Welcome to My Apartment - sung by Julia Murney

10/31/11 • -1 min

Warning: ADULT SEXUAL CONTENT in this episode
OK, you're been warned.

Month Upon a Time, Episode #5 (October): For a podcast that avoids repeat guests, I sure do a lot of double-dipping. But as you'll soon see, it's obvious why nobody but Julia Murney could sing this song....
As I was reviewing the October ideas that had been sent to me, I couldn't help noting Eloise Akehurst's suggestion that I write a song about "Julia Murney's Cocktober." It was certainly a noteworthy trio of words, but probably not a song. Meanwhile, I was working with Jason Robert Brown at the time, and I asked him to give me an idea for an October-themed song, and he replied, "Julia Murney's Cocktober." Well, then it started to seem like a downright challenge. Besides, when two people give you the same idea and it's as specific (and outrageous) as this one, it's time to do some research. So I tracked down Julia to get the first-hand version of the story, and thus this song was born.
It's not an accurate retelling - the names and dates have been changed to protect the innocent - but it was certainly inspired by her oh-so-true story.
Since her last visit to the podcast, Julia has kept busy as the belty green gal on tour and Broadway, not to mention pursuing an active concert and, as evidenced here, voice-over career. Also, her debut CD, I'm Not Waiting, which had yet to be released the last time she was on the podcast, is now available!
This month finds her back on the boards in the new Michael John LaChiusa musical, Queen of the Mist, with The Transport Group. It's so nice to have her back where she belongs.
This episode was recorded October 30, 2011.

Previous Episode

Benny Go Home - sung by Alysha Umphress

Month Upon a Time, Episode #4 (September): The last time she made a guest appearance on this podcast, Alysha Umphress was just getting her feet wet in the New York talent pool. Now, five years later, she is positively drenched!
First came her Off Broadway debut understudying the two female roles in the Bill Finn revue, Make Me a Song. Then followed a very happy run, first at Berkeley Rep and then on Broadway, in Green Day's American Idiot (Check out her hot duet from the cast recording: "Too Much Too Soon".)
Along the way, she's performed in countless cabaret shows - here are youtube videos of her definitive performances of two of my songs "Celebrate" and "I Just Wanna Have Fun" in concert. Happily, one of her solo concerts was preserved with a live recording, which you can purchase from her outrageously not-up-to-date website: Alysha Umphress - Live at the Laurie Beechman.
This coming season, you'll be able to catch her on Broadway again (!!) in the upcoming revival of On a Clear Day..., as well as on television as a guest star on Showtime's Nurse Jackie. She's on fire!!
September inspired a flurry of song ideas, 95% of which were rooted in back-to-school, which made Karen Buerkle's idea stand out that much more: she wrote "That's when the Bennys go home." Not knowing what this cryptic sentence meant, I did a little research, which led me to this website and this Facebook page. (At the time of uploading this episode, the Benny Go Home website was experiencing technical difficulties. Hopefully, it will be live again soon, so you can see what I found.)
In a nutshell, a Benny is a summer tourist visiting the Monmouth or Ocean County Jersey shore. While there are several explanations for the origin of the name, the favored one is that it's an acronym for the cities these tourists primarily came from back in the day, namely Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, and New York. The locals frown upon what they perceive to be disrespectful Benny behavior. A grass roots campaign called "Benny Go Home" has evolved, with logos, bumper stickers, and things like these three beach scenes.... Given that I grew up in Monmouth County (in fact, Karen Buerkle played the title role in our community theatre production of Annie Get Your Gun back in the early 80s), I couldn't resist this subject matter for the September song. And since I've been making it a habit of sneaking musical quotes into several of these Month Upon a Time songs, this title offered up a no-brainer. Thanks, Karen!
For the record, I think the members of the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore would definitely be considered Bennys.
This episode was recorded September 12, 2011.

Next Episode

The Fifth of November - sung by Billy Porter

Month Upon a Time, Episode #6 (November): Look who I got for this month's episode: Ghetto Superstar Billy Porter! Billy has been a friend since the early days, and it was only a matter of time before he popped up on here. What an interesting journey and varied career he's had - everything from Star Search winner (1992) to Broadway musical theatre star to recording artist to film/TV actor to one-man-show diva to serious dramatic ekhtor, with some stops along the way for writing, directing, arranging, and choreographing. Kind of amazing.

Right now he's gearing up to play one of the leads in the upcoming workshop of the new musical Kinky Boots, based on the film of the same name. Jerry Mitchell + Cyndi Lauper + Harvey Fierstein + Billy Porter sounds like a pretty fabulous combo! Additionally, he'll be choreographing the cool new musical Pop at the City Theatre in Pittsburgh and continuing his affiliation with the fledgling theatre company Exit Pursued By a Bear. He does like to keep a full plate!

This month's song idea comes courtesy of the beautiful and talented Alexandra Silber (@alexandrasilber), late of this year's Master Class revival and the Transport Group's Hello Again. I guess having spent all those years in the UK studying and living and working, she came to regard Guy Fawkes Night as a holiday of her own. I, myself, had never heard of it until now. Special thanks to my Brit friends Suzanne (Squeezie) Thomas and John Blakey for confirming that it's really a holiday :-) and sharing their 11/5 experiences with me.

This episode was recorded on November 29, 2011.