As he sings, the walls of the apartment begin to move off, and
the city walls surrounding them begin to close in on them. Then
the apartment it self goes, and the two lovers begin to run,
battering against the walls of the city, beginning to break
through as chaotic figures of the gangs, of violence, fail around
them. But they do break through, and suddenly-they are in a world
of space and air and sun. They stop, looking at it, pleased,
startled, as boys and girls both sides come on. And they, too,
stop and stare, happy, pleased. Their clothes are soft and pastel
versions of what they have worn before. They begin to dance, to
play: no sides, no hostility now; join, making a world that Tony
and Maria want to be in, belong to, share their love with. As
they go into the steps of a gentle love dance, a voice is heard
singing. [more inside]
posted by silby
on Oct 9, 2011 -
11 comments
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba! It's been nearly two decades since that glorious savanna sunrise, and once again
The Lion King is
at the top of the box office. It's a good chance to revisit what made the original the capstone of the
Disney Renaissance, starting with the music. Not the gaudy show tunes or the Elton John ballads, but the soaring, elegiac score by Hans Zimmer which, despite winning an Oscar, never saw a full release outside of
an unofficial bootleg.
Luckily, it's unabridged and high-quality, allowing one to lay Zimmer's
haunting,
pulse-pounding,
joyful tracks
alongside the original video (
part 2,
3,
4), revealing the subtle leitmotifs and careful matching of music and action.
In addition, South African collaborator
Lebo M wove traditional Zulu chorals into the score, providing
veiled commentary on
scenes like this; his work was later
expanded into
a full album,
the Broadway stage show, and
projects closer to his heart. Speaking of expanded works, there were inevitable sequels -- all of which you can experience with
The Lion King: Full Circle (
download guide), a fan-made, three-hour supercut of the original film and its two follow-ups.
Want more? Look...
harder... [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Oct 1, 2011 -
22 comments
From Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of
South Park, and Robert Lopez, of
Avenue Q, comes the new Broadway show
"The Book of Mormon." The
show "tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent off to spread the word in a dangerous part of Uganda" while gently (and no so gently) lampooning organized religion and traditional musical theatre.
The entire show is now streaming on NPR. Songs are extremely Not Safe For Work.
posted by ColdChef
on May 9, 2011 -
84 comments
You can keep your Simon, Randy and Paula, I'll take Barbara Cook any day.
Here is the Broadway legend's two hour master class (it's a REALTIME video from
The New York Public Library) and it'll teach you more about singing, phrasing and music than every moment of American Idol combined. At least watch the first 20 minutes, you'll be amazed.
posted by adrober
on Apr 10, 2006 -
7 comments
The Brill Building , located at 1619 Broadway in the heart of New York's music district, is a name synonymous with an approach to songwriting that changed the course of music. Housing legendary songwriters like Carole King, Jerry Leiber, Neil Sedaka, and Burt Bacharach, the Brill Building created some of the
greatest hits of the
rock'n'roll era. [more inside]
posted by rocket88
on Dec 29, 2004 -
11 comments