Infinite Joy
| Infinite Joy | |
|---|---|
| The Songs of William Finn | |
 Live Original Cast Recording | |
| Music | William Finn |
| Lyrics | William Finn |
| Premiere | September 2000: Joe's Pub at The Public Theater |
| Productions | 2000 New York City concert 2008 New York City concert |
Infinite Joy is a musical revue consisting of songs by Broadway composer William Finn. The songs are mostly material cut from Finn's earlier shows and material from works Finn was then working on. Several of the songs were included in the composer's song cycle Elegies.
Productions
[edit]The revue was initially performed on various dates in September 2000 and December 2000 through 2001 at Joe's Pub, a nightclub within The Public Theater in New York City.[1] Finn played the piano and sang several songs. Other performers included: Liz Callaway, Carolee Carmello, Lewis Cleale, Stephen DeRosa, Wanda Houston, Norm Lewis, Mary Testa,[1] Farah Alvin, James Sasser, and Kristin Woodbury. The revue was performed again at Joe's Pub in November 2008, with performers Carolee Carmello, Mary Testa, Malcolm Gets, and Stephen DeRosa.[2]
A live recording was made at the January 2001 performance and released on RCA Victor in May 2001.[3] William Ruhlmann, reviewing the recording for AllMusic, wrote that Finn's songs often have an "inside baseball" quality, revolving around the gay, Jewish world of musical theater, but found them witty and accomplished enough to become universal despite that specificity.[4]
On March 29, 2004, another concert of Finn's songs was performed at the Merkin Concert Hall as part of The Kaufman Center's annual Broadway Close Up series, titled More Infinite Joy: The Music of William Finn. Performers included Betty Buckley, Stephen DeRosa, Raúl Esparza, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Janet Metz. The songs were from Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Elegies, Falsettos, and A New Brain.[5]
A third installment, Even More Infinite Joy was presented by The Kaufman Center at Merkin Concert Hall on October 31, 2005, featuring Finn, and featured songs from his Songs of Innocence and Experience.[6]
Musical numbers
[edit]- "Mister Make Me a Song"
- "How Marvin Eats His Breakfast" (from In Trousers)
- "The Music Still Plays On" (from A New Brain)
- "Republicans"
- "I'd Rather Be Sailing" (from A New Brain)
- "Hitchhiking Across America" (from an unrealized musical of the same name, developed during Finn's 1998–2000 residency at the Goodspeed Opera House)[7]
- "That's Enough For Me" (from Romance in Hard Times)
- "And They're Off" (from A New Brain)
- "Anytime" (cut from A New Brain during previews)
- "Falsettos At the East Milford Community Center" (spoken dialogue track, Finn and DeRosa)
- "The Baseball Game" (from Falsettoland, later included in Falsettos)
- "The Bitch and the Madonna" (spoken dialogue track, Finn welcomes Mary Testa and Carolee Carmello)
- "All Fall Down" (from Romance in Hard Times)
- "When The Earth Stopped Turning" (later included in Elegies)
- "Tannis Root" (spoken dialogue track, Bill and Mary discuss parenting)
- "Set Those Sails" (from In Trousers)
- "I Have Found" (from The Royal Family of Broadway)
- "Infinite Joy" (later included in Elegies)
- "Stupid Things I Won't Do" (from The Royal Family of Broadway)
- "Infinite Joy (reprise)"
- "Bows"
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Infinite Joy: Songs of William Finn". TheaterMania. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ↑ Hetrick, Adam; Gans, Andrew (November 10, 2008). "Carmello, Gets, Testa, DeRosa and Kirkwood Sing Finn's Infinite Joy at Joe's Pub Nov. 10". Playbill. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ "Infinite Joy". Falsettos.net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2003.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Infinite Joy: The Songs of William Finn Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ "Broadway Close Up -- More Infinite Joy: The Music of William Finn". TheaterMania. Archived from the original on October 24, 2004.
- ↑ Windman, Matt (October 31, 2005). "William Finn Brings Even More Infinite Joy Tonight to Merkin Concert Hall". Playbill. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ Simonson, Robert; Lefkowitz, David (September 10, 1998). "William Finn to Be Resident Artist at CT's Goodspeed Where He'll Take Up Hitchhiking". Playbill.