Eve6

Eve 6 is a rock band from Southern California who was most well known for their hit "Inside Out" and graduation anthem "Here's To The Night". They disbanded in 2004 and reunited with 2 of the 3 original members in October, 2007. The band originally consisted of Max Collins (vocals, bass), Jon Siebels (guitar), and Tony Fagenson (drums). Siebels decided not to return when the band reformed in 2007. Their musical genre was often classified as Alternative Rock. The band formed in 1995 in La Crescenta, California first as Yakoo, then Eleventeen; the name Eve 6 was only adopted later. Their first show was at Eagle's Coffee Pub in North Hollywood. Eleventeen had secured a recording contract with RCA while Max and Jon were still in high school. Through the Eve6MediaHq website, it has been announced that Eve 6 has reunited; however, Jon Siebels will not be returning.

History of the Name

Tony Fagenson, who auditioned while attending the University of Southern California, was an X-Files fan. After seeing the episode "Eve", which featured genetically engineered characters known as "Eves," he got the name from the character called Eve #6 who made a remark about biting a guard's eyeball, which Fagenson thought merited "Eve 6" as a band name. The band is well known for their song "Inside Out" (often referred to by its lyrics "Beautiful Oblivion" or "Heart in a Blender") which was featured on MTV and several television shows in the mid 90s. It still receives more airplay than any other Eve 6 song.

Style

Eve 6's basic rock trio (guitar/bass/drums) sound is augmented on their later studio recordings with many interesting studio techniques. For example, "Bang" (from Horrorscope) culminates in a section constructed entirely from repeated, overdubbed layers. Eve 6 also made liberal use of overdubbed vocals and other studio polish, such as the vocoded filigree directly preceding the breakdown section of "On The Roof Again" (from Horrorscope). The songs themselves generally conform to the late 90's pop-punk aesthetic, and can be roughly divided into four different categories: the sugary-sweet bubblegum pop of "Rescue" and "Promise" (from Horrorscope), the punk of "Hokis" (from It's All in Your Head) and "Superhero Girl" (from Eve 6), ballads, such as "Hey Montana" (from It's All in Your Head) and "Here's to the Night" (from Horrorscope), and anthems (characterized by beginning almost inaudibly, with sparse instrumentation, and ending climactically) such as "Arch Drive Goodbye" (from It's All in Your Head).

Eve 6 was perhaps best known for its lyrics however, which feature vivid imagery and inventive wordplay: two of the group's hits, "Inside Out" (from their self-titled album) and "Promise" (from Horrorscope), are good examples of this style. Romance and angst are common themes, but the band also explores issues of gender identity ("Jet Pack," or "Sunset Strip Bitch," both from Horrorscope), suicide ("Friend of Mine," from It's All in Your Head), and being wrongly placed in a special education class, ("Tongue Tied," from Eve 6).

The nostalgic ballad "Here's to the Night", from Horrorscope, is notably characterized by a change in tempo and style from the band's other songs, prefiguring the greater experimentation of the following and final album, It's All In Your Head. While the song was written about a one night stand, for many teenagers it was a song about the closing of an era (specifically of high school), and was chosen by many graduating senior classes to be their "class song".

Discography

Eleventeen (as Eleventeen) - 1996
Eve 6 - April 28, 1998 (#33 U.S.) Platinum
Horrorscope - July 25, 2000 (#34 U.S.) Gold
It's All in Your Head - July 22, 2003 (#27 U.S.)

**wikipedia.org

Dishwalla

Dishwalla is an alternative rock band. The roster includes Jim Wood (keyboards), Rodney Browning Cravens (lead guitar), J.R. Richards (vocals, guitar, and keyboards), Pete Maloney (drums), and Scot Alexander (bass, Juno 60). George Pendergast played drums for the band until 1998; he was replaced by Pete Maloney. The band's name comes from an Indian term for a person providing cable television to a neighbourhood. In a Vox interview, Rodney claimed the band took the name out of a Wired magazine article.

In 1996, the single "Counting Blue Cars" from the album Pet Your Friends climbed the charts and was much-played on the airwaves, bringing the band a short round of mainstream-scale success. The track earned them a Billboard Award for "Best Rock Song" for 1996 as well as two ASCAP Awards for "Rock Track Of The Year" in both 1996 and 1997. Their 1998 follow-up album, And You Think You Know What Life's About, failed to sustain the level of popularity achieved by "Counting Blue Cars". (Partially responsible for the situation was Universal's 1998 purchase and dissolution of A&M/Polygram, the label that produced the two albums.) The group is remembered by most as a one-hit wonder.

Dishwalla have since made a handful of other ventures into the limelight. In 1998 landed the song "Truth Serum" in The Avengers, in 1999, the song "Stay Awake" was featured in the movie Stir of Echoes, in 2002 the song "Home" was in the movie "The Banger Sisters", and the The WB series Charmed spotlighted Dishwalla as cast members in two episodes. The band, who sustains a loyal fan following, has gone on to release two more studio albums, including Opaline, a self titled album and a live album 'Live... Greetings From The Flow State.'

Official Site: www.dishwalla.com
**wikipedia.org

Candlebox

Candlebox is a band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in December 1991, they originally named the band Uncle Duke; they later changed the name as a tribute to a Midnight Oil song. They were sometimes looked down upon by grunge fans for their style, which was considered by many to be a derivative version of true grunge, and their commercial success a result of it. Despite this, the band played the Seattle club circuit during the early 1990s to many of the same fans who had supported many of the bands that had come immediately before them. The members did not consider Candlebox to be a grunge band however; they viewed themselves as a rock and roll band more than anything and their style reflected that. Nevertheless, Candlebox had sold more than 4 million copies of their self-titled debut which, after many months of gaining momentum peaked at number 7 on Billboard's album charts. The follow up album, Lucy, was certified gold in 1996. Candlebox was the first successful act on Madonna's Maverick Records, which went on to sign Alanis Morissette, Deftones, and The Prodigy.

Candlebox was known for an explosive live show and throughout their 8 year career, they toured with such bands as Living Colour, The Flaming Lips, Our Lady Peace, Rush, Henry Rollins, and Metallica. They were also a featured band on the main-stage at Woodstock '94 and made repeat live performances on the David Letterman show.

Drummer Scott Mercado left the band in 1997 and was replaced by former Pearl Jam member Dave Krusen. Krusen left the band in 1999 and was replaced by Shannon Larkin of Ugly Kid Joe. Bardi Martin also left the band that year and was replaced by Rob Reddick (formerly of Dig).

They are best known for the singles "Change," "You," "Far Behind," and "Simple Lessons." "Far Behind" entered Billboard's Top 20 in July of 1993 and didn't drop off the charts until January of 1994. The videos for "Far Behind" and "You" were in seemingly perpetual rotation on MTV and became two of the most requested videos of 1993.

In 2005, Kevin Martin was recording and performing as the leader of The Hiwatts. Peter Klett was recording and performing as the leader of redlightmusic.

In 2006, Candlebox reunited with their original line-up and embarked on a three-month North American tour from July to October of that year. The band is currently writing and recording material for a new record due for release in 2008. This marks the first collaboration of the original lineup since 1996.

Candlebox released a "Best Of" album on May 23, 2006.

Discography

Studio albums
Candlebox (July 20, 1993)
Lucy (October 3, 1995)
Happy Pills (July 21, 1998)

Compilation albums
The Best of Candlebox (May 23, 2006)

**wikipedia.org

Silver Chair

Silverchair is an Australian rock band. The group has had more top twenty hits in Australian charts during the last decade than any other local artist. Additionally, they have sold over six million albums worldwide. Every album released by the band to date has spawned at least one top 1 single and debuted at the #1 position on Australian charts. Silverchair is also one of only three Australian bands to have three number 1 singles on the Australian Singles Chart, and the only Australian band to have their first albums chart at #1 in the Australian Album Chart. When they broke into the music industry, they were only 14 years old.

History

Early Days

Silverchair was formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals. Singer/guitarist Daniel Johns and drummer Ben Gillies started playing music together at their primary school, and when they both moved on to Newcastle High School, long time schoolmates Chris Joannou and Tobin Finnane joined the band on bass and rhythm guitar respectively. They played many shows around the Hunter Valley region in their early teens. They participated in Youthrock in 1994, a nationally recognised competition for school-based bands, although they did not win the competition.

The band's mainstream breakthrough came in mid-1994 when, as Innocent Criminals, they won a national demo competition called "Pick Me" (conducted by the SBS TV show Nomad and alternative radio station Triple J) with a song called "Tomorrow." The prize included Triple J recording the song and SBS filming the video. Innocent Criminals changed their name to Silverchair in August 1994.

Silverchair's popularity quickly landed them a three album recording contract with Sony Music. A rushed release of the Triple J recording was released in August 1994. The single spent six weeks at #1 on the Australian Singles Charts. In 1995, a re-recorded version of Tomorrow (and a new video) was made for the U.S. market, eventually becoming the most played song of the year on U.S. modern rock radio.

Frogstomp

Silverchair’s debut album, Frogstomp, was recorded in just nine days in early 1995.[4]. At the time of recording, Silverchair's members were only 15 years old. Frogstomp's lyrical concepts are fictional-based, mostly from television ("Pure Massacre", "Israel's Son", "Tomorrow"), hometown tragedies ("Faultline" was based on the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake, in which a childhood friend died) and perceptions of the pain of friends ("Shade", "Suicidal Dream").

A #1 hit in Australia and New Zealand, Silverchair went on to become the first Australian artist since INXS to hit the U.S. Top 10, selling more than 2.5 million copies throughout the world. As Frogstomp and "Tomorrow" propelled Silverchair to musical superstardom through 1996, the group juggled memorable performances on the roof of Radio City Music Hall and tours with Red Hot Chili Peppers alongside full time schooling commitments back home in Newcastle.

Freak Show and Neon Ballroom

The trio also found time that year to record their second album Freak Show which was released early in 1997. It yielded three Top 10 singles in Australia - "Freak", "Abuse Me" and "Cemetery". The songs focus on the anger and backlash that the expectations of Frogstomp brought upon the band. "Freak Show" went gold in the United States and global sales eventually exceeded 1.5 million copies.

After graduating from school the band was able to spend much more time creating their next album, Neon Ballroom which was released in March 1999. The band originally intended to take a 12 month break, but according to Johns, in an interview which was part of the special Neon Ballroom release, "it felt weird not writing and making music".

