Musical theater composers who need to make it big

My latest ventures in internet surfing have taken a new turn. Until recently, my YouTube and MySpace clicking adventures were focused on performers, specifically, singers. I'd find a performance I liked, like this one of Cortney Wolfson singing "Blue Hair"

and I'd say "Wow, I sure like Cortney Wolfson, better add her to my list of performers to watch for." And I would.

But recently, I was at The After Party (one of my regular opportunities to hear new things), and there was this group of singers there led by this too-cool-for-school dude name of Joe Iconis. Joe Iconis, it turns out, is a composer. And his songs are awesome. In fact, they happen to include that "Blue Hair" song mentioned above.

Suddenly, my eyes were opened. I need to be on the watch for up-and-coming composers too! Seems obvious, but for some reason it didn't occur to me. But since it has, I've gone crazy.

Here are some composers I've discovered that are making really great musical theater. All of their songs are worth a listen or seven. Click the names to get web pages or MySpace pages. When included, the video files are examples of their music being performed.

Adam Gwon
This video, of the song "Don't Wanna Be Here" appears to have the same clip twice in a row. Weird. But it's good!


Jonathan Reid Gealt I discovered this extremely nice man because of the video below, sung by the incomparable new star Natalie Weiss. But I like the song even more than the performance.

Scott Alan A bit more successful than many of these others, he's released a CD and has a following for his monthly show "Monday Nights New Voices" at The Duplex in the Village. Again, though, I only discovered him through Natalie Weiss, because I wasn't paying enough attention.

Neil Bartram I'm having a hard time finding much of a web presence for this composer, but you can here one of his songs, "Mrs. Remington," on the Monday Nights, New Voices Myspace profile.

Deborah Abramson
I first met Deborah when she was working with "Spring Awakening," but I really love her songs. I especially like "Godel, Escher, Bach" perhaps because I love that book while recognizing its ridiculousness. I can't embed the only video I found of her work, you can find it here: Stephanie J. Block sings "Gotta Start Small"

Okay, I think that's enough for now. Especially since, so far as I know, nobody actually reads this blog yet! But if somebody does, and you have suggestions I should add, let me know!