Category Archives: Musicals

My granddaughter, Shoshi, is a very talented pianist. Not only does she play well, she also composes some of her own compositions. Whenever I am in the States and visiting Shoshi and the rest of her family, I ask her to play some of her own melodies. Hearing them is a pleasure and the music relaxes me. Life without music seems sterile; with music, it is vibrant.

Music occupies a very special place in cinema. Sometimes it is critically important because it underscores major themes in the film you are watching. It is the soul of the movie, part of the creative vision of the director and actors who want to convey the meaning of a film to those who see it. It is not just filler; rather it is essential to the creative film experience.

One of my first exposures to the power of music in the cinema was watching Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Academy Award winning film about racing. It begins with a scene of men running along the English beach preparing for the 1924 Olympics. The camera depicts in slow-motion the men running; the music in the background, composed by Vangelis, is transcendent and uplifting.

Score is a documentary that describes the history of motion picture scoring. It begins with a discussion of silent films. In truth, they were not really silent because an organist often played during the film to highlight and punctuate the action on the screen. The game-changer in movie soundtrack history was Max Steiner’s score for King Kong in 1933. The music transformed a standard special-effects monster movie into a total cinematic experience.

After this brief historical introduction, the film explores the creative processes of a number of composers whose work in films helped make the films memorable. They include such musical luminaries as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and Ennio Morricone.

Some soundtracks still remain with us after many years. They include such classics as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, and Titanic. Just listening to the music conjures up images and emotions from the past.

What is fascinating is the technology and new musical genres that influence contemporary soundtracks. Innovation in sound is a hallmark of famous iconoclastic films. The composer does not limit himself to traditional orchestral instruments. Nature sounds and instruments of primitive cultures often substitute for conventional background music to accentuate what is happening on the screen.

Jewish tradition has much to say about the interplay of music, life, and emotion. When the Jewish nation crosses the Red Sea, the people spontaneously break out in song. King David, the author of Psalms, is known in the Bible as the “sweet singer of Israel.” The priests sang in the Temple every day. Prayers are often sung, not merely recited.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes: “There is an inner connection between music and the spirit. When language aspires to the transcendent and the soul longs to break free of the gravitational pull of the earth, it modulates into song. Tolstoy called it the shorthand of emotion. Words are the language of the mind. Music is the language of the soul.”

Score reminds us that dialogue in movies can take us only so far. The soundtrack, which is the last creative part of the film to be added, is crucial to the overall affect the film has on the viewer. So it is in Judaism. What enables Jewish tradition to pass from generation to generation are not simply the dry words of the Bible and Talmud, but rather the spirit, the music, through which it is transmitted. Song represents the soul within and the soul lives beyond the present.

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In the 1970s and beyond, Billy Joel was one of my favorite musical artists. At the start of his career, I had an opportunity to hear him in Atlanta, but I missed that chance. I finally saw him in concert at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2017; the show was one of those one-of-a-kind concerts that remains in your memory for a long time after. So it was with great anticipation that I watched The Last Play at the Shea, a 2010 documentary that recorded the 2008 Billy Joel concert that was the last concert at Shea Stadium, a huge sports venue that was scheduled for demolition the following year.

Primarily, Shea was known as the home of the New York Mets, so it was fitting that a native New Yorker like Joel was there to bid the stadium farewell. Interestingly, Paul McCartney of the Beatles makes a guest appearance at the end of the concert, which brings the history of the venue full circle. It was the Beatles who first appeared at Shea in 1965 soon after it opened; so when McCartney joins Joel for the concert finale, it poetically resonates.

The Last Play at the Shea is a blend of historical material, animation, and current footage of this landmark concert, interweaving the history of Shea, the Mets, and Billy Joel. New to me was the leadership of city planner Robert Moses, who was the engine behind the building of Shea and other city projects. In truth, Moses developed a master plan for the construction of the modern suburb in Long Island. He was ahead of his time when he began building the quintessential suburb in Queens. He comprehended that living in the city was cost prohibitive and that people would welcome the chance to work in the city but live in spacious, more affordable residences.

What impressed me were the comments of Joel as he tried to navigate his own career in a tumultuous time. He trusted people whom he regarded as friends and assumed they had his best interests at heart. Regrettably, some of these people swindled him and, at one point, he actually lost all his money. He felt compelled to tour relentlessly in order to rebuild his bank account, and this took a toll on his family life.

In spite of occasional disappointments, Joel maintains an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having the opportunity to perform before thousands who appreciate his music. His transparent sincerity endears him to his fans. He openly confesses: “If it weren’t for the Beatles, I wouldn’t do what I do.” His reuniting with Paul McCartney at the end of the film to sing the classic Beatles’ song “Let It Be” is a perfect ending to this nostalgic view of Shea, the Mets, and Billy Joel.

There is a powerful statement in The Ethics of the Fathers, by which Joel lives. The Sages say: “He who learns from his friend one chapter, one rule, one verse, even one letter, is obliged to treat him with respect.” Joel respects and appreciates the musical contributions of all who have gone before him. The Beatles were his muse, and their music changed him as well as the world. Joel understands that great rock music did not begin with him, but rather was an evolving art that expressed itself in a variety of ways over many years.

What stands out in The Last Play at the Shea is Joel’s honesty and sincere appreciation for those who helped him over the rough spots in his life. He is grateful for life, for the opportunity to do what he loves, and he is grateful to those people who inspired him along the way.

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A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. I did not see him often, so it was unnerving for me to see him so helpless and confused when I finally visited him. Once a robust, intelligent, and expressive man, he was a shadow of his former self, needing almost 24- hour care. Now his family only had memories of the great man he once was.

