The YANK! Cast Recording Is Now Available And It's A Classic

Last night, I went to the York Theater to celebrate the official release of the cast album for YANK!, a musical about gay soldiers in WWII written by my colleagues David and Joe Zellnik. (You can download it today via iTunes for just 10 clams!) From when I first heard about the idea for this show, I've been a big fan and I've seen it more than a few times, in it's many incarnations, from a reading in a rehearsal studio on 42nd Street to a beautiful production at the Gallery Players in Brooklyn.
But these did not prepare me for how amazing this recording is.

With rich orchestrations by Bway vet Jonathan Tunick and a jazzy Big Band sound, listening to these songs is now somewhat like discovering the old '40s era journal that kicks off the show's opening scene; these songs sound like a time capsule from a long lost past that is familiar yet strikingly different too. If you like your musical theatre old school, this show is like something from the 1940s except for the fact that it's memorable songs, especially the aching "Reme'bring You", are about two men who fall in love during WWII.

I was a supporter of the Kickstarter campaign that made this beautiful CD possible. Now that its available to the public, David and Joe are hoping that as this music gets out into the world, more productions of the show will happen and eventually the show will end up where it deserves to be--on Broadway. Hey...if the gays can play for the NBA, anything is possible!  :)

It's Summer Kickstarter Season! 3 Projects I'm Supporting

Yes, it's summer again....when thoughts turn to Kickstarting your latest creative endeavor. It seems that June through September is the high season for the website Kickstarter, where creative types like myself can crowd-source their projects to the people via Kickstarter, which has lately become popular via famous folks such as Zach Braff and the VERONICA MARS team. Even original indie guru Spike Lee has taken to the site with a somewhat vague proposal for a million dollar movie.

But all those celebs aside, I wanted to focus some well-deserved attention on a few truly indie projects that I'm supporting that are raising funds for some very worthy and entertaining projects. My good friend and collaborator David Zellnik wrote a wonderful new musical with his brother Joe called YANK!, which centers on the story of a gay soldier in WWII writing for the Army's in-house paper.  I have seen this show 5 times in various workshops and professional productions and each time I'm absolutely charmed and moved by it's story and music. Now they are recording a cast album and are raising 35K to do so. You can check out details and some snippets of the songs on their Kickstarter page here.

The other two projects I'm supporting are more in my wheelhouse--a short film and a web series.  The web series is the second outing by writer/director Adam Goldman, who made the incredible show THE OUTS (which if you haven't seen you should watch!).  His new show, WHATEVER THIS IS, follows the misadventures of two roommates who work on various film/TV gigs...a different one apparently for each episode. I went to the premiere last night at the Knitting Factory and it looks great, with the same sharp writing and quirky, realistic characters.

The other short is by a first time filmmaker Mark Allen, who I've known from way back in the day (like early 90s!) when he was well-known downtown go-go boy. Since then, he's been writing, performing and a regular on NPR. Now he's putting together his first short film which sounds sorta experimental and very cool, with details on his Kickstarter page too (along with a funny video starring socks!).

So check out their pages and video and give a little if you can. These days, the entertainment you get is the entertainment you support.

Gay WWII Musical YANK! Announces Cast

Last fall, I posted about a new American musical called YANK!  Today they announced their stellar cast on Playbill.com for a production next month at The York Theatre.  Previews start Feb. 16 and tickets are on sale now. Also,  discounts are available if you join the YANK! fan page on FB. 


Bobby Steggert, who recently wowed critics in the "Ragtime" revival, is playing the lead, a young Army recruit named Stu who falls in love with another solider. I saw Bobby in this role a couple years back at the Gallery Player's production in Brooklyn and he was fantastic.  He's a true song and dance man (as they used to say) who's got charisma to spare...easily a superstar of tomorrow. Originally, he was not scheduled to be in the new YANK! but then "Ragtime" got cancelled and, as they say, a door closed but a window of opportunity opened.  :)  


There are a number of people from the Gallery cast returning, like Nancy Anderson and Tally Sessions who were also fantastic.  There's also some new "draftees" from the Great White Way, including actors from the recent productions of "A Chorus Line" and "Spring Awakening".  All in all, this is shaping up to be a great show....which, personally, I cannot wait to see again.  

A Gay World War II Musical

When people complain that there is a dearth of new musicals on Broadway, I usually tell them they are looking in the wrong place. In fact, there are plenty of new American musicals these days at small theatre companies (like Second Stage, where "Next To Normal" got its start) or local theatre festivals (like NYMF, which is currently going on now).

Last night, I got an interesting look at one of the most unusual and compelling musicals of the current season; the gay Word War II tuner "Yank!". The JCC presented the show's all-in-the-family creative team, brothers David and Joe Zellnik, as they sang a few selections from the tuneful score and talked about how they collaborated on their third stage musical.

Named after the Army's own newspaper written by and for soldiers during the war, "Yank!" is an old fashioned show with a new fashioned twist; a gay love story during wartime...with tap numbers! The story of "Yank!" follows a young inductee named Stu as he falls for another man in uniform named Mitch. Thoroughly researched, the show is based on the secret history of The Greatest Generation gays who, in many ways, laid the groundwork for Stonewall and the modern gay rights movement. Other than Allan Berube's amazing book "Coming Out Under Fire", these stories have stayed fairly hidden over the last 60-odd years. David Zellnik pointed out that in Tom Brokaw's bestselling book about the war, he didn't find one gay veteran to interview.

Thus "Yank!", like the soldiers it portrays, is on a mission not only to entertain but enlighten. And the show, which I saw in its earlier incarnation at the Gallery Players in Brooklyn, does just that. So if you're looking for a fun new musical, "Yank!" is definitely one to check out. It's happening at the York Theatre, with previews beginning February 16, 2010. Tickets are already on sale at their website so do yourself a favor....go see a real, live NEW American musical.