In the interest of full disclosure, “Gypsy” is not my favorite musical.
It doesn’t matter if Mama Rose is played by Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Merman, or Rosalind Russell. The book by gay, Tony Award-winning playwright and director Arthur Laurents is a musical dramatization of the life of a stage mother from hell and her two daughters, from vaudeville to the burlesque circuit. Deeply unlikeable characters? Check! But here’s where things get juicy. The musical has at least 10 songs, co-written by gay Tony Award-winner Stephen Sondheim (lyrics featuring his trademark wordplay) and Jule Styne (music) that have become immediately recognizable standards in the Great American Songbook.
So, what could possibly make a Broadway revival of “Gypsy” a draw for 21st-century audiences, 60 years after it debuted? First, you get gay, Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe to helm it. Then you cast the extraordinary Audra McDonald in the lead role of Mama Rose and round out the cast with a multitude of talented performers including Danny Burstein and Joy Woods, and there you have it. Whether or not you were able to catch this cast while it was performing on Broadway, you have the opportunity to take them home with you on the deluxe, double LP “Gypsy: 2024 Original Broadway Cast Recording” (Arts Music/Octoverse Media). Featuring a full-color 64-page book, this exceptional cast recording will entertain listeners for years to come.
If you aren’t acquainted with the wonderful queer singer/songwriter Maia Sharp, and her distinctive honey-dipped vocals, here are a few fascinating facts about her. Maia is the daughter of Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Randy Sharp, whose songs have been recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Tanya Tucker, The Chicks, Reba McEntire, and Art Garfunkel. Like father, like daughter, Maia’s songs have been covered by Cher, Trisha Yearwood, and Kathy Mattea, as well as The Chicks and Art Garfunkel. She’s also an outstanding live performer and opened for Bonnie Raitt on her concert tour a few years ago. “Tomboy” (Crooked Crown) is Sharp’s 10th solo album, and the personal opening title track is the kind of song to which many in our community will relate. If there’s any justice, “Is That What Love Does,” deserves to be a hit single. Over the course of the album, Sharp is also joined by stellar guest artists including Terri Clark on the moving “Asking For a Friend,” and rising queer country artist Fancy Hagood on “Fool in Love Again.” On the album’s lone cover tune, a powerful rendition of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Sharp is joined by Garrison Starr, another fantastic queer singer/songwriter.
Remember that surge of electricity you felt the first time you heard Melissa Etheridge belt out “Bring Me Some Water” all those years ago? You may well experience the same thing while listening to “Pinto” (Righteous Babe) by queer, biracial singer/songwriter Kristen Ford. On her first album for Ani DiFranco’s record label, Ford is joined by the righteous babe herself on album opener “Here’s To You Kid,” which combines electronic and organic instrumentation with irresistible results. DiFranco’s presence is felt throughout, playing on several songs and co-writing a few. However, Ford is the focus here, whether she’s singing queer love songs (“Grrrl in the Mirror,” “The Fall,” “Whiplash,” “Brand New Pair,” and “Richest In the World,” a duet with John Driskell Hopkins) or making powerful queer statements (“White Man’s Dream,” “Wild Heart”), she never fails to hold our attention.
Easily one of the most original albums of the year, “Mount Crystal” (Ghostly International) by nonbinary North London performer Joviale boasts an experimental theatricality reminiscent of Bjork. Opener “The Mountain” flirts with off-kilter jazz, while “Soul” inspires nostalgia for mid-1980s R&B. In fact, Joviale often touches on various soul influences, putting a futuristic and personal spin on them, as you can hear on “Wishing,” “Foul Play,” “Both Ways,” and “Heavy.” Joviale should also be commended for thinking far outside the box on daring cuts including “Let Me Down,” “Hark!,” and “Crush.” Highly recommended.
Produced by Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes, if you can believe it!), “Perversion For Profit” (Silver Arrow/The Orchard), the debut album by transmasculine performer Dagger Polyester, has arrived to (punk) rock your world (and then some). With a shriek that conjures memories of Lene Lovich and vintage Patti Smith, the opening track “We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants” is a reminder that we owe a debt to those who came before us. Bet you never thought you’d find yourself dancing to a song called “Conversion Therapy,” but Dagger Polyester dares you to sit still for this one. The moody “Spin” and “Affection” offer a respite from the musical chaos, before picking up with “She Kissed The Gun” and club-banger “The Tower.”
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