well, That's Show Biz, 12-01-2024 3-34 Day Without Art Day

Day Without Art Day

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

12-01-2024

• You are listening to [Station ID].

• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and every week I bring you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and commentary all based on a theme.

• Today’s show will be very emotional. December 1st is the Day Without Art Day which coincides with World AIDS Day. AIDS first appeared in the US in the late 1970s. Anyone could get it but, in the United States, it hit the gay community the hardest. And since the arts world was a haven for the gay community, a place where they could be open and live their authentic lives, the arts world was particularly hit hard by the disease. Hence, the Day Without Art Day.

• Though there were thousands of young artists and performers that were struck down with AIDS, we are going to honor them all by showcasing a few.

• Howard Ashman was the lyricist to Alan Menken’s music. He passed away from AIDS in 1991 at the age of 40 but left us a wonderful legacy. From the Disney animated film musical, Aladdin, we are going to hear “A Whole New World”. Then, Larry Kert, the original Tony from West Side Story, also passed away from AIDS in 1991 at the age of 60. We will hear him singing “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story.  Peter Allen passed away from AIDS in 1992 at the age of 48. We will hear him singing “All I Wanted Was the Dream”, originally from his musical, Legs Diamond. This version is from his concert at Carnegie Hall. And to close out the set, Freddie Mercury, of the rock band Queen, passed away from AIDS in 1991, (see the pattern?), at the age of 45. His song “Don’t Stop Me Now” was used during a hilarious scene in the horror comedy Sean Of The Dead. Here is “A Whole New World” from Aladdin.

• It is Day Without Art Day and World AIDS Day and you just heard “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, lyrics by Howard Ashman, Larry Kert singing “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story, Peter Allen singing “All I Wanted Was the Dream” originally from his musical Legs Diamond, and Freddie Mercury and Queen singing “Don’t Stop Me Now” that was featured in the horror comedy Sean Of the Dead.

• We open set two with another of Howard Ashman’s songs, this time, “Kiss the Girl”, from the Disney Animated film The Little Mermaid. Rock Hudson was a huge movie star who went to great lengths to keep his homosexuality a secret. He passed away from AIDS in 1985 at the age of 59. His first collaboration with Doris Day was the comedy Pillow Talk. In his memory, we will hear Doris Day singing the title song. You might not know the name Leonard Frey who passed away from AIDS in 1988 at the age of 49. Here he is as Motel the tailor singing “Miracle of Miracles” from the film version of Fiddler On The Roof. Anthony Perkins, of Psycho fame, passed away from AIDS in 1992 at the age of 60. Here he is singing “Never Will I Marry” from the musical Greenwillow. And we will close out the set with another of Howard Ashman’s songs, “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors. Here’s “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid.

• You just heard “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid, lyrics by Howard Ashman, Doris Day singing Pillow Talk, the title song from the first movie that teamed her with Rock Hudson, Leonard Frey singing “Miracle of Miracles” from Fiddler On The Roof. Anthony Perkins singing “Never Will I Marry” from Greenwillow, and we finished with another Howard Ashman song, “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors as we remember artists who passed away from AIDS today on World AIDS Day.

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” on [Station ID].

• Today is the Day Without Art Day which coincides with World AIDS Day and we are listening to artists that were silenced by AIDS.

• We are going to open our third set with another Howard Ashman show. We are going to hear the opening number “Belle” from the Disney animated film Beauty and The Beast. Although Michael Jeter was HIV+, he remained healthy for many years and passed away from an epileptic seizure in 2003 at the age of 50. Here he is singing “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid”, originally from Forum, at a 1996 benefit concert honoring Stephen Sondheim. Michael Bennett was a Tony Award winning choreographer and director who died of AIDS in 1987 at the age of 44. We are going to hear Priscilla Lopez sing “What I Did for Love” from the show he created, A Chorus Line. Here is “Belle” from Beauty and The Beast.

• It is World AIDS Day and you just heard “Belle” from Beauty and The Beast, lyrics by Howard Ashman, Michael Jeter singing “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from Forum, and “What I Did For Love” from the Michael Bennett creation A Chorus Line.

• Closing out the Day Without Art Day, we will hear two anthems dedicated to those who passed due to AIDS. The first, “Love Don’t Need a Reason” by Peter Allen and the second “The Last Song” by Elton John. This song was used at the end of the movie And The Band Played On, a movie about the history of the AIDS crisis. During the song we get to see a montage of famous people who died from AIDS. And we will end on a hopeful note with the reprise of the song “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park with George which highlights the importance and beauty of art. Here’s Peter Allen and “Love Don’t Need a Reason”.

• We just heard the AIDS anthems, “Love Don’t Need a Reason” by Peter Allen and “The Last Song” by Elton John and we concluded with “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park With George on this Day Without Art Day and World AIDS Day.

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