Mark Mulcahy: The resurrection of the song writer's singer at Spaceland 7/12/2013

Mark Mulcahy has earned the reverence and adoration of fans, critics and fellow musicians for a career that has spanned over twenty five years.

A master story teller, who can wisp you off to a world of his own creating in less than four minutes,  his lyrics can be as introspective, raw, and funny as they are generous with developed metaphors that detail the beauties and nuances of life as well as dreams. Mark unites his writing in rich and organic ways with music featuring sweet melodic chords and his beautiful voice. It is a well deserved mantle of brilliance, that he wears with a soft and humble smile, after years of work with the seminal New Haven band Miracle Legion, Polaris and his amazing body of solo work. He and his two piece band, featuring  Henning Ohlenbusch and Ken Maiuri ventured in to familiar and welcomed territory last night at the Spaceland performance space in Hamden. 

Gliding in on the heels, and  dressed in angelic white, of his latest record release in eight years, " Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You" and playing his second Connecticut gig this year, since performing in April at the Meriden Daffodil Festival.

There was an air of welcomed and familiar anticipation of something very special to be witnessed by all in attendance.
Opening the show with of the best of his new tunes from the record. He went deep dealing out "The Rabbit" solo which begins " Wicked trickery...it must take a long time. You need two cups of extra desire. To be able to learn the tricks you learned to do"  The song is laced with contempt as it is filled with yearning.
He next went to the  first track of the new album  " I Taketh Away"  which  begins with compelling chords as Mark spits out frustration and sarcasm. He  even takes on JC with this swipe " He was so cool when first come around. Now all that love my brother shit...just make me mad, mad, mad" 

 By the fourth  song Mark was on fire possessed by frenetic  and  boundless energy, reminiscent of a Grotto gigs from days past, as the band laid down the sultry and provocative "She Makes the World Turn Around." Mark once again revealing his passion and confusion for the feminine mystique. 

A highlight of the night  followed as Mark erupted into a power  punk version of " I Have Patience" that had him and many in the crowd bopping up and down as he proclaimed in the chorus 
"The things I love don't bring me joy. The things I love, I want to destroy. I have patience, I have patience."

Mark continued to marry the new material with the old as he played a couple more track off In Pursuit of Your Happiness  then the closing track off the new record with the powerful and disturbing "Where's The Indifference Now?"
He continued to power on with a ripping version of "Saturine" and then went  soft with a tender " Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up". The fun times continued with a sing-a-long version of a crowd favorite "Ladies From Town" followed by the garanimals portion of the show with the  band getting silly before striking out with powerful version of the funky "Let the Fireflies Fly Away" as Mark gets surreal painting the canvas with imagery of a donkey driving a Chevrolet among a few things.

Mark next  then sang " Quiet One" being both hilarious as it is sinister. He continued with the religious sarcasm with "He's a Magnet" with its soft porn chorus of " ooooo yeah oh no no no oh yeah he's a magnet baby"

The set closed with the one dedication of the night to man from New Haven who inspired the  sweeping "Bill Jocko."

Mark began the encore the way he began the night, alone with his music and his guitar. The stage  lights glistening off the chrome on his hallow body guitar as he pulled out a inspired and sweet reading of " Hey Self Defeater."

"Never mind overjoyed
Just start with happy
There’s no more silent nights
And no more horrid fights
Just got a new place
And put a thousand miles"

Musical guests Jeff " Baby Huey" Wiederschall and Richard "Doctor Managua" Brown joined for the joyous closing of "Mr. Mingo" and " The Backyard"

One of the best nights of live music all year for this fan.
Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, we love you...and thank you.

.

STELLA BLUE - Jerry Garcia Symphonic - Wolf Trap - Vienna, VA 6.26.2013

Here is another sweet taste from the current Jerry Garcia Symphonic tour featuring Warren Haynes. The tour heads out west to Red Rocks on July 30th and then onto San Francisco on Jerry's birthday and then ends in Los Angeles.
This is a must see freaks.