Daniel Johns succumbed to an eating disorder due to anxiety "it was his means of taking control of his life". Lyrics had come before the tunes this time around and this unconventional approach had taken Daniel months to think about. The acclaimed "Ana's Song" was the second single, that described his battle with his eating disorder. The video for the track took home the best video trophy at the ARIA Music Awards The album is also notable for contributions by Australian pianist David Helfgott, Midnight Oil member Jim Moginie and ARIA-winning DJ, Paul Mac.

Silverchair toured extensively in support of the album propelling it to stronger worldwide sales than they had achieved with Freak Show. In Europe and South America it became the group’s most successful album to date, touring live and including appearances at festivals such as Reading and Edgefest and tours with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and blink-182. After all this touring the band announced that they would be taking a 12 month break.

Having fulfilled their three album deal with Sony Music Australia the group was pursued by labels for much of their year off. At the end of 2000 they announced that they had signed new recording agreements with Atlantic Records for North and South America and their own indie label, Eleven: A Music Company in Australia and Asia. As a result of these new deals their former label rush released a compilation album without the band’s involvement.

Silverchair's one and only gig in 2000 was a sold out appearance at Australia’s Falls Festival on New Year's Eve. It was followed on January 21, 2001 by the biggest show of their lives - 250,000 people at Rock In Rio - a performance which the band describe as the highlight of their career to date.

Diorama

While recording Diorama, Daniel Johns, no longer simply wanted to be in a 'rock band', he thought of himself as an 'artist'. The result was a more thoughtful, professional album than previous outings. In June 2001, the band entered a studio in Sydney with producer David Bottrill (Tool, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson) to start work on their fourth album, Diorama. This time, Daniel Johns formally assumed the role of a co-producer.

The album, which Johns described as "a world within a world", came from his newfound method of writing most of the material on the piano, which he had learned during the band's break. In order to complete his vision for the album, a range of other musicians were drawn in to contribute to the disc, most notably the renowned Beach Boys and U2 collaborator, Van Dyke Parks who contributed orchestral arrangements to "Tuna in the Brine" and singles "Luv Your Life" and "Across the Night". Paul Mac and Jim Moginie also returned.

Silverchair fans got their first taste of Diorama when the first single "The Greatest View" was released to radio networks in Australia in early December 2001. The single was then released January 28, 2002, to coincide with the band’s appearance on the Big Day Out tour. Singer Daniel Johns has said he was so medicated for his reactive arthritis during the tour that he barely remembered playing.

Diorama entered the Australian charts at #1 in April and has gone on to sell over 210,000 copies and be certified 3x Platinum so far. It has also yielded the top 10 single "Without You" and the top 20 hit "Luv Your Life".

The album's international promotion was hampered by the band’s inability to tour due to Johns' ill health. The singer/guitarist spent 2002 battling a severely debilitating case of reactive arthritis from which he has since recovered. Despite the lack of promotion, the album reached #12 in Germany and inside the top 40 in other countries including Holland, Sweden and Brazil.

In October 2002, the band’s work on Diorama won them six ARIA Awards including "Best Group" and "Best Rock Album". The trio performed "The Greatest View" at the awards ceremony. Shortly after, the album returned to the national top 20. They then went on the "Across the Night" Tour, which was a 2.5 hour extravaganza, aiming to replicate many of the more complex songs of Diorama in the first hour, showcasing the more experimental works of earlier albums as well as the Diorama songs. The second hour showcased the heavy rock of Silverchair's repertoire. Silverchair announced an indefinite hiatus following the tour.

Extended break and side projects

After putting Silverchair on hiatus, Johns embarked on a successful collaboration with noted Australian electronica artist Paul Mac, the first product of this collaboration was the I Can't Believe It's Not Rock EP (an internet only release). The collaboration later became known as The Dissociatives, and the resulting album, also called The Dissociatives, was supported by limited touring. Around this time Johns was interviewed by Andrew Denton on the TV show Enough Rope (where he stated that there will "definitely be another Silverchair album", although this wasn't included in the broadcast of the interview), as well as performed live with Mac. More recently he has worked with his wife, former soap opera actress turned pop singer Natalie Imbruglia on her Counting Down the Days album, Glorious: The Singles 97-07, and her Fourth album due out in February 2008.

Drummer Ben Gillies has also decided to dive into a side project of his own called Tambalane, who enjoyed national success in Australia. They toured the nation in support of their self titled debut CD, released in August of 2005. They broke up after the tour, with Ben citing "It became an unpleasant power struggle".

Bassist Chris Joannou also had a side project where he produced an album for The Mess Hall and was nominated for the ARIA Award for Producer of the Year.

Following the Boxing Day Tsunami, Silverchair reformed for one show at the Wave Aid fundraising concert in Sydney, to raise funds for aid organizations working in disaster affected areas. They were inspired by the performance of Midnight Oil, to continue going as Silverchair.

Young Modern

In November of 2006, Silverchair announced they were working on the music for their fifth studio album, Young Modern. Bass player Chris Joannou wrote a short overview about how the recordings for Young Modern went, which was published on the band's website on July 27, 2006. He wrote that the band spent five weeks in the Hunter Valley, in late 2005 to play some new tunes together. Prior to that Johns had been busy recording home demos on his own. Then the demos were recorded in a recording studio in Sydney and once the band had put it all together they headed for L.A. to start recording the songs at Seedy Underbelly Studios as they would appear on the album. Nick Launay was hired to produce the album together with Johns and during the time in L.A., some more songs were written (and possibly recorded). Van Dyke Parks was hired to do some orchestral arrangements for three new songs and these orchestrations were recorded in three days in Prague. The band mixed the album in L.A. in January 2007 with Diorama co-producer David Bottrill.

They played a limited number of 'warm-up' concerts (with Paul Mac on keyboards at the Great Escape festival, the Clipsal 500 and the Rock-It festival) to showcase some of the new material and fund the recording of Young Modern. They originally aimed to release the album around December 2006, but delays pushed it into being released on March 31, 2007 in Australia.

In the build up prior to their Homebake performance, Silverchair performed a cover of Midnight Oil's "Don't Wanna Be the One" at the 2006 ARIA Awards as part of Midnight Oil's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame. During the end of the performance Johns spray painted PG4PM (Peter Garrett for Prime Minister) on a stage wall, paying tribute to the Oils' frontman who is now a federal MP for the ALP.

The band played at Homebake on December 2, 2006 in Sydney; at Phillip Island on December 30, as part of The Pyramid Rock Festival; and the Queen's Wharf Brewery in Newcastle on New Year's Eve. They also played some showcase events in the U.S. and Canada in early 2007, in order to attract record companies to distribute Young Modern. It was recently stated by Johns on a Channel V broadcast of Silverchair's Homebake performance that Paul Mac is his "musical soulmate" and he finds it difficult to perform without him" and that Silverchair becomes a "supergroup" with his presence.

"Straight Lines" was chosen as first single from the new album Young Modern. Footage for the video was shot in Sydney, in which fans were invited to appear. The single was released on the band's official website and their official MySpace page on February 2nd. The physical single was released on March 10th and debuted at number 1 on the ARIA charts. Silverchair became only the third Australian band to have three number 1 singles on the ARIA Charts, the other bands being The Easybeats and The Seekers. Coincendentally, Judith Durham, lead singer of The Seekers, performs guest vocals on an iTunes bonus track from Young Modern.

Young Modern debuted at number one in the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming their fifth consecutive studio album to top the chart, making them the only Australian band to ever reach five number one albums, surpassing Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil with four. It was certified double platinum by ARIA in only its third week charting. Young Modern continued to claim the number 1 position for a fourth week, becoming their fastest-selling album and holding off the Arctic Monkeys' Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Across the Great Divide Tour

On June 12 2007, the members of Silverchair and the members of another equally successful Australian band Powderfinger held a press conference in which they announced plans for a co-headlining national tour in what is being billed as a "must see" event for Australian rock fans. The Across the Great Divide Tour will see two of the country's most successful bands play venues in every capital city and 14 regional centres from late August 2007. The tour kicked off to a successful start in Silverchair's hometown of Newcastle on August 29, and then moved on to Powderfinger's Brisbane backyard on August 31. Afterwards the tour destinations include other major cities including Darwin and Cairns, and various other regional centres including Mildura, Toowoomba and Bendigo.[9]

Silverchair has announced their first full North American tour since 1999. The dates run through July and August of 2007, and the tour will be in support of the band's new album Young Modern which will street on July 24 in the U.S. and Canada on Eleven: A Music Company through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group.

In spite of the band's long leave of absence, they recently sold out some New York, Los Angeles and Toronto shows within minutes. In some US shows they are supported by You Am I which have no doubt helped sell many tickets as their more experienced friends have over the years built strong support in the US, particularly in Seattle. The strong tour response drew a full page feature in the Los Angeles Times "Calendar" section and lead the LA Weekly to declare that "Silverchair have burrowed into a 'career band niche'... thriving on quality songwriting and authentic delivery".

In addition to their own headline tour, Silverchair will also make a mainstage appearance at the 30,000-capacity Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago on August 4th alongside Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

Discography

Frogstomp (1995)
Freak Show (1997)
Neon Ballroom (1999)
Diorama (2002)
Young Modern (2007)

Official Website: www.chairpage.com

**wikipedia.org

Plain White T's

Plain White T's is a pop-punk/pop rock band from Villa Park, Illinois, that has released four full-length albums: Come on Over (2001), Stop (2002 Fearless Records), All That We Needed (2005 Fearless Records) and Every Second Counts (2006 Hollywood Records/Fearless Records). Currently on a summer tour, they are best known for their song "Hey There Delilah", which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of July 28, 2007. In 2007, the band appeared in the third episode of the first season of ABC Family's Greek performing the songs "Our Time Now" and "Hey There Delilah".

Discography

Albums
Come On Over (2000)
Stop (2002)
All That We Needed (2005)
Every Second Counts (2006)

EPs
Hey There Delilah EP (2006)

Compilation appearances
"Bruises", from Oil: Chicago Punk Refined
"Song 2" (Blur cover), on the album Punk Goes '90s
"Season of a Lifetime", on the album Taste Of Christmas
"It's So Easy", on the album Sound of Superman

Official Website: www.plainwhitets.com

**wikipedia.org

Lifehouse

Lifehouse is an alternative rock band from the United States. They came to prominence in 2000 with the hit single "Hanging By A Moment" from their debut album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys for the No.1 Single of 2001. In 2002, they released their follow up album Stanley Climbfall. The band's third album, self-titled Lifehouse, was released in 2005. The band recently released their fourth studio album, Who We Are, on June 19, 2007. The trio consists of Jason Wade, Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. and Bryce Soderberg.

Biography
The group first came together under the name Blyss, and recorded an EP, Diff's Lucky Day, in 1999.

