An Analysis by Scott Miller. Joy is under-appreciated in American theatre today. Joy is a cop out. Part of the reason joy has gone out of the theatre is that the earliest, silliest Broadway musicals and plays, in the first part of the twentieth century, traded only in joy and happiness. In reaction to that or perhaps, over- reaction , the American musical theatre has steered in the last fifty years more and more toward death, despair, and destruction, either societal or personal.
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Heart And Music
Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, A New Brain dealt directly with his own harrowing experience with an arteriovenous malformation and the healing power of art. Finn wrote many of the songs soon after his release from the hospital. The musical premiered Off-Broadway in and has been revived in the U. A New Brain started as a "series of songs that Bill Finn wrote after he left the hospital", with a concert of those songs produced at The Public Theater. The musical was first produced Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center , with previews beginning on May 14, , and closed on October 11,
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What is your morning jam? You know what I mean. Your go to song when you are heading to work, the song you blast while getting ready for the day, or the song you set as your alarm because it is impossible to hate or, worse, sleep through. Periods of my life are inextricably linked to my morning song, which often reflects whatever I am dealing with at the time. Unsurprisingly, many of those songs have been from musicals. Bungee Dan Fogler , an incredibly annoying frog.
A New Brain , written by the brilliant duo of William Finn and James Lapine, gives audiences life — even when telling a story that is mostly centered around death. I have never woken up in a hospital with a tumor, I have never felt stressed to write an award-winning song for an animated frog, etc. Through the love felt between Gordon and his mother, boyfriend, friends and even hospital nurses, I found myself smiling through the tears all the way through. As a college student, I am filled with hopes and dreams for the future, much like Gordon. Berensteiner, the nice and not-so-nice nurses, Rhoda his friend and coworker and even Mr. I found the frog character to be especially intriguing, only because all of us as people have that looming dark cloud in our minds as well. Maybe not in the image of a frog, per se, but there is always a voice in the back of our heads trying to tear us down, and it is our job to overcome it. The reason I fell so deeply in love with Falsettos was because of the music that both hurt and healed my heart, and the same went for this production of A New Brain. As this dream sequence occurs when Gordon shockingly falls ill, he reminisces on how many great songs he could write and how music makes life worth living.