Jerry Garcia's music and spirit graces Tanglewood

It was far from one more Saturday night as the latest project involving the works of the late Jerry Garcia made it debut at Tanglewood along with one Wolf sighting.
Let me  begin by stating that for many of us Dead Heads we have never  experienced the likes of Tanglewood which welcomed our tribe in with open arms, warmth and civility.
It was a  warm, carefree  night and to be able stroll in a few hours before the music would start with food and  drink was a treat a to say the least and with not be subjected to a TSA style searches was a rare pleasure for the rock goer.They even let you go back to to your car if you forgot something, as I left my phone in the car, by graciously giving you a red card. Wow! To be treated like a human being.
Plus with a view like this for dinner it was a very auspicious start.

As this being the only New England appearance of this tour many Dead tour veterans, who strolled around in a pleasant awe, as well as Tanglewood regulars were in attendance. This included many families with children playing soccer or frisbee on the well manicured spacious grounds.

Show time was to start at 8:30 PM and would include two sets and feature some of Garcia's best music. The beginning of the concert was just  that as  the electric trio led by Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, drummer Jeff Sipe, bassist, Lincoln Schleifer with the Boston  Pops Orchestra led by Conductor Keith Lockhart, dressed in a colorful tye dye, launched into a Dark Star medley  which was  rich in it's sounds, and for the non- believer quite pleasant to hear. This fluttered into one of the high lights of the night with the classic Bird Song written for Janis Joplin.  With a full strings and a horn section unveiling the true depth and beauty of this song with conductor Keith Lockhart really emphasizing that. Haynes voices was in peak form too as his rich raspy voice and delicate playing shined while playing one of Jerry's most famous guitars, Wolf.

In the program they sadly did not list  who did each of the orchestration for each piece. I did find out that Chris Walker, Sean O' Loughlin, and Steve Bernstein all contributed to this project.
The first set took off from there as they played Crazy Finger, a tour first of  the Irving Berlin classic, and Jerry Garcia Band favorite, Russian Lullaby which featured some of Warren best playing and versatility.

The trio next played a short jam that jovially danced into rich and jazzy Scarlet Begonias which had the crowd erupting into pure joy. Warren flashed a  big smile and conductor Lockhart, who was extremely attentive to Warren's cues, flashed an enormous  grin of appreciation at the end. He and the BSO was clearly moved by our devotion and  appreciation of their efforts.
This went into the funky work horse Shakedown Street. The crowd all on its' feet by now and once again the strings providing a deep and rich sound to this classic.
The set ended with  the Grateful Dead's most famous, and crowd pleasing, cover of the  1960's anti-nuclear war ballad Morning Dew  Once again Warren's rich vocal and emotion catapulted this rich and historical piece. The BSO really added some extra  power to it as well, especially at the bridge. The audience gave a well deserved standing ovation to the Pops at the end.

Set two begin with taste of the Mission in the Rain medley into that Working Man's Dead classic High Time. Once again featuring heartfelt vocals  from Warren and his two back up singers, who excelled the entire night, Alecia Chakour and Jasmine Muhammed. This transitioned into a majestic and free flowing Uncle John's Band,  which chords flourished with brashness and joy and once again featuring full accompanying vocals from the audience, was a clear high light.

With the summer Solstice super  moon on it's way Warren felt Standing on the Moon would be a perfect choice and it was  good, but the ending was not fully explored and those rich chords could have been better developed as this song was performed that way by Garcia and the Grateful Dead live. To know what I mean one only needs to listen here.
Warren then jumped into a  personal favorite of his, the gritty early 1980's street song West LA Fadeaway. Now it's placement this late in the set might confuse and piss off any well respected taper, but this arrangement really acknowledged the influences Leonard Bernstein had on Jerry as the  sensual bluesy feel  expressed by the full horns section was both seducing and sinister. It was a very pleasant surprise and Warren was all smiles at the end.

Now for any well respected Dead Head, the one song the Grateful Dead never played live in their entire career, well along with France, was the full Terrapin Station Suite. Furthur and Rat Dog has each played  show stopper versions of this 20 minute plus epic piece and on a night like this one  would think this piece would have to be played in it's entirety...sadly it was not.

This was a grave missed  opportunity, the Slipknot! sandwiched in, was a worthy effort but honestly the lilting bridge was omitted that delivers us to " Inspiration move me  brightly" verse as was the fast flowing At a Siding, which on the original record is a high light.
It was very good but overall felt rushed and due to these revisions the energy of this piece  never reached it full and well deserved potential.  Although listening to it again I did hear how John Stafford Smith's influence was worked into this arrangement. Clearly Jerry was a fan of the Star Spangle Banner. The ending crashing crescendo was great with Keith Lockhart literally  jumping in the air to end the piece.

