10 MUSICALS/SONG-CYCLES: The Lesser Known Gems

****WARNING**** I finished this while I was at work and didn’t realize until after how the formatting was all at of whack PLUS the video links I provided only seem to show up when you view it on a desktop or in “web version” mode. So for now, please ignore the weird formatting glitches and the obvious lack of videos. Thanks!****

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With the theatre scene starting to gradually open here in New York, I thought this would be a good time to take a step back from my series of posts regarding films and delve into another world that takes up a large portion of my life: musical theatre.

I think I don't talk about musicals much anymore because I am often left indifferent or cold to a lot of the musicals that have been coming out in recent years. We see a small sprinkle of originality here and there but I still think the Broadway scene is being dominated by jukebox musicals or...as the latest trend seems to suggest...the biopic jukebox musical.

Even a musical like The Band's Visit is technically part of the whole "movie-to-musical" trend but I feel like its pedigree and concept helped make it fall into a more prestigious group.

I talked about my favorite musicals on my old blog and I think I will redo my list here...but instead I am taking a detour and felt that it might be fun to do something different.

I feel certain musicals tend to fade over time and that without a revival, it may not be easy for these shows to gain new audiences or fans if they don't come across a cast recording.

My desire with this post is to come up with 10 musicals/song cycles/revues that I am fond of that don't always get the attention they deserve. This isn't necessarily to say that I would rank them on my personal top 10 list of favorite musicals but they are strong pieces of work in various ways.

I will not be ranking these either. Instead, this will just be a list in alphabetical order...and my hope is that maybe some of you will end up seeking these out. 

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Baby (1983)

Book by Sybille Pearson/Music by David Shire/Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr.

In a Broadway season that contained La Cage aux Folles and Sunday in the Park with George battling it out for the spotlight and the awards, it was bound that a little musical like Baby would end up fading away...especially when most of the tourists were still going to see A Chorus Line and Cats. 

Baby tells the story of three couples who discover they are now expecting a child: one is a young couple who are still in college; the second is a couple in their 30s who had been trying for a while to conceive; and the third is a couple in their 40s who are approaching their twilight years. 

The musical also does take a rather bold approach at discussing abortion and miscarriages...or at least as bold as a musical written in 1980s Reagan-ized Amercia can muster. I appreciate that the writing team didn't just focus on the joy of pregnancy but how it may not always be what someone even wants or how it could lead to tragedy.

The musical has managed to find a bit of new life if only for the legend of the original actress who first performed the role of Lizzie: the luminous Liz Callaway. Her performance of the Act One closer "The Story Goes On" is a classic and a song I have heard many young girls tackling at auditions. 

I can understand why it is a beloved song...but I wish the musical, as a whole, got more attention.

One other song I really like from the score is Todd Graff as Danny singing "I Chose Right" which is the lead-in song to Callaway's "The Story Goes On".

Liz Callaway sings "The Story Goes On" on Merv Griffin

Todd Graff sings "I Chose Right" from the OBC of Baby

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December Songs (1991)

Conceived by Maury Yeston

As quite possibly one of the more prolific theatre composers to have come out in the last 40 years, Maury Yeston burst onto the scene in 1982 having composed the score to the musical Nine and winning his first of two Tony Awards in the process.

Yeston has given us some of the most beautiful melodies in musical theatre in the last couple of decades such as "Unusual Way" from Nine, "New Words" from In the Beginning, "Love Can't Happen" from Grand Hotel, "No Moon" from Titanic, and pretty much the entire song cycle that is December Songs.

I mentioned in my intro that this list would also include song cycles which could also be referred to as a revue, but song cycle is a better term as they typically stick to a firm theme and story while also not containing any dialogue...and if so, it is kept at an extreme minimum.

December Songs is the finest work that Maury Yeston ever composed and I distinctly remember as a young boy hearing the original interpreter of the songs, Andrea Marcovicci, sing selections for a filmed concert on PBS. 

Yeston had been commissioned to write the piece for the centennial celebration of Carnegie Hall and he settled on doing something of a reworking of Schubert's Winterreise. Both pieces deal with a person taking a lonely walk in the snow while reminiscing over a lost love, but while the former involves a man descending into madness, Yeston has a young woman walk through snowy Central Park as she seeks to find some form of hope and recovery.

My favorite selection from the piece is I Had A Dream About You, which I actually sang for a cabaret once several years ago. I still think it might be one of the better melodies that Yeston ever wrote.

