Hello Beautiful People,
Once again I found myself at Joe’s Pub, in the company of people I love, admire, and respect. The pub was packed, and eager to hear the music of one supremely talented musician, the one and only – Drew Gasparini.
It’s not hard to write wonderful things about Drew’s music. Anyone who’s listened to his work will attest to that fact. The man has a gift, pure and simple. It’s larger than life. It fills the soul. He is unabashed in pouring his emotions, his thoughts, his feelings, and his experiences into song. And it makes for the type of music that lingers in your head long after the last note is played. It makes for the type of music that stays with you, that becomes part of you, perhaps it even changes you.
Last night was a collection of songs – some so raw that the pain and heartache was as palpable as the vibrations of the instruments onstage. Others were funny, light, happy – many, many, many belly laughs ensued.
I must pay tribute and congratulate the entire cast, crew, and creative team on their exquisite talents and phenomenal show. So, BRAVO to Kasie Gasparini, Ariella Serur, Emily Kay Shrader, Keith White, Andrew Kober, Lauren Pritchard, Blake Daniel, Preston Sadleir, Alexander Sage Oyen, Julia Mattison, Carianne Older, Drew Weston, Garth Kravits, Eric Michael Krop, Kacie Sheik, Teagan Wouters, Jason Gotay, Chloe Gasparini, Alex Brightman, F. Michael Haynie, Adam Stoler, Justin Goldner, Marques Walls, Max Friedman, Coleman Annison, Chris Van Patten, The Benge Group, and of course, Drew Gasparini.
Many of the songs at the concert can be found on the I Could Use a Drink album on iTunes. And then there were other surprises, like Kindergarten Love Song, performed by the ever so talented, Kasie Gasparini. Kasie had the entire audience in stitches for the duration of the song – she was absolutely hysterical. This was not just a song, it was a vignette. Kasie was a kindergartener, singing to her love, Billy. It was a theatrical experience. It was funny. It was sweet. It was perfect.
The staging and performance of Somewhere That’s Nowhere is a prime example of the talents of director Max Friedman, and singers Julia Mattison, Carianne Older, Ariella Serur, and Emily Kay Shrader. It is also a delightful tase of another song from the musical Make Me Bad (music & lyrics by Drew Gasparini, book by Alex Brightman), the first being the cryptic yet sensual I Just Can’t Stop. I can safely say that the entire audience awaits another production of Make Me Bad with bated breath.
I Loved You Too Much is undoubtedly one of my favorite songs on the album. The first time I heard it, I’m pretty sure I cried…like, buckets. We’re talking sloppy, messy, ugly tears here. I Loved You Too Much is a song for the brokenhearted. It’s a song for anyone who has loved and lost. It’s a song for those who are trying to make sense of the emptiness and hollowness that one can experience in the aftermath of heartache. It’s a song for those who are trying to piece together the shattered promises of tomorrows that will never come. It’s a song for the broken spirits, one that weaves a thread of pain that unites us all. It’s a song that when upon listening to it, you think to yourself, someone else has been there. Someone else knows my hurt. Someone else understands. Garth Kravits absolutely took the house down with his performance with I Love You Too Much. Outstanding doesn’t do him justice. Neither does excellent. Nor does phenomenal. Transcendent might do the trick, but even then…it does not encapsulate what happened on that stage. I could gush for hours, but just know, it’s a song that you should know, and a performance that you should not have missed.
Another favorite song of mine on the album is Disaster. Disaster is a song that highlights the messy complexities of intimacy, of insecurity, and disappointment when the one you love lets you down, for it’s exhausting, this business called love. It’s messy and yet it’s tidy. It’s beautiful but can be oh so ugly. It’s imperfectly perfect. It’s hard when it works, and it’s even harder when it falls apart – Disaster cuts to the heart of all that. Drew Weston sings the song on the album, and it was an absolute pleasure to see him sing it live last night. Whether it’s on iTunes or onstage, Weston is brilliant.
Chloe Gasparini blew everyone away with another song that is not on the I Could Use a Drink album, Human Condition. Granted, this songstress comes from a gene pool of gifted musicians, but, Chloe has that certain je ne sais quoi that us theater educators talk about, the it factor, that certain intangible element amongst performers that cannot be taught. She is at home onstage. She comes alive onstage. She has power and maturity in her voice that gave the entire audience goosebumps, and she’s STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. Human Condition is another song of Drew’s that reminds us of the connective tissue that binds us all – it gets down to the nitty-gritty. The little nuances. Chloe Gasparini’s rendition was heartfelt, poignant, and soulful. I expect great things from this little lady in the future.
The last song of the evening before Drew’s Jam Session (a good twenty minutes where this maestro actually made songs up on the spot based off of title suggestions from the audience) was Wide Awake, and it absolutely took my breath away. Wide Awake was a song written for and performed by Alex Brightman, F. Michael Haynie, and Andrew Kober. Now, I know these boys as fun-loving, skillful comics. They are jokesters, and along with Drew, this foursome makes the group the (M)orons. I am used to them in a comedic fashion. And yet…
Wide Awake was the absolute furthest thing from comedy, but it was musical bliss. Brightman, Haynie, and Kober brought unbelievable depth and palpable sadness to this song. This number was an ironclad example of their strengths and skills as singers and actors. The story that Drew had created on paper came alive for everyone in the audience through the voices and performance of these three, and when it was over, you just wanted to know more about the story that had been established. You were hooked.
To the singers, Kasie Gasparini, Ariella Serur, Emily Kay Shrader, Keith White, Andrew Kober, Lauren Pritchard, Blake Daniel, Preston Sadleir, Alexander Sage Oyen, Julia Mattison, Carianne Older, Drew Weston, Garth Kravits, Eric Michael Krop, Kacie Sheik, Teagan Wouters, Jason Gotay, Chloe Gasparini, Alex Brightman, F. Michael Haynie, I cannot stress this enough, you all were stellar. Truly.
To those of you who MISSED this night of musical splendor, the NEXT TIME Drew Gasparini holds a concert, I sure hope that you will make it your business to be there. Your ears will thank you for it.
Live, Love, Learn,
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