"Passing Strange" and "In the Heights" are a pair of new musicals that are smashing Broadway clichés with electric guitars, hip-hop and salsa. Today, we look at musicals that could save Broadway from cheesiness. Also: Singer and songwriter Kate McGarry's album "The Target" has won numerous critical plaudits, including Downbeat magazine's list of the top CDs of 2007. She performs live in our studio.
Breaking the Broadway Mould
For years, Broadway producers have been chasing a younger, more diverse audience than the relatively homogeneous crowd that usually fills the orchestra seats. Two new shows take a stab at it: "In the Heights" uses hip-hop and salsa to animate its family-friendly tale about the residents of a Latino neighborhood; ...
CD Picks of the Week
Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.
What Made Milwaukee Famous, "What Doesn’t Kill Us" (Barsuk)
This band is not, in fact, from a certain Wisconsin city made famous by breweries. The Austin, Texas-based group is named after a Jerry Lee Lewis song about an inebriated loser. ...
What Made Milwaukee Famous, "What Doesn’t Kill Us" (Barsuk)
This band is not, in fact, from a certain Wisconsin city made famous by breweries. The Austin, Texas-based group is named after a Jerry Lee Lewis song about an inebriated loser. ...
Kate McGarry live
Singer and songwriter Kate McGarry is often labeled a jazz vocalist but her repertoire is much more expansive. It includes songs by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and The Cars, plus the Irish tunes of her family's roots. Her album "The Target" was chosen as one of Downbeat magazine's top CDs ...
Back From the DPRK
The New York Philharmonic performed an historic concert in the East Pyongyang Grand Theater. WNYC's John Schaefer was part of the orchestra's entourage, and he hosted the concert broadcast. Now, Schaefer's baaaack. Don't miss what he had to say about the trip to North ...