Below is a recording of the song performed by Laura Osnes for an album she made covering Yeston's work. This album, produced by my friend Tommy Krasker, is an excellent listen and I hope you will check out the album in full. PS Classics always gives us primo work on their recordings.

It won't let me embed a link, so feel free to check out the song at the hyperlink below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke74OqNc0ck

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I Love You Because

Music by Joshua Salzman/Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham

    I Love You Because began its life at NYU where Salzman and Cunningham met...and the basis for the musical was Pride & Prejudice but with the genders reversed.

It also must be said that this is the only musical on this list in which I actually starred in a production of it. I played the lead role of Austin Bennett, and for further proof, here is a pic below:

My character was just told that Billy Joel might go back on tour. 

So, Austin is an uptight conservative man who works as a greeting card writer...something that he considers himself to be "a master" at.

One night as he preps for a glorious date with his girlfriend Catherine, he discovers her with another man and thus falls apart.

He soon comes into the orbit of Marcy, a rather eccentric woman who is free of any pretention. The two are not a match at first glance, but that is perfect for Marcy as her friend Diana has convinced her that in order to find Mr. Right...she needs to find Mr. Wrong first to get the whole rebound concept out of the way. 

As this goes on, Diana ends up developing a friends with benefits style relationship with Austin's older brother Jeff...which leads to complicated feelings for them as well.

I Love You Because is a musical that manages to be both cutesy and rather cynical all at once. The final message of the musical shows that opposites not only attract, but they can also help you overcome things about yourself that may need fixing.

Austin, as a character, really needed to lighten up. Marcy, as a character, needed a little more structure. They fell in love because of who they were and not in spite of it.

             The titular finale of I Love You Because.

This is professionally filmed footage of the Off-Broadway Production featuring Farah Alvin, Colin Hanlon, Stephane D'Abruzzio, and David Austin

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A Man of No Importance

Book by Terrence McNally/Music by Stephen Flaherty/Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

The writing duo of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens have had something of a rather eclectic career. They first made a name of themselves writing the Caribbean-infused score to Once On This Island and then made a splash in Hollywood writing the score to the animated classic Anastasia. In 1998, their magnum opus Ragtime opened on Broadway only for them to hit a rather infamous roadblock with the premiere of their Seussical: The Musical in 2000. 

Coming out of that process led to them adapting a little seen 1994 Irish film called A Man of No Importance, which is some of the best work Ahrens & Flaherty ever developed.

The piece goes into the story of a closeted homosexual named Alfred, who is a bus conductor in 1963 Dublin. His main passion is putting up amateur theatre productions, particularly the works of Oscar Wilde. His amateur theatre group faces opposition from the church he wants to stage Wilde's Salome in and during this process, Alfred's closeted desires are awakened by a young man he meets a younger man named Robbie whom he desperately wants to play his leading man.

I think that as a complete work, A Man of No Importance does represent some of the finest material that not just Ahrens & Flaherty wrote but also for Book writer Terrence McNally.

Below is a link to the powerful Steven Pasquale singing what might be the best and most known song from the show: "The Streets of Dublin".

       Steven Pasquale performs "The Streets of Dublin"

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A New Brain

Conceived by William Finn & James Lapine

I debated putting this one on here because I feel like a lot of theatre people are very aware of it, especially in recent years with the Encores production starring the very popular and beloved Jonathan Groff.

In the end though, this is a musical that never went to Broadway nor is William Finn a composer who is as big a name as the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, or Stephen Schwartz.

A New Brain was based around an event that actually occurred to composer William Finn as he suffered from an Arteriovenous malformation and despite facing death, he ended up recovering and began writing songs that would become focal to A New Brain while still in the hospital.

His stage alter-ego, Gordon Schwinn, is out to lunch with a friend when he clutches his head in pain and collapses into his food. While in the hospital, he desperately wants to find a way to live as he hopes to complete the score he seeks to compose.

A New Brain is about the healing power of music and how much it can affect us on a deep level. 

One of the most simplistically beautiful songs I have heard from a musical has to be "I'd Rather Be Sailing" which is sung by Gordon's partner Roger. 

Here is Norm Lewis singing the song on the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording, featuring snippets of Malcolm Gets as Gordon.

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Miss Gulch Returns

Conceived by Fred Barton

If there was ever a cabaret act I would dream of taking on, it is Miss Gulch Returns...and believe me, I have tried contacting Fred Barton to do it but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

The concept of this act is that Miss Gulch, the character from The Wizard of Oz that tries to take Toto the dog, is explaining her backstory and why she is the way she is...while also expressing her sexual frustrations until she may have finally found the right man.

