Alysha Umphress recording Goodbye Body at Lofish Studio NYC, December 2012. Goodbye Body is one of the new songs we’ve written for the In My Body Project. It’s in memory of Michael’s dear Aunt Louise – who passed away a few years ago. Fred Lassen is the pianist/musical director.
Sound / Video
Wash Me
Javier Munoz recording Wash Me at Lofish Studio NYC in December 2012 – one of the demos for our In My Body Project. Fred Lassen is the pianist.
Let Me Love You Now
We had the pleasure of attending the wedding of our friends Roberta and Federico in early June in Puglia, Italy. As a surprise gift – we asked Michael’s cousin Silvia to translate one of our love songs into Italian – and Dan performed it at the wedding reception. Title translation: Let Me Love You Now = Lasciati Amar Cosi
Totally Divine!
Here’s a photo of Javier Munoz, Olivia Mell, and Cameron Folmar rehearsing TOTALLY DIVINE last summer where we did our first staged reading of MARRY HARRY as part of New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Season at Vassar College.
TOTALLY DIVINE opens ACT 2 with Bernard – the faux French wedding consultant extraordinaire – transforming Cudicini’s Restaurant into a magical wedding fairyland – assisted by his entourage of designers including Wayne – his rapper assistant! In this recording Cameron sings Bernard, Javier sings Wayne, and Olivia and Javier sing backup. Jeff Caldwell is the musical director/pianist.
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Dan’s been working on an intense and beautiful project – producing the demo CD for a children’s musical called I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY. It’s based on the true story of kids who were imprisoned at the Nazi concentration camp Terezin – and whose poems and drawings survived to tell their stories.
The music is by Betsy Alexander and lyrics are by Joe Robinette. The cast includes Jonathan Brody, Philip Deyesso, Kate Lippstreu, Howie Michael Smith, Jordi Wallen, and April Woodall – with musical direction by Jeff Caldwell.
Here’s a clip of the rough mix of Jordi and Howie (accompanied by Jeff) singing an excerpt of THE GIFT – one of the more lighthearted songs in the show!
Divomenco
Here’s a clip of music Dan made for a short animated film – DIVOMENCO POP – by Liz Goldberg and Raymond Ercoli. It’s a trancey homage to flamenco dancers. Enjoy!
Dance History Project
This is a short (9 minute) documentary video about our history as dance/theater artists working in Philadelphia in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s – a glimpse into our pre-musical theater work when we began discovering and creating “performance art musicals”. The other artists featured in the film are Jano Cohen, Terry Fox, and Ishmael Houston-Jones. The film is by Carmella Vassor Johnson. In 2010 Philadelphia Dance Projects commissioned us to re-envision and re-stage several of these works using young local dancers.
Marry Harry
Our new musical MARRY HARRY had a reading at New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Season at Vassar College in July 2011 and is being workshopped by AMAS Musical Theatre in NYC in April 2012. The music is by Dan Martin and lyrics are by Michael Biello. The book is by Jennifer Robbins. Directed by Kent Nicholson. This clip is an excerpt from YOU OPENED A DOOR – the final song in the show. Sung by Harris Doran as Little Harry and Jill Paice as Sherri. Fred Lassen is the pianist.
Breathe
Christine Barbush, J.J. Criss, Jillian Louis, Robin Marcotte, and Seth Peterson sing the Prologue from the 2004 Philadelphia cast recording of our musical Breathe. Jeff McDonnell is the musical director and pianist. The Prologue is the first of seven musical “rituals” that introduce each of the show’s musical stories.
From Rob Lester’s CD review at TalkinBroadway.com (2/17/06): “Composer Dan Martin and longtime partner lyricist Michael Biello can dazzle you with a complex, contemporary witty patter song and then turn around and devastate you with naked emotion … The cast embues their multiple roles with personality and open-hearted singing … The music is varied, sometimes presented mosaically in bits that spurt and repeat or come at you in fragments … Other melodies have a legato elegance and satisfying completeness. Nothing is pat, but while the melodies are challenging and daring, they are not esoteric or inaccessible. The listener is allowed to breathe, too.”
The CD is available online at www.cdbaby.com/cd/martinbiello
Sticks and Stones
Hear a clip from Sticks and Stones
Piano music Dan wrote and recorded to accompany an outdoor sculpture show in 2005 – Sticks and Stones: the making of a sculpture garden. Curated by Eileen Tognini at the home of Lis and Mike Kalogris. Invitation photo is by Debra Rosenblum. The music from this except was written to accompany sculptor Martha Posner’s fabulous Red Bed.