Music & Theatre
Posts about music and theatre topics and performances
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Come Again (John Dowland)
Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is a Renaissance piece composed by John Dowland (lyrics anonymous), published in his 1597 First Booke of Songes or Ayres. My performance comes from the musical pre-show I designed for Coronado Playhouse’s production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. I won awards from both the Coronado Playhouse and San Diego ACT (Aubrey Awards) for my work on and in the show – for sound design, musical direction, and acting (as Ursula/Balthasar)! It was a wonderful challenge that has inspired a lot of very enjoyable work! That production was also just incredibly fun to be involved in, particularly because of the dear friends I made from my “By’r…
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Where Did It Go?
New work by Sarah Hirsch! Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is another demo recording from a new musical still in development: The Book of Holding On, by the incredibly talented Sarah Hirsch! The other fantastic singer you’ll hear is Dana Aber. (From Sarah:) THE BOOK OF HOLDING ON is a drama about a 13-year-old girl who is so terrified of change that she attempts to “freeze the world” by sabotaging all the change happening to her family and friends. The show explores heavy themes like teenage mental illness (particularly obsessive thoughts) while mixing in lots of humor. I’ve had the privilege of working on several new works (including another of Sarah’s, The Fall…
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The Bear Who Couldn’t Bear to Bare His Soul
New work by Sarah Hirsch! Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is a demo recording from a new musical that is still in development: The Book of Holding On, by the incredibly talented Sarah Hirsch! The other fantastic singers you’ll hear are Ben Wexler, Amanda Savan. (From Sarah:) THE BOOK OF HOLDING ON is a drama about a 13-year-old girl who is so terrified of change that she attempts to “freeze the world” by sabotaging all the change happening to her family and friends. The show explores heavy themes like teenage mental illness (particularly obsessive thoughts) while mixing in lots of humor. (From me:) Some terribly brief context for this song – it’s one of…
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Home (Michael Bublé cover)
Home in NYC [again] after a really great, very brief trip back to Ohio (my childhood home). It was wonderful to spend time with so many of my relatives, and I thought that message could kind of match this song [Mom, please don’t cry!] I’ve had a very transitory adulthood; I’ve created homes I’ve loved, where I would’ve been happy to remain, in many locations and cultures. As I’ve worked to carve out an individual ‘home’ and life over the last several years, I’ve found that sometimes the beauty and richness of ‘belonging’ to so many people, places, and ways of living can make it very hard to find a physical…
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Holding Out for a Hero
“Holding Out for a Hero” was written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford and originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler for the movie “Footloose” (though I’m more familiar with the version that was in “Shrek 2”). What do dolphins have to do with this song? Nothing, really, except timing. My family recently went on a dolphin cruise (it was great! Chase-N-Fins in Pensacola, FL) and I finally finished editing this song! I recorded it quite a few years ago to practice for an audition and I’ve been on the fence about whether it’s worth sharing or not, as a high belt is very difficult for me! This is my best attempt.…
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Songbird
Will update info shortly, once I’m back from a trip! I was so honored to get to sing this gorgeous Eva Cassidy song for a very dear friend’s wedding ♥️♥️ #WeeklyWednesday #AshleyWagnerArts
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Sing of the Lord’s Goodness
Will update info shortly, once I’m back from a trip! In the meantime, hope you enjoy listening – always means a lot to get to sing with my mom! #WeeklyWednesday #AshleyWagnerArts
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It’s DeLovely!
Cole Porter duet with Matt Ruehlman ? Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is a throwback to last fall’s “Anything Goes” auditions! Thanks so much to my cohort friend and all-around lovely person Matt Ruehlman for singing this duet with me! Matt and I were called back as a pair for Billy and Hope, and despite having only known each other for a few days then, it was so fun (and audition-stress-relieving) to get to sing together! We recorded this a couple week’s ago after completing our first year in #NYU’s MM in Vocal Performance program! I’m so grateful for the fantastic people I get to work with every day! Cole Porter composed “It’s…
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“Tea for Two”
This #WeeklyWednesday is certainly the most special, eventful, and personal one I’ve shared! I hope you enjoy being part of our news! “Tea for Two” was written in 1924 and featured in the Broadway musical “No, No, Nanette,” with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar (though I modified the second verse from his original). My accompaniment is from a player piano! It’s US Roll 42296, originally played by Robert Billings. An especially big thank you to my exceptional #NYU dance instructor, Natalie Wisdom, for her original choreography! We learned this soft shoe for our musical theatre dance course this past semester and I modified it here to…
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Julius Caesar excerpts!
I’ve often recorded duets with myself, so why not a whole scene? ? I wanted to share something from the (very abridged) production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that my #NYU grad acting class performed this past semester (“Teeny Tiny Caesar”) – so for today’s #WeeklyWednesday, I’m bringing you a couple of excerpts! It was a lot of fun to work on this together (and to take a ‘stab’ at a Shakespearean tragedy), especially under the instruction/direction of the very talented and clever Jessica Bashline! If you’re in NYC and looking for coaching, I’d highly recommend her! In our production, I played Decius Brutus, a conspirator who convinces Caesar to come…