As played by Barton in drag, the existing audio recording was done live at a 1984 performance (I want to say it was at Don't Tell Mamas but don't quote me on that) and it is an absolute campy delight.

As someone who loves the legend of Judy Garland, I love how Barton incorporates that legend into the piece and how it affects Miss Gulch...and I think the remarkable thing about the songs he composed are that they have that catchy Tin Pan Alley/Cabaret style but the lyrical play is wicked smart (pardon the pun). 

I would go as far as to say one of my favorite rhymes I've ever heard comes from Miss Gulch Returns, which occurs in the reprise of what may be the most well known song: "Pour Me a Man".

What good is vodka?

I've been drinking eight bottles a week.

Can Vodka beat

a bod complete

with God-like physique.

Talk about a line that just hits so perfectly!

The piece is often riotously funny but it isn't without pathos. I would say the song "Everyone Worth Taking" is rather melancholy even if it does have its own share of humorous lines.

Here is actual video from one of the performances Barton did at Don't Tell Mama back in May 1984. The song, "I'm a Bitch", is supposed to be Miss Gulch's cut song from The Wizard of Oz.

       Fred Barton as Miss Gulch sings "I'm a Bitch"

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See What I Wanna See

Conceived by Michael John LaChiusa

Writer/Composer Michael John LaChiusa is one of those theatre artists that I feel can be very dark and relentless and abstract with his work...and yet, he always seems to manage to be right on the fringe of the mainstream Broadway scene. In 2000, he managed to get his works Marie Christine and The Wild Party onto Broadway though both were relatively short-lived.

 I feel like a lot of his musicals could be featured on a list such as this. In fact, I almost chose his musical Hello Again but considering the fact it recently got an indie film adaptation, I went for an offering that hasn't had such a luxury...and I doubt ever will.

See What I Wanna See is a musical based on three short stories by Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa but modernized and condensed into two acts. Act 1 centers around characters involved in a 1951 Central Park murder while Act 2 centers on a priest who tries to fight his wavering faith by creating a miracle hoax.

    The first official production was done off-Broadway at The Public Theatre and it actually contains a performance by Idina Menzel that might be her best in terms of acting and vocals. 

Still though, it is the themes and the rather intricate and abstract music that only LaChiusa can provide that make this one of those musicals that will probably divide a lot of people in the end. 

Below is the title number performed by Ms. Menzel.

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Starting Here, Starting Now

Conceived by David Shire & Richard Maltby Jr.

I feel like Starting Here, Starting Now is one of those shows where I cannot remember where I was when I first listened to it. If anything, I feel like it has just always been there.

As another song-cycle/revue entry on this list, this two-act piece features a cast of three (two women and a man) and an orchestra of three. 

Act One is goes into all of the emotions that one might face when trying to find love while in the city and then Act Two takes on the approach of people who recently got their heartbroken and might be finding love again.

Starting Here, Starting Now is a production I have always wanted to do and yet I have never seen any theatre company put up an audition notice for it....and with my burning desire to get back into performing again, I sort of want to will it into the universe that somewhere in the NY Metro area will do it.

I also pushed a lot of the score in my college Musical Theatre Voice classes as I felt the songs for the women were great from a character standpoint while also showing off eclectic vocal ranges and having the added benefit of not being as well known which comes in handy for auditions.

In terms of songs, "I Think I May Want to Remember Today", a duet between the two ladies, might be my favorite selection from the piece.

Much like the December Songs link, I wasn't able to embed it onto this page so I will post the direct link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juq5gmmKhF0

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Tell Me On A Sunday (Song & Dance)

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber/Lyrics by Don Black

It is easy to bash Andrew Lloyd Webber...and I am guilty of doing it often. The quality of his work in the last 30 years has been mostly laughable and banal...but I can acknowledge when he writes music that I enjoy listening to.

While I tend to love a lot of what he composed for Evita and certain songs from Jesus Christ Superstar and Aspects of Love, I actually really quite love his late 70s/easy listening-imbued score from Tell Me On A Sunday...or as it was known when it premiered on Broadway: Song & Dance.

The original version was performed at both ALW's Sydmonton Festival and as filmed BBC production with actress Marti Webb performing the role of "The Girl" who would become known as Emma in the American version...I will call her Emma as well.

Emma is a young British woman who migrates to NYC in search of love while also working as a hat designer. A lot of the material is about her quest for love, the frustrations of dating, and often writing letters to her family back in England.

