John Kander: Passing Through Curtains

John Kander: Passing Through Curtains

John Kander has been composing music for challenging, thought-provoking theatrical productions for half a century and is eager to keep working. Read the interview…

Written By

Frank J. Oteri

Frank J. Oteri is an ASCAP-award winning composer and music journalist. Among his compositions are Already Yesterday or Still Tomorrow for orchestra, the "performance oratorio" MACHUNAS, the 1/4-tone sax quartet Fair and Balanced?, and the 1/6-tone rock band suite Imagined Overtures. His compositions are represented by Black Tea Music. Oteri is the Vice President of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) and is Composer Advocate at New Music USA where he has been the Editor of its web magazine, NewMusicBox.org, since its founding in 1999.

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One of the longest songwriting collaborations in the history of the American musical theater: John Kander and Fred Ebb

[Ed. Note: In preparing for our talk with John Kander this month on NewMusicBox, we discovered a treasure trove of online video footage from just about every musical he and Fred Ebb created together: archival footage from original productions as well as scenes from revivals from around the world, including a production of Zorba in Polish! Here are links to some of our favorites, arranged alphabetically by show title—FJO]

The Act (Liza Minnelli performs “City Lights” on the 1978 Tony Awards)

Cabaret (from the televised Donmar Warehouse Production, in 12 parts)

Chicago (rare archival footage from the original 1975 Broadway production)

Curtains (from the original Broadway production)

Flora the Red Menace (highlights from the Australian premiere)

Go Fly a Kite (from the original cast, audio only)

The Happy Time (“I Don’t Remember You”)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (the original Broadway cast at the 1993 Tony Awards)

The Rink (“Don’t Ah Ma Me” featuring original cast members Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli)

The Scottsboro Boys (an interview with Kander, director Susan Stroman and cast members and featuring a performance of “Go Back Home”)

70, Girls, 70 (a segment from the Albuquerque N4th Theater production)

Steel Pier (Highlights from the Fair Lawn High School Production)

The Visit (“Love and Love Alone” featuring Chita Rivera in concert)

Woman of the Year (“The Grass is Always Greener” from the original Broadway cast)

Zorba (“Life Is” from a production in Wrocław, sung in Polish)