Audra McDonald Sings Billie Holiday – From Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill

In January of 2014, I got a call to work on a new musical about Billie Holiday that would feature Audra McDonald. I had no idea just how huge the show would be—what an experience. Audra is a force of nature and was on top of her game every single night. It was amazing to…

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Three Tips On How To Get Paid What You Are Worth For Gigs

I often hear musicians talk about the amount of money certain gigs pay. People chat about the tip jar having to be passed around because club owners pay so little. They might get paid a few dollars here and there for the gig,  but hey, at least they get a meal out of it. They…

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I Miss My Kids

  One thing I learned from being away from my kids since July 9th is that I’ll NEVER AGAIN take chances on future success. Never again. NE-VER! My days of “hoping things will work out” ended as of right now. I won’t do anything with the hope that things will get better in some unspecified…

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“The Temptations Were Our Beatles”

“The Temptations were our Beatles” I stumbled across a series of Behind The Music episodes on YouTube last night and watched the story of Hall and Oates. Wow, I forgot how many hits they had. I loved so many of their songs. But, The Temps… I really didn’t know how much of an influence they…

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Not just your imagination: ‘Temptations’ musical rocks

Berkeley Rep’s world premiere musical, which opened Thursday, Sept. 14, under the direction of Des McAnuff, makes songs resounding clarion calls from their opening beats — the teasing jazz piano riff of “I Can’t Get Next To You,” the ache-filled strings soaring over gentle guitar thrums in “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).” Richly…

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Official trailer: Ain’t Too Proud

Working on this show has been such a great experience. The music is great, the musicians are amazing, the cast is fantastic and the creative team is top notch. This show is a must see! Book by Dominique Morisseau Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog Music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations…

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Why new Temptations play is NOT a ‘jukebox musical’

“People always say I make musicals for people who hate musicals and there is some truth to that.” – Des McAnuff True indeed! I never liked musicals. I think way too many of them are corny. I once saw a musical where a singer was at a train station , waiting on her train to…

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