The simplicity of the material sort of keeps ALW at bay and also allows the performer portraying Emma to run the gamut of emotions.

Aside from the titular song, the score gave us the classic "Unexpected Song" along with one of my personal favorites: "Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes".

The musical is notable for finally winning Bernadette Peters her first Tony Award after she got royally robbed for Sunday in the Park with George. I am not sure the role works best for her, but she at least provides it with a vulnerable gusto that only Ms. Peters can provide.

Bernadette Peters, in concert, sings "Unexpected Song" from Tell Me On a Sunday/Song & Dance

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{title of show}

Book by Hunter Bell/Music & Lyrics by Jeff Bowen

When it comes to musicals that represent a certain level of fanaticism for the art form, I don't think you can really look further that [title of show], which was dubbed by its creators and stars (Jeff Bowen & Hunter Bell) as being "a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical".

This is a musical that didn't cater to your aunt who lives in Duluth, but rather those of us who might've been listening to the cast recording of Hallelujah Baby when we were 12 because we loved the voice of Leslie Uggams. 

Instead of going into a lot of the details with the plot, I am instead going to link up a video that the team of the show made and posted to YouTube back when it was still a relatively new site.

Filmed in the style of those cheesy informational videos that I often had to sit through back in the 90s, I still think this is one of my favorite videos I have seen on there.

It will tell you everything you need to know about this "original musical".

What is [title of show]?

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IN CONCLUSION:

So, what ones have you heard of or perhaps actually have listened to or seen performed? Maybe you have even performed one of the songs or played one of the roles yourself.

I feel like I have neglected the theatre side of me for far too long. A lot of it had to do with sort of a perverse coping mechanism as I had to rely a lot on finding a survival job and then build up my time at that job so that I can make a good salary. 

The downside is that I felt a little trapped in terms of being able to not audition or even see shows as much as I would've liked. Then, in 2020, I had hoped to finally make some changes and restart that aspect of my life...and then we got treated to a pandemic...

My hope is that 2022 will become the year that I can start resuming auditioning again...and I also hope to discuss more theatre on my blog as well. I know that, perhaps, the audience will be more limited as opposed to when I discuss movies and television but hey...it's my blog!

 

A Look Back at Season 4 of THE SIMPSONS (w/top 10 list)

A season like Season 4 of The Simpsons sort of has me on the fence.

On one hand, this particular season has more episodes that would make my top 10 list of the greatest episodes of the entire series...whereas other seasons have more of a consistent streak of episodes that I may just find more enjoyable.

So in the end, season 4 would still be listed as one of my top 3 favorite seasons of The Simpsons.

Still being overseen by headwriters Al Jean & Mike Reiss before they would depart at the end of the season to create the truly underrated animated series The Critic, Season 4 would mark the last season of The Simpsons in which the majority of the original writing staff was left in tact. By the time the season ended, the series would say goodbye to some of its best writers such as the writing team of Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky and also the original producing team of James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon. 

Not to mention, a young Conan O'Brien would also depart just as season 5 was gearing up since had been selected (to some controversy) to replace David Letterman as the host of Late Night...but I guess that worked out for him... 

Oh and Season 4 would also be the writing debut of future showrunners Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein...and their sensibilities would be strongly influenced by the work of Jean and Reiss from their two seasons of running the show. However, we still have a couple of seasons to discuss before we get to their era...mainly the beginning of Mirkin's Season 5.

More on that changeover when we discuss the next season because that will be worth a lengthier discussion.

Season 4 is an era of the series that manages to add something of a fantastical edge to some of its storylines. I do feel a certain silliness and imaginative nature feel more prominent this season which actually alienated some of the cast members, who resented episodes that they felt dealt more with irreverent plot devices rather than character driven stories.

I can see where they are coming from but I don't think that was always the case.

I do firmly feel that despite the slight turn towards the surreal edge, this season still has a lot of the character driven edge. If anything, it does seem fitting that this was the last season in which many of the original writers were involved as it does feel like the last season to have a similar tone to the three previous seasons. 

So what will make my top 10?

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#10 - Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie

Written by John Swartzwelder

Bart is punished by his parents after his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel, tells them that he is frequently causing trouble in class. She insists if they enforce more of a firm upbringing on him, he could one day become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The timing of this firmer upbringing coincides with the release of Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie, based on the cartoon shorts from Krusty's show that he and Lisa love.

Bart is forbidden to see the film by Homer to the point where even Marge and Lisa say that this idea of strict parenting is way too much. 

