Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Bridges of Madison County: The Musical Soundtrack Debuts at #1

Filed under: Performing Arts,Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 16:08

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The absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, and powerful music from the Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County, immortalized on soundtrack from Ghostlight Records, was released this week for digital download on iTunes. And while sadly the show is struggling to attract an audience in New York, the soundtrack debuted as the #1 most purchased Broadway Cast Recording on the digital downloads chart, #2 most purchased soundtrack (behind Disney’s mega-hit Frozen), and landed at the #14 spot overall. The music and lyrics for the show are written by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, the masterful composer of the musical Parade, which also features incredibly moving, melodic, and lush orchestrations and lyrics.

The Bridges of Madison County soundtrack can be digitally downloaded from iTunes now; and it will be released to retailers nationwide on May 29th. Tickets for The Bridges of Madison County can be purchased directly from the show’s Web site at: http://bridgesofmadisoncountymusical.com/tickets/. If you’re going to be in NYC and are planning a trip to Broadway, THIS is the show to see. To read my review of The Bridges of Madison County The Musical, click here: Theater Review: Bridges of Madison County The Musical, ROCKY: The Musical, Machinal, and All The Way . Below, watch footage of stars Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale recording the absolutely beautiful song “One Second And A Million Miles.” You’ll quickly see just why the music from this show is one of the best Broadway scores you’ll ever hear.

Monday, April 14, 2014

UCF Football Team and Coaches Receive Fiesta Bowl Champion Rings

Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 15:36

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The UCF Knights football team and coaching staff received some pretty sweet rings commemorating their memorable 2013 season, capped off with a 12-1 record, a #10 ranking, and 52-42 defeat of Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Take a look at the video from UCF Athletics showing-off Coach O’Leary’s ring below. Congrats to the team and coaches. Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel. 

Friday, April 4, 2014

Carole King Visits “Beautiful”

Filed under: Performing Arts,Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 18:26

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Carole King saw the new Broadway musical that tells the story of her life for the first time last night in New York. The show opened several months ago; but King said she was afraid the show would be too painful for her to watch given the ups and downs of her personal life, all of which are depicted in the musical, and opted not to see it. But last night, she decided to quietly sit through the show and came up on stage to praise the cast and help raise money ($30,000!) for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. See also gave a loving performance of her hit song “You’ve Got A Friend” to say thank-you to the donors. Take a look at her performance in the video below. She released the following statement after watching the production:  “It was an honor to see Beautiful for the first time last night,” King said. “And I was thrilled to help the cast raise a fast $30,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Jessie Mueller and company are fantastic, and it was so joyous to be there. I couldn’t be more proud.” I was able to see the show several months ago and I absolutely loved it.

 

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Jeremy Jordan Nails “Let It Go” From Disney’s Frozen

Filed under: Film and Entertainment,Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 22:14

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Jeremy Jordan (SMASH, NEWSIES) nailed his performance of “Let It Go” from Disney’s hit movie Frozen this week at the MCC Theater Miscast Gala . Frozen also went on to be the highest grossing animated film of all time this week. Check out Jordan’s awesome performance of the song below:

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