We all went wild for that ending and then Warren expressed sadly that the curfew was fast approach. The 1970's ballad Ship of Fools, which they sound checked as well, closed the night with one of Warren's most emotional and extended solos. Over all Warren was often too hesitant in  his playing and  played  Wolf with a well respected softness and finesse but honestly he needed to unleash at certain points.We all knew that improvisation would be limited but it is fine to be louder than the orchestra, especially in this project, as that is what truly made Jerry's playing so special and spontaneous.

The musicians and conductor came out twice to the loving  adoration of the audience and it was clear this was a "grate" idea but may need some tweaking if they plan to do it again next summer. This might mean shoring up the second set with some more upbeat songs. Consider the possibilities of tunes like Dupree's Diamond Blues, Deal, or going deep with choices like Comes a Time ,Believe It Or Not or even one of Jerry's best covered Dylan songs Visions of Johanna? Or clearly the most obvious... Ramble on Rose. Can you imagine the crashing horns and strings leading to rejoice in the final chorus in this setting?

On a final note one can only hope Phil Lesh participates in the future, or at one of the shows in San Francisco, as  his classical training and playing would elevate this project to even greater highs.

Over all a historical and very rewarding musical experience and one this reviewer is grateful that he did not miss.
Thanks to this wonderful night we plan on going back to Tanglewood in July and  you should too at least once.
The place is that cool.
Happy Trails.

" We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful..." Cabaret revival sets up shop on Park Road

Proclaims the Emcee, Brendan Norton, as the Kit Kat Club calls us into it's dark,smokey, and red lit Berlin nightclub of the late 1920's. Where once inside we are willingly, or unwillingly, presented a front row seat  to challenge our social norms and  secret perversions. A world where we surrender to our  voyeuristic tendencies letting our eyes and ears feast in it's glorious decadence of revelry, gender bending sexuality,  personal freedom, and expression. The Kit Kat Club is an  exaggerated and surreal world where we all pledge to "live and let live"  but it is also a world that, tragically, is on on the cusp of unstoppable political and anti-Semitic  brutality. We the viewers bare witness to this unfolding display of art and morality set against one of the greatest human cruelties of  all time in the summer production of Cabaret at Playhouse On Park in West Hartford.

If you are starting  to Goggle  Cabaret stop typing right now.  Please allow yourself to experience live theater that will be compelling and entertaining as it is erotic and  shocking. This production  runs for six weeks and will quickly become a must see for any lover of high quality entertainment in the Hartford area, and actually I am sure a few folks from the city will be up for this one as well.

With it's jazz infused foot tapping ragtime Kander and Ebb  score colored with lyrics full of sexual innuendos, insights, and  paradoxes that still ring true to this day this production will entertain as much as it provokes you to look at the world differently as you leave the theater.

There is also a nod to Bob Fosse's direction of the movie in which the audience is part of the show as the character's willfully offer a seductive smile, a lick of their lips while your spouse looks  the other way, a knowing  wink, or if you are  very lucky a complete bird's eyes view of  a dancer's derriere. All this contributing to an authenticity that is fun as it is  provocative.  This begins even before the show and was quite fun and set the stage for the unexpected. The cast, in character , mingled with the theater goers in a Kit Kat style lounge in the " lobby". Where Texas, Lulu, and Hans, scantly dressed, interacted with the audience. Due to my own inability to speak French I was prevented from flirting with the lovely Frenchie before the show. Even if I could converse with her she clearly preferred the soft kisses of Hermann to my inquires.

The cast is excellent. Brendan Norton as the Emcee is a not force of nature but a force of human nature as he modernizes the Tony and Oscar winning role that Joel Grey created. With his goth influences dominated by a long black leather trench coat, Doc Martin  boots, and a black widow tattoo he commands and challenges your senses. His gender bending bisexuality  seduces you as well as his Jokeresque presence always just off stage with his glowing white face makeup floating in the shadows. Always watching the other characters on stage not with a look judgement or damnation but with a Cheshire cat grin of approval and amazement, his eyes fully open, as he bears witness.
Mr. Norton is really the heart of this show and his heart beats with a  passion to  push things to the edge and push the audience out of their comfort zone.

Also to see the Emcee in a Can Can line is a show highlight.