The ending, which flashes forward 40 years into the future, is a solid enough ending, but I feel like my favorite aspect of the episode is how the movie in question directly parodies the famous Disney short Steamboat Willie by calling it Steamboat Itchy.

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#9 - Homer's Triple Bypass

Written by Gary Apple & Michael Carrington

A subject that had actually been pitched by James L. Brooks, many of the Simpsons writers balked at the idea of having Homer actually come close to death and needing to get a Triple Bypass to save his life...and considering it was pitched at a time when a lot of the writers were actually leaving for other projects or they just didn't want to tackle this particular episode. 

Instead, the episode was given to two freelance writers named Gary Apple & Michael Carrington. The final result turns out to be surprisingly funny and sentimental but also very blunt.

In many ways, this episode is one of the earliest examples I can think of...at least in terms of a piece of mainstream entertainment...that really makes a mockery of our healthcare system.

When Mr. Burns fires Homer for sleeping on the job, Homer has a heart attack and also loses his health insurance all at once. He is told surgery would cost upwards of $30-40K, which increases should Homer have another heart attack. After trying to obtain cheap insurance (even down to a greedy insurance not allowing Homer to sign the papers as he has a heart attack in his office), the family decides they have to take a chance on Dr. Nick Rivera ("Hi everybody!!") who claims he will operate on anybody for $129.95.

Everything may get resolved at the end as one would expect to occur, but the point still stands: OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS EVIL!!

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#8 - Krusty Gets Kancelled

Written by John Swartzwelder

Some may be hesitant to embrace certain episodes from this season as there is a sense that the show was embracing Hollywood as a concept...but unlike the later episodes which seem to have guests coming on as themselves with more random frequency, this episode manages to bring in guest stars in a way that feels more organic.

When Krusty the Klown is beat in the ratings by a new show starring a ventriloquist Arthur Crandall and his dummy Gummo, he gets cancelled which greatly upsets Bart and Lisa who push to save the day by seeking to get other celebrities to help stage a comeback special.

The show manages to get Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, Hugh Hefner, Luke Perry, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers...and frankly, I still think the fact they netted Johnny Carson (along with Elizabeth Taylor in her second of two cameos this season...the first one is coming up) is quite the feat.

I have always loved Krusty's reworking of Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" that he sings while sitting in a single spotlight (see pic above); Carson's apparent Superman abilities; and Midler singing a song to Krusty that mirrors the moment in which she serenaded Johnny Carson on his final episode of The Tonight Show. 

Krusty does get his show back and, of course, Krusty will forget about Bart and Lisa helping him in the process...but hey, at least it makes for decent comedy.

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#7 - Lisa's First Word

Written by Jeff Martin

Flashback episodes can often come across as gimmicky or too mawkish, but I think The Simpsons often made them very enjoyable even if they often dove more into the sweeter side of things.

"Lisa's First Word" is about the family trying hard to get Maggie to say her first word, which then leads Marge to tell the story of what Lisa said as her first word.

As we go back to 1983, we see Homer, Marge, and young Bart are living in the Lower East Side of Springfield (callback to "Like Father, Like Clown") in a small apartment. When they discover Marge is pregnant again, they have to find a way to obtain a house.

When Grampa Simpson sells his house and moves into the retirement home, he gives Homer $15K to use as a down payment on a new house...and that gives us background history we had yet to hear.

As expected, young Bart is jealous and not a fan of his younger sister and he desperately wants the attention of his parents:

Lisa's first word turns out to be "Bart", which is certainly a bit of a cliched "awwww!" moment but then her second word turns out to be Bart's first word: "Homer".

All Homer wants is to be called "daddy"...and then that leads us to the episode's final moment.

Maggie is all alone in her crib at night and she pulls out her omnipresent pacifier and says "Daddy".

And apparently it took the legendary 2-time Oscar winning actress Elizabeth Taylor nearly two dozen times to get the line reading right since she, according to Matt Groening, sounded "too sexy".

Well, at least she didn't say the word like she did when she announced "GLADIATOR!" the winner at the Golden Globes several years later.

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#6 - Mr. Plow

Written by Jon Vitti

The character of Barney Gumble was a humorous but also rather dark take on a man who is, essentially, an alcoholic. His life almost proves that perhaps Homer is not as much of a sloppy lush as we may first view him as.

"Mr. Plow" will pit Homer against the messy but lovable Barney as Homer finds himself in yet another job working as a snow plowman known on his commercials as "Mr. Plow", but when Barney sees the success, he decides to jump on the bandwagon and deem himself "The Plow King" and cuts into Homer's clientele.