No Name Face

In 2000, Lifehouse entered the recording studio to record their first LP. Five of the twelve tracks from Diff's Lucky Day were remixed and released on No Name Face. Because of his charisma and talent, DreamWorks Records focused their sights solely on frontman Jason Wade, and by the time the debut album was released on October 31, 2000, Wade and Andrade were the only remaining founding members. Shortly after recording the first album, Rick Woolstenhulme replaced Jon Palmer on drums. Lifehouse's international fan base began to grow and while fans of the band considered Wade's lyrics to be deep, questioning, and profoundly spiritual, some found Lifehouse's output to be "drab FM-radio rock."

"Sick Cycle Carousel" was released by the band as the first commercial release single, however it was "Hanging by a Moment" a song written by Bryce Soderberg's on and off again relationship with his girlfriend Valerie Peterson(Pulse Magazine July 02) that affirmed the band a place in musical history, being labeled the "Most Played Song of 2001." "Hanging" was only the third song in chart history, after Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully" in 1965 and Faith Hill's "Breathe" in 2000, to be named the number one song of the year on the Billboard Hot 100 without having reached No. 1 on any weekly Hot 100 survey. The third and final single from No Name Face was "Breathing" which, though performing better than "Sick Cycle Carousel," had far less chart impact than "Hanging by a Moment."

The song "Everything" was also used in both the pilot and first-season finale episodes of the future hit WB drama, Smallville, and would go on to be placed on the series' first soundtrack (Smallville: The Talon Mix). This began the long-standing affair between the band and the series, as Lifehouse would go on to have seven songs played during the series' first four seasons, ending with a live performance in the fourth-season prom episode, and landing yet another song on Smallville: The Metropolis Mix ("You And Me (Wedding Version)").

Stanley Climbfall

Shortly after a long tour for No Name Face, Lifehouse re-entered the studio to cut their second album Stanley Climbfall. Though the album features all original songs with uniqueness and style similar to the first album, its success was shortlived and its singles, "Spin" and "Take Me Away", were vastly overshadowed by the success of the first album and its singles. Shortly after the release of this album, Rick's brother Sean Woolstenhulme (of The Calling) was officially made the fourth member of the band in June of 2002 after touring with Lifehouse.

In April 2004, Sergio Andrade confirmed that he had decided to leave the band to pursue individual projects. Shortly after this, Sean also left the band to pursue other musical projects such as Abandoned Pools and The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex.

Lifehouse

Jason Wade and Rick Woolstenhulme remained the active members of Lifehouse. In late 2004, Bryce Soderberg (previously of AM Radio) signed on as Lifehouse's new bass guitarist. On July 6, 2004, they went to Maryland to begin work on their eponymous third album. Lifehouse was released on March 22, 2005 and was produced by John Alagia.

The album's first single, "You and Me," was released for airplay on January 18, 2005. It was written several years prior and was originally performed by Jason Wade in the 2000 independent film All Over Again. The song also appears on the soundtrack to Smallville. One episode, "Spirit," featured the band actually performing it and three other songs from the album ("Come Back Down", "Blind", and "Undone") on the show. The song has also appeared on Boston Legal and Medium.

The music video for the album's second single, "Blind", was released October 19, 2005. It stars Tina Majorino (most well-known as Deb from the MTV film Napoleon Dynamite) and features several recent thespians, such as Sarch McClain, Stephen Cheung, and Andy Walters.

Who We Are

Their fourth album, entitled Who We Are, was released on June 19, 2007. The album's release was followed by a tour with The Goo Goo Dolls and Colbie Caillat, which began June 15 at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. [1] The album features Wade, Woolstenhulme and Soderberg as its lineup.

The band claims that the album will "rock a little harder" than their self-titled album, Lifehouse.[2]. The album was recorded in Kiefer Sutherland and Jude Cole's recording studio, Ironworks Studios, in Los Angeles.

It has also been confirmed by Rick Woolstenhulme that after their tour with the Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse will go on a "world-wide headlining tour."

The first single to this album was "First Time", released on April 24, 2007. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 48 in May.[3]

"First Time" topped at #3 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Charts. The band announced that "Broken" would be the follow-up single while hosting a segment on Star 98.7 in Los Angeles, back in June 2007. There has been no further confirmation since then.

Official Website: www.lifehousemusic.com

**wikipedia.org

The Fray

The Fray is a four-piece piano rock band from Denver, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King, the band released their debut album How to Save a Life in 2005. The band is best known for the song "How to Save a Life", which charted in the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 and was also a top 5 single in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Fray also found national success with the song "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which became a top ten hit in the United States and Canada. How to Save a Life was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and was also certified platinum in New Zealand and Australia.

Emergence

In the spring of 2002, schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King met in a local guitar center. They soon began regular two-man jam sessions that led to writing songs and developing a style pitched between the arena-friendly style of U2 and the Triple-A rock of bands like Coldplay. Slade and King later added Zach Johnson and Slade's brother Caleb to the band. Caleb was the band's first (and only) bass player but was eventually asked to leave because of his poor bass-playing skills. Caleb's departure from the band caused a rift in his relationship with Issac and this rift later became the inspiration for "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which is about the brothers wanting relationship. Following this, Johnson eventually left the band as well to attend an art school in New York.

Wysocki, a former bandmate of Isaac Slade, then became the drummer for The Fray. Since Caleb's departure, The Fray has not used a bassist on a permanent basis. Later, Welsh, who was another former bandmate of Slade and Wysocki, was added to the band.

The band chose their name "The Fray" from a suggestion bowl that was placed at a graduation party for Caleb Slade. The members of the band first claimed that they found the name suitable because they frequently quarreled over the composition of the lyrics in their songs. However, they have since stated that the band is usually on good terms while composing music, and acknowledges contributions from all of its members.

In 2002, the band released Movement EP, a collection of four songs. Very few copies were pressed, and it is currently unavailable for purchase. The next year, they released Reason EP to some local critical acclaim, particularly by Denver's Westword alternative newsweekly. Despite these rave reviews, the band struggled to launch a single. Denver radio station KTCL rejected eight of their songs before the band decided to submit "Cable Car". The song found airplay on a KTCL radio show highlighting local bands, and the radio station received a large number of requests for it soon thereafter. "Cable Car" eventually became one of the stations top thirty most played songs of 2004, helping the band's popularity to grow locally.

Later that year, the band was voted "Best New Band" by Denver readers of Westword, a popular alternative publication. Epic records found out about the band through Westword's original article, and sparked the interest of A&R man Mike Flynn.[verification needed] Epic Records officially signed the band on December 17, 2004, and released their debut album, How to Save a Life, in September 2005. The band changed the name of "Cable Car" to "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and by the end of 2005, it had become KTCL's most played song of the year. Adding even more fame to the song it was included on the soundtrack for the film Stealth.

In July 2005, The Fray opened for Weezer for ten concerts. At the conclusion of the Weezer tour, the band opened for Ben Folds for twelve shows. The Fray headlined their own tour in January 2006, playing with Mat Kearney and Cary Brothers.

Official Website: www.thefray.net

**wikipedia.org

Goo Goo Dolls

The Goo Goo Dolls, also known as GGD or just Goo, are a pop rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac.

Band Members

John Rzeznik – guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals (1986-present)
Robby Takac – bass, lead vocals, backing vocals (1986-present)
Mike Malinin – drums, percussion (1995-present)

Biography

Origins and Early Music (1986-1993)

The Goo Goo Dolls initially consisted of John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar), Robby Takac (vocals, bass guitar) and George Tutuska (drums). While Takac and Tutuska had been long-time friends in school, Rzeznik was playing in the band The Beaumonts, with Takac’s cousin. The three founded the band under the name Sex Maggots. However, when a club owner booked the band, he requested they change the name, as the local newspaper could not print their current name. The trio picked the current name out of a True Detective newspaper ad for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll. With Takac as their lead singer, the band released their first album, Goo Goo Dolls in 1986 on Mercenary Records, but was picked up in 1987 by Celluloid Records, a larger record company. The band released its second album, Jed, in 1989 after moving to Los Angeles.

The band's third album, Hold Me Up, was released in 1990 and featured Rzeznik as the lead vocalist on five tracks, including the single "There You Are" as well as the current concert favourite Two Days in February. Despite being earlier dismissed as having too similar a sound to The Replacements, as well as being embraced by local college radio and punk scenes, (playing such venues as CBGB) the Goo Goo Dolls' third release had incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop rock, and punk. In 1991, the song "I'm Awake Now" was recorded for the soundtrack of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, the video for which featured a cameo of Robert Englund in character as Freddy Krueger and was played on the major video channels at the time.

Superstar Car Wash was released in 1993 to significant media attention. The critical success and encouraging sales of the last album resulted in a larger budget from Metal Blade Records. The album was partially recorded in Metalworks Studio in Mississuaga, Ontario, which is where Rush had produced multi-platinum albums. The single "We Are the Normal", which Rzeznik wrote with Replacements' frontman Paul Westerberg, received a major push toward college and independent radio, while its video was displayed on MTV's 120 Minutes program. "Fallin' Down" made it onto the soundtrack of Pauly Shore's hit film Son in Law.

Mainstream Breakthrough and Legal Issues (1995-1997)

Shortly after recording the band’s fifth album A Boy Named Goo, George Tutuska was asked to leave the band after Rzeznik questioned his commitment. The band hired Mike Malinin and toured rigorously. The album sold modestly in this time, however it was not until the release of the single "Name" that the band experienced any commercial success. A Boy Named Goo became the first album in Metal Blade history to achieve double-platinum status. The success, however, was bittersweet, as the band found themselves in a legal battle with Metal Blade records. The band filed suit against Metal Blade, claiming they had not earned any royalties from their album’s sales, which was attributed to a "grossly unfair, one-sided and unenforceable contract" which had been signed by the band in 1987. The two sides reached a settlement which had the band signed to the company’s parent company, Warner Bros. Records, under which the band released their sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl, in 1998. The undisputed success of "Name" marked a fundamental change in the band’s sound toward a more polished, commercial direction.

"Iris" and Continued Success (1997-2005)

Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was "Iris", which propelled the band to stardom, as it stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts for 18 weeks, and was nominated for three Grammys that year. According to interviews with Rzeznik, he was experiencing serious bouts of writers' block when he was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and, according to Rzeznik, he was on the verge of quitting the band days before he wrote the song that would launch the band to worldwide fame.