Now Ms.Erin Lindsey Krom has even a bigger challenge in performing the role of Sally Bowles, knowing that Liza Minnelli's portrayal is etched in our cultural DNA from the film version, and she is quite successful. This Sally is a snappy working class girl who is well aware of her shortcomings and moral ambiguities and has no shame or remorse about her choices. She is an empowered woman living in the moment using her skills of sexual prowess, voice, and passion for decadence to be her compass.
She excels in the numbers " Don't Tell Mama" and " Maybe this Time"  and she performs a moving rendition of the " Cabaret Revival" which she laces with sarcasm, bitterness, and disdain at the end of the show.

The characters Fraulein Schneider, played sweetly by Kathleen Huber, and Herr Schultz, portrayed by Damian Buzzerio, are the other heart of this show. As they  become the vehicle for the weight of the Nazi regime on all their lives, with  them especially be  scarred and changed by it forever. Their debut on " It Couldn't  Please Me More"  was tender as it was bitter sweet.

Jake Loewenthal as Cliff is both innocent and worldly as he is an openly bisexual man wandering around Europe in his pilgrimage to find the inspiration for his next "great" novel. He is seduced by the city of Berlin, Sally, the Kit Kat Club, and Bobby but also is the first to acknowledge the reality of the crushing  blow the Nazi's rise to  power will be and how it will change everything for all them.

The rest of the ensemble is fun, brash, and vivacious with Ashley Ford and Tao Hguyen standing out.

The staging by director Sean Harris is both efficient as it is effective. Lighting is low and seedy and the two doors on stage are continually used to great comedic and  dramatic effect representing the two worlds, the Kit Kat Club and Nazi Germany. As the character go in and out of these two worlds, which both coexisted for a brief time, this can not go on forever and it becomes painfully obvious how deep the Nazi's grasp into all aspects of society had become.

The choreography by Darlene Zoller is stylized, captivating, and vaudevillian with  numerous nods to Fosse's mark on this work.

Not to diminish the atrocities of  this era at all but one could draw a similarity to the current debate over the rights for marriage equality for the LGBT community. As sadly many of the truths in Cabaret still have an eerie resonance to our view through the camera shutter today.
Seeing this show may inspire you to think about that.

As the Emcee noted the world needs more of " Leben und leben lassen" or " Live and Let Live"
Playing through July 21st at the PlayHouse on Park

                                          Erin Lindsey Krom and Brendan Norton

An open letter to our President, my Senator, and my Congressman

Mr. President and Gentlemen,
This is an open letter of protest, shock, disbelief, and grief. This week we all learned that the  war on terror has now become a war against the civil liberties, privacy, and freedoms of all citizens of our country.
We have now been made aware that hundreds of billions, 252 billion by my calculations, of domestic cell phone call information have been collected and stored to be used in some "future" investigation(s), with a request to a FISA court, by the security apparatus of our country and all this for one conviction, so far, of Nagibullah Zazi, and that is even in dispute.

Of all this metadata collected how much of it has been taken back to a FISA court to request even  further investigation?
Thousands? Tens of thousands, Hundred of thousand? Millions?
Who have these people  been?
OWS protesters? Tea Party members? Religious organization? Environmental groups? Facebook members?  Youtube viewers? Political opponents or rivals?
Who knows?
We surely don't and I have a  feeling you three don't know either.

On one hand this may seem a triumph of the terrorist industrial complex, TIC, but on the other it may be  the worst example of government over reach, the negation of the check and balance system, and gross government inefficiency ever.

This massive terror industrial complex had missed the actions of  U.S Army Major Nidal Hasan, the Time Square bomber, and most recently the Boston Marathon bombers, even after being tipped off  by Russian intelligence on their suspicions of the Tsarnaev brothers.

According to the New York Times of the 22 terror plots, as of April of 2012 14 were FBI sting operations and were not the work of a foreign or domestic terror group.

This work of the FBI and now the NSA have now shamefully demonstrated that our government, once for the people and by the people, is now separate and  above the people.
Now everyone is a suspect with out due process and the protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and even the Ninth Amendment is called into question by the actions of the President, the Congress, the Courts, and the NSA.

Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation said on NPR yesterday " A secret government is not a democratic government."

I could not agree with her more.

