Click here to listen to the Starry cast recording.
Raisin is a musical adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin In The Sun. The plot follows an African American family in Chicago struggling with issues of racism, housing discrimination, and assimilating into American society. While I have not been able to see the show, the music is beautiful (composed by Judd Woldin and lyrics by Robert Brittan). The show’s book is written by Hansberry’s husband Robert B. Nemiroff (as well as Charlotte Zaltzberg), and is often praised for being even better than its source material. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and ran for over 800 performances on Broadway.
Standout track/s: A Whole Lotta Sunlight; Man Say; Sidewalk Tree
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Shows about racial injustices like Ragtime and The Color Purple, the original A Raisin In The Sun play.
Click here to listen to the Raisin cast recording.
This may not be a surprise to anyone, but I sincerely think Jason Robert Brown is one of the greatest composers of all time. Parade proves this. The musical is a powerful and heartbreaking retelling of the life, trial, and subsequent lynching of Jewish American factory superintendent Leo Frank in the early 1900s. While JRB penned the music and lyrics, the book is by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy). The show tackles racism and prejudice in Southern America, issues that we really are still facing to this day. The show was nominated for 9 Tony Awards and ultimately won 2 for Best Book and Best Original Score (unsurprisingly). I cannot explain how powerful the show is – it really is one you need to experience.
Content Warning – Parade contains racial slurs and violent imagery
Standout track/s: You Don’t Know This Man
You’ll like this if you enjoy: Musicals that explore antisemitism and the Jewish experience such as Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret, the works of Jason Robert Brown (13 The Musical, The Last 5 Years, Songs for a New World)
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Hi Gabby ......My name is Wendy I'm Lloyd Casey little sister ! Lloyd was stage director for the Rocky Horror Show when Reg Livermore played Frankenfurter in Melbourne and Sydney when Harry M Miller produced the show I was about 12yrs ...Sadly my beautiful talented brother passed away from AIDS on the 1st of April 1985 in St Vincents Hospital he was 35 yrs young . I think it is amazing that a new production celebrating 50yrs of Rocky Horror....I saw the show countless times and was extremely proud of my brother , can you please tell me when and where the show will open and where I can purchase a ticket would love to attend the show in honour of Lloyd .
Kind Regards
Wendy Wolloghan