"Iris"'s solo publicity was only achieved by few songs before and little since. The song was included on Dizzy Up the Girl, and was among Top-Ten hits "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Broadway", and "Dizzy" from the same album. The new, polished sound garnered legions of new fans, many of whom had not followed the band before their mainstream success. Most Goo Goo Dolls concerts feature few, if any, songs the band wrote before 1995, reflecting the band’s more mainstream sound. Although the lyrics to "Black Balloon" are vague and unclear, as this is an essential aspect of Rzeznik's style of writing, the song, according to the lead-singer himself, regards drug abuse and the emotional consequences of indulging in them. It is widely believed that the song was written for Robby Takac's wife who was once caught up in drug abuse but who has fully recovered today; both refuse to state who the song is written for or about. In 2001, the Goos released their first ever compilation CD, What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce. Next, Gutterflower (2002)—with dark lyrical undertones from Rzeznik's divorce—achieved platinum certification, producing the hits "Here Is Gone", "Sympathy", and "Big Machine". On July 4, 2004, the band performed a free concert in their hometown of Buffalo, continuing through a deluge of rain that can be seen on the DVD released later that year. The DVD also contained a studio version of the Goo Goo Dolls' cover of "Give a Little Bit" by Supertramp. The single reached the top of the Adult Top 40 chart in 2005.

"Let Love In" Era (2006-present)

In 2006, the Goo Goo Dolls marked their 20th anniversary with their new album Let Love In, which included the studio recording of "Give a Little Bit" as well as other top 10 radio singles "Better Days," "Stay With You," and "Let Love In". With their third consecutive single ("Let Love In") from the album, the Goo Goo Dolls hit a record 12 Top 10 hits in Adult Top 40 history, beating Matchbox Twenty and Sheryl Crow. The Goo Goo Dolls plan to release another single from Let Love In, "Without You Here", as well as a song from this July's Transformers movie called "Before It's Too Late", originally titled "Fiction". To promote the new single, the Goo Goo Dolls performed "Before It's Too Late" at both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 8, 2007, and again at The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on June 22, 2007. In July 2007 the band discussed their career as a whole and gave a live performance on A&E's Private Sessions. Rzeznik has stated that after the release of "Without You Here" and their summer tour with Lifehouse and Colbie Caillat, the band will return to the studio to begin work on their next album, their ninth overall. April 13, 1996 and July 4, 2004 were proclaimed "Goo Goo Dolls Day" in their hometown of Buffalo, New York.

On June 27th 2007 - the GGD performed to a sold-out crowd at Red Rock Ampitheatre in Colorado. The performance premiered on HDNet in high definition (and 5.1 audio) Sunday September 30th at 9pm.

"Greatest Hits" CDs (2007-present)

According to Robby Takac, the band will release a greatest hits album entitled Greatest Hits Volume One: The Singles on November 13th, 2007, and have plans to release a "career retrospective collection" in the near future. The new CD will include a remix of "Feel The Silence" produced by Michael Brauer.


Discography

Studio albums
Goo Goo Dolls, (1986), Celluloid Records
First Release [9], (1987), Metal Blade Records
Jed, (1989), Metal Blade Records
Hold Me Up, (1990), Metal Blade Records
Superstar Car Wash, (1993), Metal Blade Records
A Boy Named Goo, (1995), Metal Blade Records
Dizzy Up The Girl, (1998), Warner Bros. Records
Gutterflower, (2002), Warner Bros. Records
Let Love In, (2006), Warner Bros. Records

Live albums
Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004, (2004), Warner Bros. Records

Compilation albums
What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce, (2001), Warner Bros. Records
Greatest Hits Volume One: The Singles, (2007), Warner Bros. Records
Greatest Hits Volume Two, (2008), Warner Bros. Records

DVDs and Videos
Music in High Places: Live in Alaska, (2003), Image Entertainment
Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004, (2004), Warner Bros. Records
Live and Intimate, (2007), Warner Bros. Records

Official Website: www.googoodolls.com

**wikipedia.org

Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is a rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.

Jars of Clay is Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars. Although the band has no permanent drummer or bassist, Jeremy Lutito and Gabe Ruschival of Disappointed By Candy fill these roles for live concerts. Past tour band members include Aaron Sands, Scott Savage, and Joe Porter. Jars of Clay's style is a blend of alternative rock, folk, acoustic, and R&B.

The band's name is derived from the New International Version's translation of 2 Corinthians 4:7:

“ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ”

This verse is paraphrased in their song "Four Seven," which appears on Frail and as a hidden track on the CD release of their self-titled album.


Band History

Formation

Dan Haseltine, Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell formed Jars of Clay at Greenville College, in Greenville, Illinois in the early 1990s. Pursuing a career in music together was not necessarily their original goal; some of the first songs they wrote together were for music and recording classes they were taking at the time. Their second guitarist Matt Bronleewe joined some time later, and drummer Scott Savage occasionally joined them for some of their early public performances.

In 1994, the band submitted a demo to a talent competition run by the Gospel Music Association and were selected as finalists. They traveled to Nashville to perform and won the contest. Back in Greenville, they self-released a limited-run of the same demo, which they named Frail, after their song of the same name. The buzz from their performance in Nashville and the demo's popularity resulted in offers from record labels, so the band decided to drop school and move to Nashville. At this time, Bronlewee left the band to finish school and settle down with his fiancée. He was replaced with Matt Odmark, Lowell's childhood friend.

1990s

Jars of Clay signed with Essential Records and started recording their first full-length album. Former prog-rocker from King Crimson and recent Christian convert Adrian Belew heard the band and offered to produce, leading to him producing two songs: "Liquid" and "Flood." Their self-titled debut released in 1995. When the single "Flood" began to climb the charts on mainstream radio stations, Silvertone (Essential's parent company) heavily promoted the song, turning it into one of the biggest mainstream hits ever by a band on a Christian label. The album has since reached multi-platinum certification according to RIAA standards.

The band toured in support of other Christian acts, such as PFR, and also with mainstream acts like Matchbox Twenty and Sting. This resulted in a small backlash from conservative Christian groups. They also released a Christmas EP titled Drummer Boy at the end of 1995. The Christmas EP was re-released in 1997 with a slightly different track listing. 1997 also saw the release of their second album, Much Afraid, produced by Stephen Lipson. The album sold well and won them a Grammy. The album was given Platinum certification in 2000.

In 1999, they released their third album, If I Left The Zoo, produced by Dennis Herring. It also earned them their second Grammy. By this time, touring drummer Savage left the band's live performance to play for Jaci Velasquez and was replaced by Joe Porter. A song from If I Left The Zoo, "Unforgetful You", was featured on the soundtrack to the film Drive Me Crazy.

2000s

In 2001 the four members of the band received Honorary Degrees at Greenville College, where three of them had studied before dropping out in 1994 to move to Nashville.

In 2002, the band produced and released their fourth album called The Eleventh Hour which earned the band a Grammy for the third year in a row. Unlike earlier albums, The Eleventh Hour was conceived as a Christian rock album,[citation needed] relying on studio musicians and the band's touring musicians to fill in for the band's lack of drums and bass.

2003 saw the band taking a look back at their career. The double-disc Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage featured an acoustic disc and a live disc. The acoustic disc consisted of reworked The Eleventh Hour songs, rearranged fan favorites, two The Eleventh Hour b-sides, and a cover of Adam Again's "Dig" (intended as a tribute to Gene Eugene, who had died recently). The live disc featured recent concert recordings that included songs from throughout the band's career.

The band continued the more acoustic and organic approach of the Furthermore studio disc on their fifth studio album called Who We Are Instead, released on November 4, 2003. On Who We Are Instead, the band revisited various styles they'd used previously, as well as experimenting with new influences, such as gospel, hymns, and Nickel Creek's "newgrass" style.

In early 2005, the band released Redemption Songs, a collection of hymns and traditional songs. The band wrote new melodies to some old hymns and rearranged the music for several others. "God Will Lift Up Your Head", reworked as an acoustic rocker, was a hit for the band on Christian radio. They also covered five hymns from the Indelible Grace CD series (a series which originated from the work of Reformed University Fellowship).[2] In late 2005, the band announced that the writing for a new album was nearing completion, and that they would be returning to the studio to record the album in the spring. This new project, entitled Good Monsters, was released on September 5, 2006. Backstage at the 2006 GMA Awards, Jars of Clay called it their first ever rock record. In the September 2006 edition of CCM Magazine, the band credited fellow artist Ashley Cleveland with inspiring the improvisational sound of the album. The magazine called it "the most profound album the Christian music community has released in years."

In March of 2007, the band announced at a concert in Des Moines, Iowa that they were no longer on Essential Records, and would be releasing music independently. Later press releases announced the name of their label as Gray Matters, which would be a partnership with Nettwerk Music Group. The band's first release on this label will be a Christmas album to be released October 16, 2007. The band is also planning to record the soundtrack to a documentary about the African village of Lwala. A press release posted on Jesusfreakhideout.com on June 22, 2007 states that the title of the band's upcoming Christmas album will be Christmas Songs. An article posted on MusicTAP.net on July 20, 2007 stated that Essential Records will be releasing a greatest hits album entitled The Essential Jars of Clay on September 4, 2007.


Band Members

-Dan Haseltine – vocals, percussion, melodica
-Charlie Lowell – piano, organ, accordion, keys, background vocals
-Stephen Mason – guitar, vocals, bass, lap and pedal steel, national, mandolin, -background vocals
-Matthew Odmark – acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals


Discography

Jars of Clay (October 24, 1995)
Much Afraid (September 16, 1997)
If I Left the Zoo (November 9, 1999)
The Eleventh Hour (March 5, 2002)
Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage (February 4, 2003)
Who We Are Instead (November 4, 2003)
Redemption Songs (March 22, 2005)
Good Monsters (September 5, 2006)
The Essential Jars of Clay (September 4, 2007)
Live Monsters (September 4, 2007)
Christmas Songs (October 16, 2007)

Official Website: www.jarsofclay.com

**wikipedia.org

Les Miserables

Les Misérables (pronunciation /le mize'ʁaːbl/), colloquially known as Les Mis, is a musical composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg on a libretto by Alain Boublil. Through-sung, it is perhaps the most famous of all French musicals and one of the most performed musicals worldwide. On October 8, 2006, the show celebrated its 21st anniversary and became the longest-running West End musical in history and is still running (though it has changed venues). [1] The musical is based on the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Its Tony award-winning score includes the songs "I Dreamed a Dream," "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "One Day More," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "A Little Fall of Rain," "Master of the House", and "On My Own."