Mr. President your Administration has now now made it illegal for honest to goodness whistleblowers to report abuses,corruption, waste, or over reach by the government by prosecuting these people under the Espionage Act because so much of what the war on terror is now classified.

That is the not actions of a free democracy, it is totalitarianism sir.

There are numerous examples of whistblowers changing the coarse of history, for the better I might add, and that needs to protected regardless if something is considered "classified."

You claimed to support greater transparency but clearly the actions of your Administration do not and sadly we are becoming hypocrites to ourselves and the world as we publicly appose freedom and a open society but in secret we fail to live up to these virtues.

Mr. President as you said yesterday in San Jose yesterday "I think that's good. that we're having this discussion.but I think it's important for everybody to understand and the American people understand, that there's some trade offs involved. You know, I came in with a healthy skepticism about these programs and my team evaluated and we scrubbed them thoroughly and expanded the oversight and increased the safeguards. But my assessment and my team's assessment was that they help us prevent terrorist attacks. And the modest encroachments on privacy that are involved in getting phone numbers or duration without a name attached and not looking at content, that on net it was worth us doing.Some other folks may have a different assessment of that. But I think it's important to recognize that you can't have 100% security and also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. We're going to have to make some choices as a society" 

First we  are not having a discussion about this, as we are all reeling with alarm and concern in just finding out about this, and we the American public have not been presented any choices in this matter.

Secondly no one can promise 100% security and as Americans in a free and open society we  realize and accept this fact as we accept all types of risks every day in our lives.

What we won't accept is unwarranted and illegal intrusions into our private lives by the government of any other entity that we do not give  permission to or that have the legal right to do so.
We also won't accept the fact that no checks and balances are involved in this processes either.

As for Congress and the Senate complacency and towing the status quo is not an  excuse or justification for not acting in the interests of the voters who elected you. It is hypocritical and immoral that one talks about patriotism and freedom publicly but in private their actions represent the complete opposite.

Where do we  go from here?

That is a  very complicated question but we can not accept moving further and further into a police state dominated by the terrorist industrial complex, where suspicion of the innocent is common place and surveillance of all is conducted by an unchecked and secret bureaucracy.

As George Orwall once said " Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them."

A free democracy can not thrive and prosper engaging in contradiction of it's values and  beliefs.

We must do better and this starts with not letting fear dictate our actions and rationale thoughts. Secrecy is a tool of  fear and we must realize this gentlemen. as FDR once said " Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear."

Fear of our government is not what our Founding Father envisioned it is what inspired them.

Its time for a reality check as we so do need it.

Gentlemen that begins first by having a free and open discussion about these serious manners and it may include re looking and revising the Patriotism Act to balancing security concerns with the rights guaranteed by our Constitution. Secondly the American people must be involved and not shut out by the three branches of our government who in "our" best interest have completely left us out of this discussion.

As James Madison once said " Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government."

Or as Mark Twain once said. "All large political doctrines are rich in difficult problems -- problems that are quite above the average citizen's reach. And that is not strange, since they are also above the reach of the ablest minds in the country; after all the fuss and all the talk, not one of those doctrines has been conclusively proven to be the right one and the best."

 Or maybe  this is the clearest thought for our  time?
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The choice is our's to make.

Passion revival at CSC 3/23/2013

The current revival production of Stephen Sondheims' seminal work of obsessive and unconditional love Passion is now playing at Classic Stage  Company on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. To see this work  live is  must for any Sondheim fan, but even if you are not, it has now been extended now through April 19th. The  work is one continuous 100 minute act of emotional exposure, both raw and sensual, of yearning and lust, of frustration and obsession, and of understanding, acceptance, and ultimately release. Sondheim purposely leads us with great clarity to what unconditional love can be in one of the most emotionally compelling and enthralling late 20th century Broadway musical works.

The traid of far from star crossed characters runs the full gambit of emotions, desires, and choices which are on full display and in detailed examination between Giogio, Clara, and Fosca in 19th Italy. The historical placing of the this tragedy and revelation forces a more formal and literal approach to the yearnings of the heart, but the frankness and provocativeness of the book is quite modern. The original production created career defining roles for Donna Murphy and Marin Mazzie. There are no catchy Sondheim " smash hits" comparable to shows such as Company, Sweeny Todd, or even Sunday in the Park With George, well maybe Loving You,  in this piece. Its all the pieces together with the strong deeply moving melodies that bring you deeper and deeper into this triad's journey of self discovery, heart break, and awakening.

