Dark Monday • Seasons of Love

I began my 'Dark Monday' posts almost 5 years ago, to celebrate music that is near and dear to my heart. The phrase 'dark Monday' refers to a time when all the Broadway shows would take off on Mondays, leaving the lights on Broadway off for the day. Monday was the official 'weekend' for theater types, even those of us who worked off-Broadway. We would do eight shows a week, performing 6 nights a week, plus two matinees on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The second official 'Dark Monday' post was about a show I really enjoyed, 'Rent'. The hit musical addressed issues of drug abuse, greed, love, and sex for straight, gay, and transgendered people. The story was a retelling of Puccini's 'La Bohéme', telling the stories of young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Jonathan Larson updated the show to the 1990s in New York's Lower East Side, facing the issues of the time. "Seasons of Love" became a hit, for it was a beautiful melody paired with lovely lyrics. It was part of the show when it opened in 2996, and again when it made it to film in 2005. This is the official music video from the film. Please enjoy "Seasons of Love".

You can purchase "Seasons of Love" from iTunes and Amazon.

Sunday Morning with SF Gay Men's Chorus

The Lollipop Guild is a division of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus first started in 1979 as a barbershop quartet that has grown from there to be the first small ensemble to be in the international Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) of Choruses. Their repertoire now includes various styles of music, both accompanied and a cappella. You can see their musical influences are varied in the clip below, where they perform three songs. The first is a beautiful rendition of Season's Of Love from the Broadway musical Rent. The second song is a lovely version of Toto's big hit Africa, done without the benefit of a backing band. The third and final song is a different and enchanting version of Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris' I Will Survive, first performed by Miss Gloria Gaynor, and to many, the song sung at Gay Pride Parade's everywhere. Each and every song is delightful, delicious, and worth savoring. Plus, I think I have a crush on a couple of the guys...



For more about the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, check out their official website here. You can make a tax-deductible donation to them here. Or, you can support them by purchasing their music directly from them here, or you can find them on iTunes and Amazon.