Les Mis tells the stories of multiple characters, including: a paroled convict named Jean Valjean who, failing attempts to find work as an honest man with his yellow ticket of leave, breaks his parole and conceals his identity in order to live his life again; the police inspector Javert, who becomes obsessed with finding Valjean; Fantine, the single mother of Cosette, who is forced to become a prostitute to support her daughter; Marius, a French student who falls in love with Valjean's adopted daughter Cosette; Eponine, the young daughter of the Thénardiers who is hopelessly in love with Marius; the Thénardiers, who own an inn and exploit their customers; and Enjolras and the other students, who are working toward freeing the oppressed lower class of France.

Act I

The curtain rises with Scene 1, showing a French prison in 1815 with its prisoners singing the opening chorus ("Overture/Work Song"). Jean Valjean, the lead protagonist, is released on parole after 19 years for stealing bread to feed his sister's child as well as running from the police. The antagonist policeman Javert gives Valjean a yellow ticket-of-leave that he must display, which condemns him as an outcast. After failed numerous attempts to start anew ("On Parole"), he is finally taken in by the saintly Bishop of Digne, who kindly offers him food and shelter. Valjean, embittered by years of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is quickly caught and brought back by the police; however, the bishop misleads the police (without quite lying to them) to save Valjean. He also gives Valjean two silver candlesticks, asking him to start anew and begin an honest life ("Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven"). Valjean, humbled by the bishop's mercy and kindness, decides to follow the bishop's advice ("What Have I Done? (Valjean's Soliloquy)").

The show then advances eight years—Valjean, having broken his parole and changed his name to Monsieur Madeleine, has risen to become both a factory owner and mayor. It comes to his attention that one of his factory workers, Fantine, has a secret illegitimate child ("At the End of the Day"). When the other women discover this, they demand her dismissal. Valjean brushes off the incident, handing Fantine's fate to the factory foreman, whose advances she had previously rejected, and he throws her out of the factory. Fantine tells her story about the father of her daughter who left them alone ("I Dreamed a Dream").

Desperate for money to pay for medicines for her sick and dying daughter Cosette, Fantine sells her locket, her hair, and then becomes a prostitute ("Lovely Ladies"). Ashamed by her new degrading profession, she refuses and fights with a prospective customer ("Fantine's Arrest"). Fantine is about to be taken to prison by Javert when "the mayor," Valjean, discovers that it was his fault that Fantine is suffering. He demands that she be taken to a hospital instead. Soon after this incident, a runaway cart pins down a local man (Fauchelevant), and Valjean comes to his rescue ("The Runaway Cart"). Javert is reminded of the abnormal strength of convict 24601, Jean Valjean, a parole-breaker he has been tracking for years and whom apparently has just been recaptured. The real Valjean, unable to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, confesses to the court that he is prisoner 24601, showing the convict's brand on his chest as a proof ("Who Am I? (The Trial)").

However, before returning to prison, Valjean returns to Fantine's side and promises the dying Fantine to find and look after her daughter Cosette. ("Come to Me (Fantine's Death)") When Javert arrives to arrest him, Valjean asks for three more days to fetch Cosette, but Javert refuses to believe his honest intentions. While Valjean tries to convince Javert, Javert makes it clear that he does not believe in rehabilitation and reveals he was born inside a jail ("The Confrontation"). The two have a physical confrontation, and Valjean knocks Javert out and escapes.

The scene then shifts to focus on a young Cosette, who has been lodging for the past five years with the Thénardiers. The couple run an inn and horribly abuse the little girl whom they use as a skivvy while indulging their own daughter, Eponine. Cosette dreams of a better life ("Castle on a Cloud"). Madame Thénardier finds her dreaming and sends her to fetch water from a well in the woods, ignoring the little girl's pleas ("Now look who's here"). The inn fills up for the evening, and the Thénardiers sing about how they cheat their customers ("Master of the House"). Valjean finds Cosette fetching water in the dark ("The Well"). He pays the Thénardiers to let him take Cosette away and brings her to Paris ("The Bargain - The Thenardier Waltz of Treachery").

Nine years later, the city breaks out into pandemonium because of the likely demise of a popular leader General Lamarque, the last remaining man in the government who fights for the poor. The urchin Gavroche mingles with the whores and the beggars of the capital ("Look Down"). One of the street gangs is led by Thénardier and his wife, which sets upon Jean Valjean and Cosette ("The Robbery"). Thénardier recognizes Valjean as the man who took Cosette. Valjean and Cosette are rescued by Javert, who does not recognize Valjean until after he makes his escape ("Javert's Intervention"). Javert gazes at the night sky, comparing his relentless hunt of Valjean and justice to the constancy and order of the stars ("The Stars"). Gavroche overhears Javert and reasserts that he is the one who "runs this town." The Thénardiers' daughter Eponine, who is secretly in love with the student Marius, reluctantly agrees to help Marius find Cosette. Marius immediately fell in love with Cosette after bumping into her on the street ("Eponine's Errand").

A shift in scene features a political meeting in a small café where a group of idealistic students gathered to prepare for the revolution they are sure will erupt after the death of General Lamarque ("The ABC Cafe - Red and Black"). Marius comes and is made fun of because of his love for a girl whose name he doesn't even know. When Gavroche brings the news of the General's death, the students, led by Enjolras, stream out into the streets to whip up popular support ("Do You Hear the People Sing?")

Cosette is also consumed by thoughts of Marius, with whom she has fallen in love. Valjean realizes that his daughter is growing up very quickly but refuses to tell her anything of her past or her mother ("Rue Plumet - In My Life"). In spite of her own feelings for Marius, Eponine sadly brings him to Cosette ("A Heart Full of Love") and then prevents an attempt by her father's gang to rob Valjean's house and blackmail Valjean with the knowledge of his past ("The Attack on Rue Plumet"). Valjean, convinced it was Javert who was lurking outside his house, tells Cosette they must prepare to flee the country ("My God, Cosette!"). On the eve of the revolution, the students prepare for the upcoming battle; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever meeting again; Javert decides that he will stay and watch the students fight; Eponine mourns the loss of Marius; and Valjean looks forward to the security of exile. The Thénardiers, meanwhile, dream of rich pickings underground from the chaos to come ("One Day More").

Act II

The students prepare to build the barricade ("Upon These Stones - Building the Barricade"). Meanwhile, Javert is given the task of spying for the government troops. Marius, noticing that Eponine has joined the insurrection, sends her with a letter to Cosette, which is intercepted at the Rue Plumet by Valjean. Eponine decides, despite what he has said to her, to rejoin Marius at the barricade ("On My Own").

The barricade is built ("Upon These Stones - At the Barricade") and the revolutionaries defy an army warning that they must give up or die. Javert comes back ("Javert's Arrival At The Barricade"), telling the students lies about the government's plans. Gavroche exposes Javert as a police spy ("Little People"). When Eponine returns to the barricades, she is fatally shot and peacefully dies in Marius's arms ("A Little Fall of Rain"). Valjean arrives at the barricades in search of Marius. During the following battle ("The First Attack"), he saves Enjolras by shooting a sniper. As a reward, he asks to be the one who shoots Javert, but instead releases him and even gives him his address. The students settle down for a night ("Drink With Me (The Night)") on the barricade, and, in the quiet of the night, Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught that is to come ("Bring Him Home"). The next day, with ammunition running low ("Dawn of Anguish"), Gavroche runs out to collect more and is shot dead by the army ("The Second Attack (The Death of Gavroche)"). The students are attacked again ("The Final Battle"), and everyone is killed except Jean Valjean and Marius.

Valjean escapes through the sewers, carrying a wounded Marius on his back ("The Sewers"). Meanwhile, Thenardier is also in the sewers, stealing valuables off the dead bodies from the battle. He laughs that he's doing a "service to the town" ("Dog Eat Dog"). He also robs Marius as Valjean is resting; he escapes when he sees Valjean waking again. Valjean runs into Javert, who has been waiting for him at the sewer's issue by the Seine. He begs Javert to give him one more hour to bring Marius to a doctor, and Javert reluctantly agrees. After Valjean leaves, Javert realizes Valjean is not purely evil as he always thought. Unable to deal with losing his lifelong view of the world, he commits suicide by throwing himself in the Seine ("Javert's Suicide").

Back on the streets of Paris, several women mourn the deaths of the young students at the barricades ("Turning"). Marius returns to the ABC Cafe, mourning for his friends and lamenting that they will never meet there again ("Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"). Cosette comforts him by telling him that she will never go away ("Every Day") and they reaffirm their love ("A Heart Full of Love - Reprise"). Valjean tells Marius that he is an escaped convict and says he must go away because his presence puts Cosette in danger ("Valjean's Confession"). Valjean makes Marius promise never to tell Cosette. Marius makes only a half-hearted attempt to hold him back.

Marius and Cosette are married ("Wedding Chorale"). The Thenardiers crash the wedding ("Beggars at the Feast"). They tell Marius that Valjean is a murderer, saying they saw him carrying a corpse in the sewers after the barricades fell. When Thénardier shows him the ring he took from the corpse, Marius realizes that the "corpse" was him, and that Valjean saved his life that night.

Meanwhile, the night of the wedding, Valjean prepares for his death. With Cosette gone, he has nothing left to live for. He has written his confession for Cosette to read. Just as the ghosts of Fantine and Eponine arrive to take him to heaven, Cosette and Marius rush in, just in time to bid adieu to Valjean and for Marius to thank him for saving his life. Valjean dies and the ghosts of the dead guide him to paradise with a last reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" ("Finale")

**wikipedia.org

RENT

Rent is a rock musical, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The musical tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Alphabet City in the last days of the Bohemian East Village, under the shadow of AIDS.

Rent, which won an American Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize, was one of the first Broadway musicals to feature gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender characters. In addition, its cast was noticeably ethnically diverse. Rent brought controversial topics to a traditionally conservative medium, and it helped to increase the popularity of musical theater amongst the younger generation. Rent speaks to Generation X the way that the musical Hair spoke to the baby boomers or those who grew up in the 1960s, calling it "a rock opera for our time, a Hair for the 90s."

After previews that began on January 26, 1996, Rent opened in New York City on February 13, 1996, at the New York Theatre Workshop before moving to Broadway, opening at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. The cast album includes both a double-disc "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder and a single-disc "best of" highlights.

Rent has been successful on Broadway, where it had critical acclaim and word-of-mouth popularity. The Original Broadway Cast reunited at the Nederlander Theatre on April 24, 2006, to stage a performance for the rock opera's tenth anniversary. With more than 4,300 performances and still running, it is the seventh-longest-running Broadway show. It became the second-longest-running musical currently on Broadway when Beauty and the Beast ended its run on July 29, 2007. It is still eight years behind The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical in Broadway history, which is still running.