The new production is in a intimate setting with the music ensemble above the audience and the audience on three sides of the stage giving the entire theater a closeness that is both rewarding and pivotal in the interpretation of this show.
As other reviews have revealed the strip down production is what helps makes the  music and  book shine in this production as this leaves the audience to focus entirely on the performances and the music. John Doyle's direction and design also enhances this great work.

At the time the original 1994  production of Passion was staged it began with Mazzie and Jere Shea naked in bed after making passionate love. In John Doyle's production there is no bed or nakedness but instead we are treated to a modern interpretation of sexual freedom as Clara straddles on top and thrust into Giorgio to deep erotic fulfillment. The imagination plays more at times in this production than does the set but never does the irony of Sondheim's wit and insights as Clara and Giorgio together sing " How quickly pity leads to love" describing the birth of their passion.

Judy Kuhn's entrance as Fosca in I Read  is as spellbinding, tender, and calculating as it is outrageous as the audience continually gets multiples glimpses of Fosca's yearnings, passions, and quickly her frustrations as she spews them out onto unprepared Captain  Bachetti. Her presence in this show is captivating and is a tour de force and propels it to greatness as you focus on Kuhn at all moments of the show.You  do not pity Kuhn's Fosca you stand in awe of her power and quickly empathize with her on some macabre level while being seduced by the beauty of her pursuit of unknown and often dreamed about experiences of romantic love.

                                               Photo courtesy of http://mtiblog.mtishows.com/
Ryan Silverman's Giorgio brings an emotionally vulnerability to the role as he is at times is wholly unprepared for the journey he has embarked on with these  two very different women. On one hand not knowing what he truly wants and on the other being totally spontaneous and raw about his emotions and confusions. Silverman is a powerful singer and brings this intensity continually to his performance. He can also fall to his knees or shrivels up on a train seat as he is hurled toward Fosca's light of awakening. Silverman's duality in portraying Giorgio is full of paradoxes that surge between complacency and confusion, to obsessive love and ultimately rage as he sings "Call it what you will, this is not love, this is the reverse like a curse, something out of control,,I've begin to fear for my soul..."


This  show moves quickly along and is filled with numerous funny exchanges and sarcasm from the chorus of fellow officers who question and  gossip about Fosca and Giorgio's intentions while they whittle away the daily boredom and routine of  the lone out post they are station at. The  number Soldier's Gossip is both hilarious and full of envy and contempt for Captain Bachetti. Or how they criticize Sergeant Lombardi's, played by  Orville Medoza who is excellent and bears an uncanny similarity to Marcus Olson, culinary skills and the lack of green vegetables in their daily meals.This group of singers are quite strong as well.

Tom Nelis is both grandfatherly and a classic manipulator as Doctor Tambourri. A man who is both empathetic to Fosca's plight and a meddler. How quickly he becomes disparately over whelmed when the true passions, he naively nursed along, of Fosca are released.

Stephen Borgardus's Colonel Ricci is full of regret for his role in Fosca's life and welcomes the gentlemanly and noble efforts of friendship from Giorgio, but this eventually leads to shock,dishonor,and tragedy as he can not fathom or even accept what has truly unfolded for his cousin or her role in it.


Understudy Amy Justman was Clara in this afternoon performance and Justman brought a honest sensibility and flirty nature that grew increasingly fleeting as the piece moved on.She has no moral qualms about her arrangement but also displays no regret or rage toward Giorgio when she reaches a self reflective peak on the realization that her true love has now slipped out of her hands . She is both compelling and benign during Farewell Letter  as she sings " Oh my love, my sweet, you've changed, I've watched you change,,you're not the man I thought I knew."
She continues to fall back on the happiness of romance as the salvation that  can make their love endure but it is already way to late for that as the word nothing fade from her lips.

The ensemble is excellent and I have to note the performance of conductor  Greg Jarrett who was amazing as he was subtle on the piano. The lighting was also quite good and enhanced the intimacy of the production.

