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ccaggiano

Theater Expert at About.com, Professor at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and a life-long, inveterate, theater maven

Interests: Musical theater, choral singing, Monty Python, musical theater, skiing, roller coasters. Did I mention musical theater?

Recent Activity

HISTORY - Our Fragile Freedom of the Press

William Randolph Hearst The United States was founded in no small part on the freedom of the press. In 1791, the Founding Fathers in the First Amendment to the American Constitution guaranteed protection for the press, declaring it free to exercise its function without hindrance from government or other outside... Continue reading

Posted Apr 23, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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ART - What is "Art for Art's Sake"?

Victor Cousin Sometimes the most seemingly innocuous sayings can nonetheless lie atop significant controversy. Take the phrase "art for art's sake," which simply states that art can have its own intrinsic value, apart from any message or ideas that might lie beneath. In other words, art need not have any... Continue reading

Posted Apr 17, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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THEATER - A Brief History of Agitprop

Soviet agitprop theater The Cradle Will Rock represents a relatively rare subset of musical theater, shows with overtly political messages. This form of theater is called "agitprop," a portmanteau of "agitation" and "propaganda." Agitprop seeks to change the public's social, political, even moral beliefs through direct persuasion, and consequently spur... Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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PEOPLE - Bernstein on Blitzstein, Blitzstein on Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein and Marc Blitzstein Marc Blitzstein met a young Leonard Bernstein when Bernstein conducted the Boston premiere of The Cradle Will Rock in 1939. Blitzstein commented, “He reminded me of myself at his age.” For the rest of his life, Blitzstein continued a close friendship with Bernstein, who was... Continue reading

Posted Apr 14, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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AUDIO - Marc Blitzstein Discusses 'The Cradle Will Rock'

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Posted Apr 13, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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HISTORY - The Business Case for World War I

World War I machine gun Somebody once said to the communist revolutionary Lenin that war is terrible. Lenin replied, “Yes, terribly profitable.” World War I was particularly profitable for American business. Before entering the war, America played the role of chief money-lender and supplier of raw and finished goods to... Continue reading

Posted Apr 13, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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VIDEO - Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock

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Posted Apr 13, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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HISTORY - The Short Life of the Federal Theater Project

Living Newspaper production, 'One Third of a Nation' The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was the largest ever government effort to foster and produce theater. Founded in 1935, the FTP was the first effort to promote theater in the United States on the part of the Federal government. It was part... Continue reading

Posted Apr 13, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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VIDEO - The Story of Opening Night

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Posted Apr 12, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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EVENTS - The “Little Steel” Strike of 1937

The "Little Steel Strike" of 1937 The “Little Steel” Strike was a 1937 labor strike called by the large and powerful union Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), specifically its branch the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), against a number of smaller steel producing companies, notably Republic Steel. The strike affected... Continue reading

Posted Apr 9, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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PEOPLE - The Ambitious and Uncompromising Marc Blitzstein

Composer/lyricist Marc Blitzstein stands alone, in many respects, as a creator of musical theater. Or, if he doesn’t quite stand alone, he’s not exactly crowded with compatriots. Blitzstein’s unapologetically leftist politics and gay sexuality stood out in an era when both were actively disdained. His refusal to compromise the ambition... Continue reading

Posted Apr 7, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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GLOSSARY - Words, Terms, and References in The Cradle Will Rock

The "Gold Dust Twins" [In order of appearance in the libretto] SCENE 1 Nix - Expressional of denial, refusal. Here, “That’s all I got.” Sap - Fool, dope, undesirable person Sob stuff - Variation of “sob story,” a scenario meant to evoke sympathy Burg - City, place. Formerly, a fortress... Continue reading

Posted Mar 30, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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VIDEO - 1985 PBS Broadcast of The Cradle Will Rock

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Posted Mar 20, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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MT HISTORY - The Cradle Will Rock - A Director's Note

Dear Fellow Rockers: What follows here is the director's note that I included in the program when I directed The Cradle Will Rock at the Conservatory a few years back as a staged reading. I'll be going into more depth as dramaturg for our current production, but I thought sharing... Continue reading

Posted Mar 20, 2018 at The Cradle Will Rock

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Reviews - Side Show, Elephant Man, Plus the Best and Worst Musicals of 2014

Regular readers with note that most of my posts lately have been lists of links to my About.com posts. When I took on the About.com gig, I thought that I would be migrating some of my more evergreen posts to... Continue reading

Posted Dec 22, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Reviews - On the Town, Curious Incident, The Band Wagon and More

So, the combination of yet another busy semester at The Boston Conservatory and my contract with About.com to supply them with two posts a week has meant that I haven't had any time to post here on EIKILFM. (The Conservatory... Continue reading

Posted Nov 29, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Review - The Last Ship on Broadway

The fall theater season in New York is is full swing. I'll be publishing a series of reviews over the next few weeks, some of them here on the blog, and some of them over on About.com. Here's my most... Continue reading

Posted Oct 28, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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10 Musicals That Changed Broadway - And Other Posts

So, the new semester at The Boston Conservatory has officially begun. Now I get to see how well I'm going to be able to keep up with my posts on About.com, my reviews of the new Broadway and Off-Broadway seasons,... Continue reading

Posted Sep 14, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Ironically, your disdain proves my point. People don't take Wicked seriously because it's popular. And, dear, it *is* that good.

Commented Sep 9, 2014 on The Most Overrated Musicals of the 2000s at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Review - The Phantom of the Opera With Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess

As I mentioned a while back, I picked up a new gig writing for About.com as the Musical and Theater Expert. I was hoping that the gig wouldn't interfere with my blogging, and so far that has actually been the... Continue reading

Posted Aug 31, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Review - Finding Neverland at the American Repertory Theatre

Quick quiz: 1. What musical is the following lyric from? 2. Which character is singing? 3. What is this character singing about? All that matters now Is where we go from here. There's an easier way If we live for... Continue reading

Posted Aug 15, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Review - The Visit at Williamstown Theatre Festival With Chita Rivera

John Waters writes in one of his books (I think it was Crackpot) that he wishes that someone would discover an unpublished Jean Genet novel. He's read everything extant by Genet, he says, and longs for that special feeling of... Continue reading

Posted Aug 5, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Review - Piece of My Heart - The Bert Berns Story - Off Broadway

Most jukebox shows rely on the name-recognition factor to lure in the crowds. Well, here's a musical that has sort of the opposite goal: to bring our attention to a name that many of us have never heard of. Piece... Continue reading

Posted Aug 4, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Reviews - 2014 New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) - Part 4

Here's my final roundup of reviews from the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). I saw 19 shows over the course of three weekends. It was a bit grueling at times, but overall I found it exhilarating. There's so... Continue reading

Posted Jul 29, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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Reviews - 2014 New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) - Part 3

Here's my third round of reviews, out of four, of shows from the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). Seeing so many shows in such a short time has been a really rewarding process, one that I recommend to... Continue reading

Posted Jul 27, 2014 at Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

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