A song to a verse by H. L. Mencken, from his “Knocks and Jollies” column, in the Baltimore Herald, January 20, 1901:  “You cannot civilize a jay, or from his belfry pluck the hay, im hinterland…”

The story of five men in a rudderless boat, told in a stream of anapests with pictures.  I’ve done this as a performance, since the text was really meant to be read aloud.  Here’s the first page:

Four songs for voice and piano, on verses from the picture books of Kate Greenaway.  I wrote them in 2002.  The verses are:

1.  The Boat Sails Away (Kate Greenaway)
2.  Dirty Jim (Jane and Ann Taylor)
3.  Poor Dicky’s Dead (Kate Greenaway)
4.  The Butterfly (Jane and Ann Taylor)

Here’s a snippet of the first one:

This brisk barnstormer was part of my show of the same name, back in 1984.

My first solo show in NYC, Pay Attention, was produced at the American Place Theatre in 1984, as part of their American Humorists Series.  The New York Times was rather sanguine about it, which was a relief.

My fourth string quartet consists of chorales, fourteen of them. Some of my concerns here were chromatic voice leading, suspensions as concords, and extended chords implied with four voices. Here’s the first one.

Finally, these two images are conflated.  It’s about time.

My adaptation of Collodi’s immortal Pinocchio was part of my 1985 show, An Attractive Production. My version included a ukulele, books, water, melon balls, a rubber fish, and irrelevant slides. Eddie Gray was cast as Pinocchio, much to his dismay. The incomparable Helen Dannenberg made a splendid Blue Fairy. I, of course, was Geppetto. These rehearsal photos are by Tom Brazil.