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Rebecca Burnham
19 hours ago6 min read
History of a Broken Ending
My Fair Lady's famous final line I grew up on My Fair Lady . I have watched it over, and over, and over. To this day, when I feel joyous...
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Rebecca Burnham
Jan 298 min read
The Song That Plays Hard to Get
Sky Masterson pursues Sarah Brown with "I'll Know" Not every musical tells a love story. But a huge number of successful ones do. This is...
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Rebecca Burnham
Jan 2315 min read
If I Loved You -- I Wouldn't Let You Beat Me Down
Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry in Carousel. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. REVISED with your feedback. When I planned to write this week’s...
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Rebecca Burnham
Jan 166 min read
"I Want": Making the Story Matter
Elphaba sings "The Wizard and I" While the opening numbers of a musical give us a taste of what’s coming and get us oriented to the world...
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Rebecca Burnham
Jan 87 min read
Pulling the Audience Onboard
Opening of The Music Man by the Washington Park Playhouse in Albany, NY This is the first post in my Building Blocks of a Musical series,...
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Rebecca Burnham
Jan 16 min read
Why We Should Pay Attention to the Pattern For a Musical
Finding a solid pattern is the first step to a newbie making an impressive cake How does one create a great musical? That’s a question...
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Rebecca Burnham
Dec 24, 20246 min read
A Review: Journey to Bethlehem
Fiona Paloma as Mary and Milo Manheim as Joseph in Journey to Bethlehem Joyous greetings to each of you this season, as we celebrate the...
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Rebecca Burnham
Dec 19, 20248 min read
The Stage Can Sizzle Where Social Media Stinks
Could a Musical Tackle Trans Issues in a Way that Lifts and Unites? Lately, I’ve seen some social media posts by friends that I’ve been...
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Rebecca Burnham
Dec 11, 20249 min read
The Schwartz Recipe for Fostering Beloved Community
A Voice for Good's 2018 choir and orchestra, that was focused on building people, not highlighting stars. Paul Schwartz stands 4th from...
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Rebecca Burnham
Dec 4, 20246 min read
People are the Point
Paul Schwart (L) and family members on the set of Savior of the World. For Paul Schwartz, putting on a professional-quality production is...
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Rebecca Burnham
Nov 28, 20248 min read
Defying Gravity
It’s been 21 years since Wicked  opened on Broadway and I’ve never had the opportunity to see it. That is, until I went to Part I at the...
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Rebecca Burnham
Nov 21, 20243 min read
What Next? The Dream.
Photo by Javardh on Unsplash I have a lot of things on my heart and spinning through my mind today. On Saturday, our 10-day run of...
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Rebecca Burnham
Nov 14, 20245 min read
What's More Important: The Actor or the Show?
Photo by Michael van Gorkum on Unsplash One of the things I find most challenging about building beloved community through musical...
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Rebecca Burnham
Nov 14, 20244 min read
Mightiest Instrument in My Director's Toolkit
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash I’ve mentioned a couple times in this newsletter that I am co-directing a community production of...
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Rebecca Burnham
Nov 14, 20246 min read
A Solution That Sings
On the night of August 23, 2020, the streets of Kenosha Wisconsin filled with an angry mob. Earlier that day, Jacob Blake, an African...
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Rebecca Burnham
Oct 29, 20247 min read
Plandemic the Musical: Can We Choose Faith Over Fear in How We Disagree?
Jimmy Levy sings "United We Stand" in Plandemic: The Musical This week, I am visiting my daughter with a two-year-old and a two-week-old...
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Rebecca Burnham
Oct 24, 20242 min read
The Olympians - And the Mortals who Defy Them by Standing Together
Mortals and gods sing modern hits in ancient Greece This week, I’m reviewing The Olympians, a new musical recently highlighted by...
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Rebecca Burnham
Oct 10, 20247 min read
When My Chava Became a Witch
Concept art by Sage Booher for The Princess and the Witch I’m writing this today because last week, we blocked the Chava scene in Fiddler...
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Rebecca Burnham
Oct 3, 20244 min read
Outside the Spotlight
When you are using musical theatre to build Beloved Community, every aspect of putting on a show becomes an opportunity. Even an issue as...
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Rebecca Burnham
Sep 26, 20246 min read
But What if I Say the Wrong Thing?
We need to brave the messiness of those conversations that don’t have a roadmap, because it’s the only way to the Beloved Community.
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