In 2005, the rock opera was also adapted into a full-length motion picture, which features most of the original cast members. Certain plot elements were changed slightly and some of the songs were changed to spoken dialogue, so the movie version is more of a musical film than rock opera.


ACT I

Pre-show, the stage is visible to the audience as stagehands, musicians etc. informally move about the stage, preparing for the performance. The show begins as Mark, a filmmaker and the narrator of the show, begins shooting an unscripted documentary about his friends on Christmas Eve in his loft, turning the camera on his roommate Roger, a songwriter who is picking up his guitar for the first time in a year ("Tune Up #1"). Mark's mother interrupts with a call from the suburbs; she reassures Mark after his girlfriend Maureen dumped him for a woman, and says that his family will miss him at home for Christmas ("Voice Mail #1").

Outside, their friend Tom Collins, a former professor of philosophy, comes to visit them but is jumped by thugs and lies bleeding on the street. Meanwhile, their former pal Benny, who married wealthy Alison Grey of Westport and bought Mark and Roger's apartment building and the lot next door, calls and breaks his promise to let them live in the apartment for free. He asks for the rent, which he knows they do not have ("Tune Up #2"). The power to Mark and Roger's apartment shuts off, and they vent their frustrations about being broke artists unable to pay the rent and unable to find inspiration for their art. Meanwhile, Joanne, a Harvard-educated lawyer and Maureen's new girlfriend, is working on the sound system for Maureen's performance protesting Benny's plan to develop the lot where many homeless people are currently living, when the sound system blows. Maureen calls Mark to fix the sound system for her against Joanne's wishes, and Mark agrees to help against his better judgment. Mark and Roger decide to rebel against Benny and refuse to pay their rent ("Rent").

Back on the street, Angel, a street drummer, spots Collins and comes to his aid; later, they leave the alley together to tend to Collins's wounds ("You Okay Honey"?). They are attracted to one another and quickly discover that they both have AIDS. Meanwhile, Mark asks Roger to join him in finding Collins and then going to dinner in an effort to get him out of the house, but Roger declines. Mark reminds Roger to take his AZT, revealing that Roger is HIV positive. He also reveals that Roger's girlfriend, April, committed suicide after finding out that they were both HIV-positive, probably from using contaminated needles ("Tune Up #3").

After Mark leaves, Roger sings about his desperate need to write one great song to make his mark on the world before he dies of AIDS ("One Song Glory"). He hears a knock on his door and answers it to find Mimi, a nineteen-year-old junkie and S&M dancer at the Cat Scratch Club. She lives in the apartment downstairs and asks Roger to light a candle for her because her electricity and heat have also been shut off. Mimi also needs the candle to prepare her heroin, which she drops inside the loft and then employs as means to flirt with Roger. There is mutual attraction, but Roger is hesitant as this is his first romantic situation since his ex-girlfriend April's death ("Light My Candle") In Maureen and Joanne's loft, Joanne's parents call about law business, but she is not home to hear it ("Voice Mail #2").

Collins finally reaches to Mark and Roger's apartment, bearing gifts. He introduces Angel in full drag flashing a large stack of money. Mark inquires about the money, and Angel explains that a wealthy woman paid him to play her drums outside her neighbor's apartment to drive the yappy Akita (named Evita) that lived there into jumping off a window ledge ("Today 4 U"). The audience finds out later that the Akita belonged to the Greys. Benny arrives and tells Mark and Roger that he will guarantee that they can live in the apartment rent-free if they convince Maureen to cancel her protest ("You'll See"). Mark refuses. After Benny leaves, Angel and Collins invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, a local HIV support group meeting. Roger declines, but Mark assures them he will come after he fixes Maureen's sound equipment.

Mark arrives at the lot and meets Joanne. After initial distrust, they agree that dating Maureen, a self-absorbed flirtatious diva, is like dancing an exasperatingly complicated tango, and the two reluctantly discover that they can be friends ("Tango: Maureen"). After fixing the sound system, Mark joins Collins and Angel at the Life Support meeting, where members share their thoughts and fears about living with AIDS ("Life Support"). Meanwhile, Mimi returns to Roger's apartment and playfully asks him to take her out ("Out Tonight").

Roger is terrified of caring for Mimi because she is a heroin addict, which led to Roger's own HIV infection, and also because he knows he does not have long to live and does not want Mimi to feel the loss he felt for April. Roger yells at her to leave. Mimi gently urges Roger to forget past regrets, saying that there is "no day but today." However, he refuses to listen and drives her out of his apartment ("Another Day"). Roger changes his mind and leaves the loft at last. At the Life Support meeting, everyone sings of the fear and uncertainty in their lives ("Will I?").

After leaving Life Support, the friends save a homeless bag lady from being beaten by a police officer, only to be reprimanded by her for being pretentious artists ("On The Street"). As they walk away contemplating her response, Collins fantasizes about living in an idealized Santa Fe, where the climate and the people are much warmer ("Santa Fe"). Meanwhile, Joanne is getting ready for the protest and her upcoming legal case ("We're Okay"). Mark leaves, promising that he will try to convince Roger to go to Maureen's show. Collins and Angel then sing about their newfound love and officially become a couple ("I'll Cover You"). Roger apologizes to Mimi and invites her to the protest and the dinner party afterwards, and she accepts. Meanwhile, the riot police and Benny prepare for the protest, and Angel buys Collins a new coat ("Christmas Bells").

Everyone attends Maureen's performance, a thinly veiled criticism of Benny through a metaphor involving a cow and a bulldog, cribbing from "Hey Diddle Diddle" ("Over The Moon"). The protest ends in a riot that Mark catches on camera. A local news station purchases his footage. Afterwards, the group goes to the Life Café, where they spot Benny and his investor, Mr. Grey, who is also Benny's father-in-law. Benny criticizes the protest and the group's Bohemian lifestyle, declaring that Bohemia is dead. Mark gets up and delivers a mock eulogy for Bohemia, and all the bohemians in the café rise up and celebrate La Vie Boheme, ("the bohemian life"), joyfully paying tribute to everything they love about life while dancing on the tables.

It is revealed that Benny and Mimi used to be in a relationship that ended three months earlier when Benny confronts Mimi about Roger. Joanne catches Maureen kissing Mark and angrily stalks off ("La Vie Boheme"). Mimi's beeper goes off reminding her to take her AZT, and Roger and Mimi discover that they are both HIV-positive. They talk openly for the first time and despite their uncertainties and fears, they finally take the plunge into starting a relationship ('I Should Tell You"). Joanne comes back to break up with Maureen, and informs everyone that the homeless are refusing to leave the lot despite police presence. This news sparks a new round of joyful revelry ("La Vie Boheme B"). The act closes as Mimi and Roger share a small kiss.

ACT II

The act opens with the cast singing about the various ways one can measure a year, ultimately deciding to measure in love ("Seasons of Love"). Mimi, Mark, and Roger's building has been padlocked as a result of Maureen's protest. On New Year's Eve, Roger, Mark and Mimi try to break into their building. Mimi optimistically makes a New Year's resolution to give up her heroin addiction and go back to school. Joanne and Maureen decide to give their relationship another try, and all the couples are happy together. Collins and Angel make an appearance as James Bond and Pussy Galore, and Angel brings a blowtorch.

Mark, Maureen, and Joanne scale the fire escape and break in through a window, while the others use Angel's blowtorch to break down the door ("Happy New Year A"). Alexi Darling of "Buzzline," a tabloid newsmagazine, had seen Mark's footage of the riot and has left a message on Mark's answering machine offering him a contract ("Voice Mail #3"). All the friends enter the apartment celebrating the new year, but Benny shows up prematurely ending the festivities. Benny asks Mark to film him offering a rent-free contract, but the friends accuse him of trying to get good press. Incensed, Benny maliciously implies that Mimi showed up at his place and "convinced" him to rethink the financial situation, while Mimi denies everything. Roger becomes extremely upset and renounces their relationship, but Angel convinces everyone to calm down and make a New Year's resolution to always remain friends. Roger and Mimi make up, but Mimi is still upset and sneaks off to buy heroin ("Happy New Year B").

On Valentine's Day, Maureen and Joanne have a fight while rehearsing for a new protest, and break up again ("Take Me or Leave Me"). In the spring as everything deteriorates, the cast poses the question, "How do you measure a last year on earth?" ("Seasons of Love B"). Mimi comes home late again after secretly buying drugs, causing Roger to believe that she is cheating on him with Benny. Roger jealously storms out, and Mimi sings about life without him. All the while, Angel's health suffers and Collins tries to nurse him back to health. All the couples reconcile because they realize the emptiness in living alone ("Without You"). Alexi keeps calling Mark to try to convince him to join Buzzline ("Voice Mail #4").

The scene turns to a bed containing all the couples, with the implication that they are all having sex, which quickly transforms into a frustrating and awkward situation for all of them. For Collins and Angel, at this point, the bed turns from a place for sexual contact to a place where Angel becomes bedridden and dies. ("Contact"). Collins is heartbroken, and at Angel's funeral he declares his undying love. The others take part in the funeral, mourning the loss of such a close friend ("I'll Cover You (Reprise)"). Roger reveals that he is leaving New York for Santa Fe, which sparks an argument about commitment between both couples, with Mark and Benny desperately trying to restore calm. Collins arrives and puts everyone to shame, stating "You all said you'd be cool today/So please, for my sake...Angel helped us believe in love/I can't believe you disagree".

Maureen and Joanne make up again, but Mimi leaves with Benny after Roger shuns her. When Roger prepares to leave, he gets into a fight with Mark: Roger accuses Mark of living a fake life by hiding in his work, and Mark accuses Roger of running away because he is afraid of watching Mimi die. When Roger leaves the apartment, he is horrified to find a clearly weak Mimi, who had come to say goodbye, standing outside the door. He realizes that she overheard everything. She is visibly shaken and bids Roger a tearful goodbye, as Roger runs away determined to find his song. Finding a distraught Mimi, Mark suggests that she enroll at a rehabilitation clinic, which Benny offers to pay for ("Goodbye Love"). Mark expresses his fear of being the only one left surviving when the rest of his friends die of AIDS, and finally accepts Alexi's job offer ("Halloween").

