Chrono Walk–started in 1903
A number of folks have been asking for some explanation–just what have we been doing in the last few weeks? When asked, we respond by saying that if we knew, we would tell you.
That is a sad but true admission. We don’t yet know; we don’t yet have a playbook. All of social media is new, and everyone is trying to understand how to move beyond the superficial use of sites such as FB into a fuller use of the page. The only way to get a better understanding is by experimentation. So, here is the current plan:
1. We are going to use Spotify whenever we can give you a good part of a score of a show, number by number; we will do this so that you can create your own library from the posts on your Spotify playlists (remember Spotify is audio only; when we have video, we will use youtube).
2. When we post using Spotify, we will repost a second time to give you a youtube version so that those who don’t want to create a library can listen to the number.
3. We will use direct posts on FB when we are just sharing some music and a mild dose of written explanation. When we want to write something that we feel is significant and ought to be saved, we will auto-post the material from our website to the FB page, and all you need to do after the FB tease is to click on the link to go to our website. We don’t monitor you when you go to our website or collect data about you–mainly because we don’t know how.
4. When we are going through a lot of shows at a full gallop, we will post short essays every day of the work week, Monday-Friday.
5. When we get to some serious material, we may post every week day or just Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Right now, we are moving chronologically; we started in 1903 and have managed to get to 1915. We are trying to give you the mix of composers and shows on Broadway each year to give you a better idea of what was happening, just as though you had opened the newspaper and were reading the Theater Section in 1915. As we encounter new composers, we will copy in the composer’s biography from our website (creative personnel/composers). We will cover new concepts in composition, such as Kern’s “They Didn’t Believe Me,” and we will cover as much music as we can find for major scores, such as we did with Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts.
Our goal is to find ways to put you back in time, take you to Broadway through our posts and try to give you the feeling that you were in the audience on opening night. While we know our limitations and we know that you will have to use your imagination (A LOT!), we also know that it is more exciting to be uncovering new composers and new songs in chronological order than if we just give you lists of composers and lists of songs.
Quite honestly, we get bored when we have to slog through a bunch of lists. We think historical context is more exciting; and here is how we know that. We have become more interested in writing these posts when we explore the time line of composition; we are enjoying this more than ever. And we just hope and pray that you are enjoying it too.
One last point that we would like to make or at least share with you. In the last few weeks, we have been receiving some wonderful comments from visitors to the page; people from all over the world have been sharing incredible stories with us. We hope you are reading the comments and our replies, because quite often we cover new ground in our replies. This is because your comments spark us to add new insights, especially if our research provides us with additional material that is too voluminous to include in the initial post.
This is getting too long, so let’s stop here. Tomorrow, we will start our chronological journey with Jerome Kern’s show from April 1915 (no memorable music) and trace the shows that were opening on Broadway until we get to one that has some really good music.
See you tomorrow!