Michael Valenti - didn't he also compose the score to Oh Brother! ?
Sure did. The word-of-mouth on that show was fantastic, it's one of the best scores of the 1980s, and it died on Broadway in one night. I couldn't wait to see it and it closed. There were also great word-of-mouth and reviews for Colombeand it couldn't get support to move it.
Michael's been a friend for a long time and I'm a huge supporter of his music.
Theatres should be looking at his wonderful revue, Lovesong.
I've got "Oh, Brother!" on CD and Lovesong on vinyl, but I've not heard of Blood Red Roses before. What's it about?
It was supposed to open off-Broadway, I believe, but they couldn't get a theatre, so they opened at the small Golden Theatre. It was an Brechtian, anti-Vietnam musical about two privates going through the the brutality and horror of the Crimean War and the notorious Charge of the Light Brigade.
Jeanie Carson played all of the women's roles: Queen Victoria, Florence Nightingale, a music hall singer, a whore, possibly more; her standby was Frances Sternhagen. I should call her about it. TJohn Lewin, the playwright/lyricist was a member of the Guthrie Theatre and had written several adaptations for the Minneapolis company. He died in Minneaplis several years ago at age 74.