In Santa Fe, Roger cannot forget Mimi; back in New York, Mark remembers Angel and his overall joy in life and love. They both suddenly have an artistic epiphany, as Roger finally finds his song in Mimi and Mark finds his film in Angel's memory. Roger returns to New York just in time for Christmas and Mark quits Buzzline to work on his own film. ("What You Own") On Christmas Eve, everyone's parents call to try to find their children but nobody is home ("Voice Mail #5"). Mark is preparing to show his finished documentary. Roger is ecstatic about finding his song. No one, however, has been able to find Mimi. Collins arrives with money, revealing that he rigged a nearby ATM to dispense free cash with the PIN "A-N-G-E-L". Suddenly, Maureen and Joanne arrive, calling for help. They bring in Mimi, who is sick and delirious from living on the streets in the dead of winter. Roger is frantic and Collins calls 9-1-1 but is put on hold. Mimi and Roger finally clear up their misunderstandings, and Mimi tells Roger that she loves him ("Finale A"). Knowing that time is short, Roger asks Mimi to listen to the song that he had been working on all year that was inspired by her ("Your Eyes'). He shortly reprises the beginning of "Another Day" by saying "Who do you think you are?/Leaving me alone with my guitar/Hold on, there's something you should hear/It isn't much, but it took all year."

As he finishes his song to Mimi and finally tells her that he has always loved her, they kiss. Mimi goes limp and Roger, in tears, believes her to be dead. Suddenly Mimi comes back to life, saying that she was heading into a warm, white light and that Angel was there, telling her to turn back and listen to Roger's song. She and Roger embrace, and everyone is touched and relieved as they are reminded of the fleetingness of life and reaffirm that there is "no day but today" ("Finale B"). Then Mark plays the Documentary he has been working on.

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The Apple Tree

The Apple Tree is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith. Each act has its own storyline, but all three are tied together by a common theme (someone who believes that they want something, but once they get what they wanted they realize that it wasn't what they wanted) and common references, such as references to the color brown. The first act is based on Mark Twain's The Diary of Adam and Eve; the second act is based on Frank R. Stockton's The Lady or the Tiger?; the third act is based on Jules Feiffer's Passionella

The musical opened on October 18, 1966, at the Shubert Theatre in New York City and ran for 463 performances, closing on November 25, 1967. It was produced by Stuart Ostrow, directed by Mike Nichols and starred Barbara Harris, Alan Alda, and Larry Blyden. Harris won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The Apple Tree also received several other major Tony nominations: Alda for Best Actor in a Musical, Bock and Harnick for Best Composer and Lyricist, Nichols for Best Direction of a Musical, Lee Theodore for Best Choreography, and the show itself for Best Musical.

The Roundabout Theatre Company mounted a revival that ran from December 14, 2006 until March 11, 2007 with Kristin Chenoweth in Harris' roles, Brian D'Arcy James in Alda's roles and Marc Kudisch in Blyden's. The consensus of reviews was that the playlets themselves are all creaky with age, the music interesting but not inspired, and Chenoweth's performance a marvel and the evening's only important attraction.

This musical is popular for high school productions because of its ease of presentation.

PLOT

In the first story, Adam is awoken to find that he is required to name all of the animals. He names them simply: flyers, swimmers and crawlers. He enjoys being the "sole and single man" on Earth. Then, he meets Eve the "long haired creature" in the garden. Eve greatly enjoys her time "Here in Eden", and begins to name everything with more detailed names: cows, ducks, horses, etc. Adam becomes annoyed with Eve and she hurts his feelings by thinking that she is superior to him. Eve doesn't think that Adam appreciates her and he makes her feel put out, but she begins to have some "Feelings" for him. Adam builds a shelter for himself, but when he sees Eve sitting in the rain he invites her in, where she immediately begins redecorating -- including adding flowers, which Adam hates. Although Adam is annoyed, he too begins to have feelings for "Eve". Adam and Eve get into another argument, this time about cutting the grass around their house. After the fight, Adam storms away and Eve decides to go to a pond, where she thinks that her reflection is someone just like her and that they are best "Friends". Soon, a snake appears. The snake appears to know everything, and tells Eve that she can know everything, too, as long as she eats the apples from the tree over the hill -- the tree that Adam told her was forbidden. The snake tells her that Adam is wrong and that the apples are not "Forbidden Fruit". She eats an apple, but suddenly Adam realizes that something has happened to his "Beautiful, Beautiful World". Once the couple is out of Eden, they become closer. They now need each other more and have come to tolerate each other's weaknesses. Soon, Eve has their first child, Cain, but Adam thinks that "It's a Fish". Eve sings the baby a "Lullaby", and soon they have another son, Abel. After the boys grow up, Cain kills Abel and Eve reflects on her life, including her feelings for Adam. She tells Adam that she wants the two of them to die together, or at least have her die first because she needs him more than he needs her (to which he protests). She then reflects on "What Makes Me Love Him". Eve dies and Adam, who always hated flowers, begins to water her garden, because she loved the flowers so much.

The second story takes place in a somewhat barbaric kingdom. The story is told by a balladeer, who says "I'll Tell You a Truth" about love and jealousy. He introduces us to King Arik and his daughter Princess Barbara, who enter a great banquet ("Make Way") that is being held. They show a traditional trial: the prisoner is put into a large arena with two doors. Behind one door is a beautiful woman -if the prisoner chooses that door, he is innocent and is required to marry the woman. Behind the other door is a ravenous tiger. If the prisoner chooses that door, he is deemed guilty and the tiger will kill him. After the trial, the King's Captain Sanjar enters, after returning from a long battle that they have won. The captain collapses, but the King and his court leave him there and decide to celebrate. A slave, Nadjira, stays behind to comfort him, but Princess Barbara comes back and orders that she leave. We then discover that Barbara and Sanjar are in love, but that because of class no one can know. They discuss their "Forbidden Love" and consider running away to Gaul. They realize that their place is here, and while they are stealing a kiss, King Arik walks in and catches them. King Arik sentences Sanjar to a trial, much to Barbara's dismay. She decides to find out which door the tiger is behind so that Sanjar is not slaughtered. She asks the Royal Tiger Keeper (who is also the balladeer) to tell her which door hides the tiger. He tells her, but first warns her about having the information. She sings to herself, "I've Got What You Want", until she sees Nadjira being led to the arena to hide behind the other door. Barbara had forgotten about this door, but she now realizes that he will have to marry Nadjira if he doesn't chose the door with the "Tiger, Tiger". King Arik, Princess Barbara and their court entourage enter the arena ("Make Way (reprise)") and the court contemplates "Which Door" Sanjar will choose. Sanjar begs Barbara to tell him which door to choose, and hesitating, she points to a door. The balladeer reenters and in the "I'll Tell You a Truth (reprise)", he sings about the pains of jealousy. We never learn which door Barbara chose for Sanjar.

In the final story we are introduced to a chimney sweep, Ella. Ella sings about the perils of being a chimney sweep and how great it would be to be famous ("Oh, to be a Movie Star"). One day, Ella comes home to find that her television is not working. Suddenly her Friendly Neighborhood Godmother appears and grants her the one thing that she wants most in the world. Suddenly, Ella becomes "Gorgeous", however she can only be Passionella from the seven o'clock news until the end of the late late show (7 P.M. until 4 A.M.). She then leaves her house, where the people wonder "Who is She?" A producer signs her to a lifetime contract, and she instantly becomes a star. Men love her and women wish to be exactly like her, but she knows exactly how they feel ("I Know"). Ella is still sad, though. She has fame, beauty and "Wealth", but she wants love. She meets Flip, a famous singer, and falls in love with him, but he rejects her, telling her "You Are Not Real". Because of this, Passionella goes to her producer and tells him that she will retire unless she can play a chimney sweep in her next movie. He agrees, and Passionella wins the Academy Award for her role. Flip presents the award to her, and he realizes that he loves her -- he then proposes. The couple goes home and make love, but they lose track of time, and suddenly it is 4 A.M. Passionella is now Ella, but Flip is no longer Flip, either - he is George L. Brown. They get to know each other's true self and live happily ever after.

**wikipedia.org

Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful '60s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons. Jersey Boys won four 2006 Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical.

Production

The musical opened on Broadway on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre. Directed by Des McAnuff, artistic director at La Jolla Playhouse, the musical uses many of the group's hit songs to tell the turbulent story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' rise to fame. Part concert, part Jukebox musical, Jersey Boys took in over $400,000 at the box office the day after it opened. Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse on October 5, 2004 and ran through Jan. 16, 2005

The first national Jersey Boys tour began on December 10, 2006 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. On May 3, 2007, that tour's run ended in San Francisco to prepare for its Los Angeles premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre. The next day, the second national tour debuted at the Curran and is expected to end its run on Sept. 30, 2007, before transferring for a long run at Chicago's LaSalle Bank Theatre through 2008. Meanwhile the original US Tour continues to make its way across the country.

The musical will make its West End debut at London's Prince Edward Theatre in 2008. Following previews from 28 February, the show will open to the press on 18 March 2008. The creative team will be the same that brought the production to Broadway, however no casting has yet been announced.

An original cast recording was made by Rhino Entertainment Jersey Boys: Original Broadway Cast Recording.

**wikipedia.org

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London on September 20, 1989, closing after 4,264 performances on October 30, 1999. On April 11, 1991, it opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York, and closed on January 28, 2001 after 4,092 performances. The musical represented Schönberg and Boublil's second major success, following Les Misérables in 1980. As of August 2007, Miss Saigon is still the 10th longest-running Broadway musical in musical theatre history.

Miss Saigon is a modern adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting of the plot is relocated to the 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterfly's American Lieutenant and Japanese geisha coupling is replaced by a romance between an American GI and a Vietnamese bar girl.

The show's inspiration was reportedly a photograph, inadvertently found by Schönberg in a magazine. The photo showed a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at a departure gate at Tan Son Nhut Air Base to board a plane headed for the United States of America where her father, an ex-GI, would be in a position to provide a much better life for the child. Schönberg considered this mother's actions for her child to be "The Ultimate Sacrifice," an idea central to the plot of Miss Saigon.

Miss Saigon was part of the major European influence on Broadway in the 1980s, along with the musicals Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables.

ACT I

The story begins in April 1975 in 'Dreamland,' a sleazy Vietnamese club, a few days before the Fall of Saigon, which occurred over the 48 hours of April 29 and April 30. Kim is a seventeen year old who has just been orphaned. It is her first day as a showgirl, and she is greeted by the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese who owns the club. Backstage, all the girls get ready for the night's show and jeer at Kim's naivete as they help her get dressed. ("Overture").

