway Cast Recording) [Deluxe Edition]

What I love about Jerry Herman’s songs is how there’s always a resolution. Most of his songs tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. You could take the lyrics of this particular song and develop an entire novel. The lyrics have already dictated what the characters will do, and where they’re headed.

I know, it is hard to explain, but as I include more of Jerry Herman’s songs, I’ll make my point clearer.

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COMING UP – WEEK 12 PREVIEW

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Week 12

These are the songs I picked between 12 September and 18 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

It Only Takes a Moment – Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennan 

Brassmen’s Holiday – Arturo Sandoval … I’m not a good Latino, I don’t feel the same attachment or loyalty to the culture that some of the Latinos I’ve met abroad cherish. However, there are a few things that remind me of my heritage; Arturo Sandoval’s music is one of them.

I Believe In You – Matthew Broderick … 1995 was the year I turned 30, and for the first time the idea that perhaps not all of my plans, dreams, hopes, and illusions, would ever become true; hit me.

I Can’t Let Go * – Jennifer Hudson

I’m a Brass Band * – Sammy Davis, Jr.

Es Verdad – Ilan Chester … I don’t believe that love evolves into the love you have for your next partner. The love we’ve had for all of our lovers is unique.

Inka Dinka Doo – Jimmy Durante

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 11 – 5 SEPTEMBER TO 11 SEPTEMBER 2014

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71 FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2014

Easy to Love – Lee Wiley with Paul Weston & His Orchestra – Top 10 Contender

071 Greatest Hits

I’m definitely feeling the love for Cole Porter.

I first heard Easy To Love in 1991; it was a version by Sinatra, which I instantly liked. Since then I’ve acquired different versions by different performers. As a young man, I thought of it as the epitome of being in love and planning a perfect future with a chosen one.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate it under a very different light. It is not about being in love, the singer is not in love yet. It is about the business of falling in love, and how it is not as random and magical as Hollywood and Hallmark have led us to believe.

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COMING UP – WEEK 11 PREVIEW

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Week 11

These are the songs I picked between 5 September and 11 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

Easy to Love* – Lee Wiley with Paul Weston & His Orchestra …  It is not as she was older or wiser, she was only 18, and yet she knew this was a long-term investment relationship. Love was a profit, not a requirement.

If I Were A Bell – Ernestine Jackson

Dance Sequence – A Woman in Love – Renee Renoir, Ruben De Fuentes … I believe we tend to romanticise the times in which we grew up, but we glamorise the era in which our parents lived.

You Gotta Have A Gimmick – Faith Dane, Betty Bruce & Roxanne Arlen

Everything’s Coming Up Roses – Ethel Merman … I believe when Ethel Merman created the role of Mama Rose, she injected a lot of her own personality. I don’t think La Merman was as ruthless and aggressive as the real Rose, but I think she gave the character that charming no-nonsense quality that became Mama Rose’s main trait.

The Donkey Serenade – Mario Lanza

Put On Your Sunday Clothes – Charles Nelson Reilly, Jerry Dodge, Carol Channing, Igors Gavon, Alice Playten, Ensemble

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 10 – 29 AUGUST TO 4 SEPTEMBER 2014

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64 FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 2014

I’m The Greatest Star – Barbra Streisand – Top Ten Contender

064 Funny Girl-The Original Soundtrack Recording

“Funny Girl” is the first movie I ever remember watching.

I didn’t become familiar with its soundtrack until many years later when Fernando, a friend back home, introduced me to it. Most of the songs on this show have been favourites of mine for years, and I’m sure, a few will sneak onto this list.

Although this version of I’m The Greatest Star comes from the film’s soundtrack, I’d like to tell you a little story regarding the Broadway Original Cast recording.

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COMING UP – WEEK 10 PREVIEW

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Week 10

These are the songs I picked between 29 August and 4 September 2014. I’ll talk about them next time.

I’m The Greatest Star * – Barbra Streisand … The seller described it as a unique item that included one ticket stub and autographs from Barbra Streisand and Sydney Chaplin.

Dime – Rubén Blades

Love Walked In – Virginia Verrill & Jon Hall

In Our United State – Bob Fosse

Who Cares? – Marueen McGovern, Larry Kert … Bill was as charming and convincing as Wintergreen. However, Hilary was no Mary Turner.

The Varsity Drag ** – Ann Morrison

Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now – Nina Simone … This rendition of Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now floored me when I first heard it. Her delivery is so soulful.

* Top 10 Contender

** Top 10 Fast-Tracked

WEEK 09 – 22 AUGUST TO 28 AUGUST 2014

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57 FRIDAY 22 AUGUST 2014

The Grotto (Get Out of Town/My Heart Belongs to Daddy/Just One of Those Things) – Orchestra

057 Evil Under the Sun (Music from the Original Soundtrack)

Allow me to remind you that one of the reasons I’m making this list is to include songs that have touched me during the first 50 years of my life. So, there’s a story behind every song I pick. Bear with me as I tell you another story from my younger years.

For many years in the 1980s and early 1990s, my father owned a video store in a mini-mall near our house. “Galeria Electronica” started selling small household appliances and audio equipment, maybe TV sets? I can’t remember well, but within a year, it became a bookstore/video store business. I used to work there occasionally, on weekends or whenever I was on university holidays. I can’t remember much of the day-to-day operation, or what I did exactly, but I remember I used to watch many of the movies we traded. Yes, traded.

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