I was surprised when I heard about the documentary recounting the life of musical icon Glen Campbell. Titled Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, the film deals primarily with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the subsequent 151-farewell tour show upon which he embarked both to celebrate his music and to share his experience of dealing with Alzheimer’s.

Over the span of his career, Glen Campbell created a large catalog of hit songs including “Rhinestone Cowboy, “ Wichita Lineman,” and “Gentle on My Mind.” He began as a country music star and was the first to crossover into contemporary popular music. In this sense, he opened to door to thousands of country musicians who, until that point in time, played music exclusively for country music fans.

Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011. Together with his wife Kim, they decided to go public with the diagnosis and begin a “Goodbye Tour” that was initially supposed to be for three weeks. However, due to strong emotional support and appreciative audience reactions, they continued with a nationwide tour that lasted for 151 shows.

The film begins in the doctor’s office with the diagnosis and it is fascinating to observe the physician’s questions as well as Campbell’s responses. His answers reveal that his memory is becoming more selective about what information it retains. For example, Campbell may not remember who was the first president of the United States because he thinks this is not useful information. However, he remembers song lyrics and how to play the guitar because these things still matter to him.

As the tour progresses, the quality of his performance declines, but his myriad fans do not seem to mind. They consider themselves fortunate to be present at what will probably be one of his final concerts. Throughout the tour, his family and small cadre of musicians, some of whom are family members, give Campbell support and love no matter the outcome of a particular performance. His children feel blessed to spend this time with their Dad.

Near the end of the tour, the question is asked why Campbell agreed to do the tour. The answer: he genuinely wanted to perform again and his family felt that his performance would give more media attention to Alzheimer’s, a disease afflicting so many Americans, and, by extension, to their caregivers whose lives are dramatically changed when they take care of loved one who may not even remember their names or who they are.

Jewish tradition emphasizes the dignity of man. We all are created in God’s image and are deserving of respect no matter our physical or mental condition. The image of God can still exist in a body damaged by disease or in a mind damaged by mental illness. Alzheimer’s does not define our value from the aspect of eternity.

One of the most touching moments in the film occurs when Campbell sings “A Better Place, “ a song that expresses his hopeful spirit in the midst of his mental decline. Here are the lyrics that resonate: “Some days I’m so confused. Lord/ My past gets in my way/ I need the ones I love, Lord/ More and more each day/ One thing I know/ The world’s been good to me/ A better place awaits, you’ll see.”

Glen Campbell: I’ll be Me is a one-of-of-a-kind movie, a film that reminds us of the fragility of life. What life is like today may not be what it is tomorrow. This is a life lesson that relates not only to those afflicted with debilitating disease, but to all of us making life’s journey.

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Growing up in the 1950s, my musical icon was Elvis Presley. I enjoyed his songs, combed my hair the way he did, and even grew sideburns to match his. Frank Sinatra was still around and popular with my sister Martha and her friends who were five years older than me. Now in my senior years, Sinatra and his big band arrangements have re-emerged in my consciousness as musical classics that have withstood the test of time. Fifty years after they were written and performed, they still sound fresh and tuneful, which is why I found the four-hour documentary of his life, Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, fascinating to watch.

The main talking head in the film is Frank himself, who appears in archival footage being interviewed by Walter Cronkite and in a host of other unspecified settings. Sinatra’s story has been well documented over the years. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, he determined at an early age that he wanted to be an entertainer. First singing in local clubs, he eventually became a featured vocalist with the Tommy Dorsey band, and soon morphed into a solo artist selling millions of records.

When his career floundered for a short period of time, his professional life was invigorated by the movies. He won an Academy Award for his role as Maggio in From Here to Eternity, and from there he went on to star in a number of popular films. Furthermore, his appearances in Las Vegas gave new life to what was at that time a moribund city. Together with his celebrated “rat pack” of buddies, he injected new energy into the Las Vegas tourist industry.

As I heard his rendition of his classic signature songs at his “Retirement Concert” in 1971, I became more aware of what separated him from other crooners of the time. It was his impeccable pronunciation of words and phrasing. It was a mellifluous voice, one that was able to convey nuances of deep emotion by phrasing his words in idiosyncratic ways.

The documentary reveals that as a young man Sinatra took singing lessons to improve his delivery. He paid $3 a week to learn voice calisthenics to make him a better singer and it worked. His investment in learning at a tender age reaped rewards and Frank’s career blossomed.

This vignette of his early voice lessons reminded me of the Talmudic concept of girsa d’yankusah, the learning that one does as a youth. The Sages tell us that such learning stays with one for the rest of one’s life because it is given when a child’s mind is a tabula rasa, a blank page upon which indelible memories are engraved. Moreover, the Talmud tells us about a great scholar who remarked that his most important teacher was the one who taught him the alef-bet, the Hebrew alphabet, which was the bedrock of all his learning as a teenager and adult.

Frank Sinatra is one of the great musical icons of the twentieth century. Like all human beings, he is both talented and flawed. Sinatra: All or Nothing at All reminds us that his determination to be a musical star was not serendipitous. He worked hard to succeed and took advantage of every opportunity to move his career forward. His investment in voice lessons as a young performer indicates that Sinatra knew his weaknesses and wanted to correct them. He was not satisfied with merely being good; he wanted to be great, and he was open to receiving criticism if it helped him become a more successful entertainer.

Sinatra’s retirement concert, which is the linchpin of the narrative, demonstrates through song the many challenges that he faced and his ability to survive and prosper over many years of show business. His odyssey demonstrates how an ability to accept criticism and guidance in one’s youth can create enduring and felicitous consequences in the future.

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