For the finale two pieces in this  performances you are brought to  tears by the tenderness,humility, compassion,enlightenment, and gratitude that Fosca has  brought to this passion play. Giorgio who is now full of  clarity and a closeness to love he has never felt before declares "No one has ever loved as clearly as you. No one has ever shown me what love could be like until now:"

In the Finale this is even push to greater emotional intensity as the soft  melody drifts in tainted with bitter sweet sadness this then this transforms into numerous flash backs which quickly transitions into  Fosca's letter which she  left for Giorgio after her passing. It is simply theatrical perfection and under Doyle's direction he extols the full might of Sondheim's genius in these final minutes.
As we  comes to the beautiful and often painful revelation that we are all someone to be loved.Sondheim's message to us, the audience, is  with this acceptance of love it is the greatest love of all and after seeing Passion we are grateful to know we have learned it from him.

McMahon and Murphy finally talk about the issues.

Who would've guessed that on a late Sunday morning in October the Senate race in Connecticut would really begin? WFBS hosted the first televised debate with Dennis House moderating and featuring a  well respected panel of  journalists that included Angela Dias, of WTIC Radio, Mark Pazniokas, from the Connecticut Mirror and Fran Schneidau from WCBS News Radio 880. As of  this last week both candidates are in a dead heat.

Photos courtesy of WTNH

 

The debate on Sunday was an all out barrage of policy differences, accusations, and rhetoric but for the first time in this campaign Connecticut voters actually got to see the two candidates speak on their own and challenge each other and answer the panel's questions.One of the most compelling questions was from Pazniokas. This having to do with press access to both candidates and the transparency of their campaigns when it comes to providing press conferences or even the candidates daily schedules, which neither post on their web sites.This issue being one of the most disheartening aspects of this Senate race. McMahon began by defending the structure of her campaign and stated  she  enjoys the face to face meetings she has with voters on a daily basis. In this response we heard one of McMahon's most revealing statements when she said this about her wanting to run for the Senate. "In a Congress where we have so few people who come from the public sector."  It might be news to McMahon but now more than  half of the members of Congress are now millionaires. In Murphy's response he committed his first pivot of the debate by not answering the question, instead using his time to drawn contrast between him and McMahon. Pazniokas had to ask Murphy  once again to answer the question in which he said he does work with editorial boards and often answers questions from the media.

What  followed next was Murphy's unabashed accusation that McMahon's plan on her web site is simply not her own by saying "Entire paragraphs and entire sentences" were "lifted from the House Republican website, the Cato Institute,". He went on  to say  "It's a plan that was essentially written by people in Washington who have ideology as their primary concern." McMahon clearly stunned turned  directly to Murphy and pushed back hard " Congressman Murphy shame on you. You have just  accused me of  plagiarizing my plan." McMahon then when on to say "You know very well that my plan is my own. I have sought the expert opinion of those outside to get the brightest and the best, and every word of that has been cited, either in the online plan or in print."

 For may Connecticut voters, and the writer of this blog, when you have checked McMahon's plan in the recent past on her web site none of her plan was cited at all.
 Later in the day this story exploded into a even bigger issue as it was being reported that the McMahon campaign had earlier in the week released the edited text of an email exchange with a Huffington Post reporter and Cory Bliss of the McMahon campaign. This in reference to the McMahon plan not being properly being cited on her web site. The information is now cited.What was omitted in the released email was the previous un-cited web pages that reporter Amanda Terkel included in her original email to Bliss.

One has to just ask McMahon with her tens of millions of dollars she has already spent on her race, how could citations be over looked?  Coincidental McMahon  vast wealth afforded her the opportunity to place full color full page ads in numerous Sunday morning papers.The ad in sarcastic details compares Ferrus Bueller's Day off to Chris Murphy's six years off in Congress. Ironically none of the committee attendance records from three different Congresses are cited at all in the print ad.
Are we seeing a trend here?
This is a copy of the newspaper ad on McMahon's Facebook page.

 

The debates did provide  plenty of details,contrast, and zingers between the two candidates and is worth watching here. Connecticut voters need to determine what is more important for our state. Candidates controlling the narrative and ignoring the issues and the  press in possibly the worst Senate race in Connecticut's history or do the voters want bothMcMahon and Murphy to honestly talk abou the issues and prove to  voters who will be a greater advocate. The one who will go to Washington and be a partner with our other sitting Senator to work and fight for all the residents of our state.
The next four weeks will be one wild roller coaster ride here in Connecticut.
Hopefully the  voters will demand more in this race from each of the candidates in both substance, action and simply telling voters where they will be appearing each week.