The show starts at the club, and the American Marines and Vietnamese prostitutes party together ("The Heat Is On In Saigon"). The Marines know that they are losing the war and are out to have one last fling before leaving Vietnam. We are introduced to Chris (Sergeant Christopher Scott), a young, disenchanted Marine who is disgusted with the club scene, and his friend John, also a Marine. The girls flaunt themselves at the Marines, competing for the title of "Miss Saigon." The winner will be raffled off to a Marine, and in the prostitutes' minds, taken away to America and a better life. Each prostitute takes a turn raunchily trying to impress the marines, and when Kim takes her turn, her innocence and inexperience catch Chris's eye. Gigi, the sexiest dancer, wins the crown for the evening and begs the marine who won the raffle to take her back to America. He refuses and gets annoyed at her cajoling. The scene freezes as all of the show girls reflect upon their dreams of men who will be good to them, and a better life in America ("Movie In My Mind"). John, noticing Chris' infatuation with Kim, talks to the Engineer and buys the virgin Kim and Chris a room for the night ("The Transaction"). Kim is reluctant and shy in being a prostitute for the first time, but introduces herself to Chris, and they slowdance to a tune on a solo saxophone. Suddenly, Chris brusquely shoves money at her and tells her she doesn't belong in the nightclub. He tells her to leave, but the Engineer interferes, thinking that Chris doesn't like Kim. Chris affirms that he likes her, so Kim silently leads him to her room ("The Dance").

In the middle of the night, Chris watches Kim sleep. Chris has "never once understood" anything in Vietnam, but is completely enchanted with Kim, and asks God why he had to find someone that he would miss right before leaving ("Why God Why?"). When Kim wakes up, Chris tries to give her money but she refuses, telling him that it is her first time sleeping with a man ("This Money's Yours"). Chris does not believe her, and asks to know more. Kim tells him the story of how her parents died. Touched, Chris tells her that she does not need to sell herself at the club, because he wants her to stay with him. Kim is touched and overwhelmed, and the two pledge their love for each other ("Sun and Moon"). Chris calls John ecstatically on the telephone, announcing that he is taking leave to spend time with Kim. John tells him he is crazy and will get himself killed because the Viet Cong are closing in on Saigon. America is in the process of sending people home and retreating before Saigon is captured. Chris begs John to cover for him for a day, and John reluctantly agrees ("The Telephone Song"). Chris meets up with the Engineer for a pre-arranged trade for Kim, but the Engineer tries to weasel an America visa into the deal, as many Vietnamese are trying to escape before the Viet Cong arrive. Chris refuses, and the Engineer agrees (at gunpoint) to the original arrangement for Kim ("The Deal").

The bargirls hold a wedding ceremony for Chris and Kim ("Dju Vui Vai"), with Gigi toasting Kim as the "real" Miss Saigon. During the celebration, Thuy, Kim's cousin and husband by arranged marriage, barges in to rescue her and take her home. He is extremely hurt and angered when he finds her marrying another man ("Thuy's Arrival"). Chris declares "This girl is mine!" and the two men pull out guns and confront each other over Kim. Kim sides with Chris, telling Thuy that their arranged marriage as children is now null because her parents (who promised her to him) are dead. Thuy is furious and curses them all, declaring that all Americans and prostitutes will soon be gone or dead, before storming out. Kim is devastated and believes Chris will leave her. Chris says that he will leave Vietnam, but that he is going to take Kim with him. Chris and Kim cling to each other as they remember the night they met and dance to the same song from the club ("Last Night of The World").

The story moves forward three years to 1978. Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City), where a street festival is taking place to celebrate the third anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam and the defeat of the Americans ("Morning of The Dragon"). Thuy, who is a commissar in the new government, has ordered his soldiers to find the Engineer. We discover that the Engineer is still alive, and is still his corrupt and opportunistic self, despite being "re-educated" by the new Communist regime. Thuy orders the Engineer to find Kim, who disappeared when the Communists shut down the bars, and bring her back to him.

Kim has been left behind by Chris, and has been living in hiding in an impoverished area. She is still completely in love with Chris and fiercely believes that he will come back to Vietnam to rescue her. Simultaneously, we see Chris sleeping in bed with his new American wife, Ellen. Ellen loves Chris deeply, but longs to know about the past that haunts him, as he suddenly sits up in bed shouting Kim's name. Ellen comforts him back to sleep, and the two women both swear their devotion to Chris at opposite ends of the earth ("I Still Believe").

The Engineer locates Kim and brings Thuy to her. Thuy explains that he has searched three years for her, and asks her to come with him and become his wife. She refuses, devoted to Chris in spite of his absence. Kim shocks Thuy by introducing him to Tam, her two-year-old son fathered by Chris. Infuriated, Thuy calls Kim a traitor and Tam an enemy, and tries to kill Tam with a knife. Kim pulls out Chris's gun and is forced to shoot Thuy to protect Tam. Thuy dies, with Kim cradling his body. Kim flees with Tam as the street parade continues outside ("This Is The Hour").

Kim runs to the Engineer and tells him what she has done ("If You Want to Die In Bed", "Kim & Engineer"). The Engineer wants nothing to do with it and refuses to help her, until she reveals that Chris is Tam's father. Enchanted, the Engineer is immediately allured by the boy, whom he views as his passport to the United States. He tells Kim that from now on, he is the boy's uncle, and that he will lead them to Bangkok. Kim swears to Tam that she would sacrifice herself to see him have a better life, and the three set out on a ship with other suffering refugees ("I'd Give My Life for You").

ACT II

1978, Atlanta, Georgia. John now works for an aid organisation whose mission is to connect Bui-Doi (children conceived during the war and left in Vietnam) with their American fathers. In Vietnam, Bui-Doi are subject to prejudice, easily identifiable by their Amerasian faces. John is speaking at a conference, in which he and other veterans plead with their audience to do their obligation as fathers and give aid ("Bui Doi"). After the presentation, John pulls Chris aside, claiming he has important news. John tells Chris that Kim is still alive, which Chris is relieved to hear after years of having nightmares of her dying. However, John goes on to tell Chris about Tam, which is less joyous news as it complicates Chris's current situation— his wife Ellen doesn't know about Kim. John urges Chris to go to Bangkok with Ellen to meet with Kim, and Chris resolves to finally tell Ellen about Kim before leaving ("The Revelation").

1978, Bangkok. The Engineer has been reduced to working as a hustler enticing tourists to enter sleazy clubs, where Kim works as a dancer ("What A Waste"). Chris, Ellen and John have all traveled to Bangkok in search of Kim. John walks into the club, and is reunited with Kim and the Engineer. Kim is stunned to see John and is thrilled to hear that Chris is in Bangkok. John attempts to gently break it to Kim that Chris is remarried, but before he can get the truth out, Kim interrupts, saying that she already knows the story and to take her to America with Chris. John marvels at Kim's absolute faith in Chris and doesn't have the heart to break the devastating news to her. He promises to bring Chris to her ("Please").

While John goes to bring Chris to Kim, the Engineer tells Kim to go find Chris herself because he doesn't trust that Chris will really come ("Chris Is Here"). As Kim prepares to find Chris, she is haunted by the ghost of Thuy. Thuy taunts Kim, claiming that Chris will betray her like he did the night Saigon fell. Kim suffers an intense, horrible flashback to that night ("Kim's Nightmare").

1975, Saigon. Chris and Kim have made plans to escape Vietnam together as the Viet Cong approach and Saigon becomes increasingly chaotic. Chris is called to work at the embassy and Kim wants to go with him, but he leaves his gun with her and tells her to pack first, reassuring her that they have plenty of time before they have to leave. Almost immediately after Chris enters the embassy, the gates are closed. Orders from Washington are for a total and complete evacuation of the remaining Americans. The Ambassador orders that no more Vietnamese are allowed into the Embassy. Aware of the situation, Kim reaches the gates of the Embassy, but she is only one of an entire mob of terrified Vietnamese trying to bribe, cajole, and climb their way in. Meanwhile, Chris unsuccessfully tries to call Kim at her room, and is about to go out into the hysterical crowd to look for her. The Americans refuse to let Chris out and John is eventually forced to punch Chris in the face to stop him from leaving. Chris gets into the last helicopter leaving Saigon as Kim watches from behind the gate. Devastated, Kim pledges her love to Chris against all odds. The helicopter takes off with Chris screaming Kim's name.

1978, Bangkok. Kim finds herself back in her room after her flashback, and joyfully dresses in the wedding clothes she was wearing when she and Chris wed ("Sun and Moon: Reprise"). Kim goes to Chris's hotel room, but finds only a woman there when she enters; it is Ellen. Ellen is mortified when she realizes that the woman is Kim, and is forced to tell Kim that she is Chris's wife. Kim is shocked and heartbroken, and refuses to believe Ellen's assertion. Her dreams for Tam's new life in America are shattered when Ellen refuses to take Tam to the U.S., saying that Tam needs his original mother, and more importantly because Ellen wants her own life and children with Chris. Infuriated and in denial, Kim demands that Chris must come tell her these things to her face ("Room 317"). Ellen is very upset after the confrontation; she thought that Kim was just a short meaningless fling for Chris, and comes to realize that he lied to her. She feels bad for Kim, but expresses that she loves Chris and will fight to keep him ("Now That I've Seen Her"). Chris returns to the room with John, having not found Kim, and is horrified when Ellen tells him of the angry encounter with Kim. Ellen accuses Chris of not telling her the truth and doubts his love for her. She issues an ultimatum: Kim or her. Chris reassures Ellen that he loves her and tearfully tells her of his experience in Vietnam. They pledge their love for each other, and because Ellen does not want Kim in the US, they decide to leave Tam and Kim in Bangkok and offer them monetary support from America, patronizingly rationalizing that Kim "is smart, she'll understand" ("The Confrontation"). John, however, warns that Kim will not find it acceptable to have Tam stay in Thailand. The Engineer, who still sees Tam as his ticket to the U.S., dreams extravagantly of the new life he will lead in America. He, Chris, John, and Ellen all go to Kim's room to find her ("The American Dream").

In her room, Kim tells Tam that he should be happy because he now has a father. She tells Tam not to forget her, and that she will be watching over him. Seeing Chris, Ellen, John and the Engineer approaching from a distance, she says goodbye to Tam and kisses him on the forehead. She goes behind a curtain and shoots herself. Chris, Ellen, the Engineer, and John all rush into the room at the sound of the gunshot and find Kim mortally wounded on the floor. Chris runs to Kim and holds her in his arms. Heartbroken, he asks Kim why she has shot herself, and she explains that the gods have guided him to his son. Chris begs her not to die, but she merely asks him to hold her one last time, while the theme from "Sun and Moon" plays in the background. With her last breath, she echoes a phrase uttered earlier when they first fell in love: "How in one night have we come so far?" As the others watch in horror, Kim dies in Chris's arms. As Chris sobs, Ellen kneels down and opens her arms to Tam ("Finale"), so Kim's sacrifice is not in vain.

**wikipedia.org