Another night of Awesome

Tonight's awesome was brought to you by Marvin Hamlisch. Marvin Hamlisch is the current Pops conductor at the NSO but is better known for composing such gems as A Chorus Line. He's won Tony's and Emmy's and Academy Awards (and a Pulitzer so he's no slouch). He wrote the score for A Spy Who Loved Me (Bond movie!), The Way We Were, Sophie's Choice, Ordinary People and the list goes on and on. Basically any vaguely cheesy movie theme or love ballad from the 70s, he probably wrote it.

I think I've discovered what the KC does well, or at least what I like best. It's this whole Explore the Arts series - educational yet entertaining evenings aimed at adults (edutainment!). Tonight was an interview with Marvin with performances by three Broadway stars singing some of his greatest hits. Top moments however were when he took up the piano himself. First was to show how you write a song. He just started playing and making up lyrics based on a suggestion from the audience - song writing improv! The man was accepted in to Juilliard at the age of six. No kidding. And the last moment of the evening was when he played the overture for A Chorus Line which actually never made it in to the musical. They decided that since the play starts with an audition, that it structurally didn't make sense to have any music before the first scene. So hearing this overture which is never performed was really quite something. The whole evening was just extremely well put together - and well, awesome. It does remind me of how much a love musicals. I love musicals and I am not ashamed!!