While the dynamic of two friends battling each other, the episode has such a classic feel but it is the ending in which God himself puts an end to both Homer and Barney that really shows how the show is taking on that more irreverent tone and that it isn't afraid to go as far as to bring in God to be able to dictate the plot.

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#5 - Homer the Heretic

Written by George Meyer

"Who wears short shorts?"

"I wear short shorts!!"

I feel like this episode was something of a bad influence on me as a kid...and I also related to the concept of wanting to stay home from church when weather was really bad. Actually, I was open to not going to church regardless for most of my youth.

To this day, I still feel like I have a weird sense of dread on Sundays because they were completely usurped by church. We had a Sunday morning service which usually lasted from 10-12 and then an evening service which normally began at 6:30 and would often last past 9pm...and then I'd basically get home and have to get ready for bed since school followed the next day. 

I never really felt like I had a weekend growing up. I treasured my time on Saturdays because Sundays were just dominated by going to church.

"Homer the Heretic" shows how Homer manages to escape from having to go to church on one freezing snowy morning and realizes that he is missing a life that might be more fun...and even if the episode does seem to end with a message where Homer shouldn't give up on church so easily, I still took away that perhaps I was missing something that was more fitting to do on a Sunday: actually using it as a day of rest!

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#4 - I Love Lisa

Written by Frank Mula

The Ralph Wiggum we see in this episode is not quite the same Ralph Wiggum we will see in upcoming episodes when he will become as his voice actress Nancy Cartwright puts it: "a walking non-sequitur".

However, this episode was important in truly establishing Ralph as one of the more charming, if not ridiculous side characters...while also establishing him as being the son of the incompetent Police Chief Wiggum.

It is Valentine's Day and it is time for the class to distribute their valentines to everyone...but no one gives a single card to Ralph. When Lisa sees him noticeably upset, she takes him a card on a whim that reads "I choo-choo-choose you!" and Ralph takes it to heart.

"I Love Lisa" is another one of those episodes that takes the topic of a misunderstood kind gesture that seemed commonplace on TV and gave it a bit of freshening up.

I think one aspect of this episode that manages to be both hilarious and sad is how Chief Wiggum tells his son that he needs to be more persistent with Lisa since she seems to be wavering on the interest he suspects she has. In a way, it is a rather biting take on how society seems to groom boys to try to push for girls to take a chance on them even when they rightfully tell them no. 

It is certainly interesting to watch this episode in retrospect to find a Ralph who still had a little bit of common sense, even if he did seem ditsy. 

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#3 - A Streetcar Named Marge

Written by Jeff Martin

For many years, this was my favorite episode...and frankly, it is such a strong episode that I feel like it would've been my favorite episode had it aired in almost any other season.

As a person who loves theatre and film, I tend to get drawn to episodes of TV shows that have episodes centered around them as a topic.

Marge decides to audition for a community theatre production of Streetcar: The Musical, an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' iconic A Streetcar Named Desire...and pretty much right off the bat, we can see this is an episode where no one seems to care about Marge's desire to audition for this show in the Simpson household.

After managing to impress the director Llewellyn Sinclair just by talking on the phone dejectedly to Homer, he casts her as Blanche du Bois. Despite her meek nature holding her back at first, Marge is able to see the parallels of both Homer and the brutish Stanley that is her nemesis in the production.

The musical itself is hilarious with its opening number that is rather eviscerating towards New Orleans: 

"If you wanna go to hell,

you should take a trip

to the Sodom & Gomorrah

on the Mississip.-"

Or such other outings like "Hey Stella! Can't you hear me yell-a!" and the ironically upbeat closing number that cheerfully tells the audience that they can always depend on the kindness of strangers because "a stranger's just a friend you haven't met".

As a B-plot, we get what might be one of the best highlights of the youngest member of the family, Maggie. In order to ease the strain of Marge's rehearsal, Maggie is put in a daycare center but not just any daycare center: The Ayn Rand School for Tots.

A preschool modeled after the philosophy of that conservative whacko has to be one of the most hilarious bits this show ever gave us.

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#2 - Marge vs. The Monorail

Written by Conan O'Brien

So, remember how I mentioned some of the cast members resented certain episodes taking on a more surreal and more plot driven approach than what the show had been accustomed to?

That brings us to "Marge vs. The Monorail", which certainly signals a change in storytelling approach and I can see why one might have issues with it if they love the more character driven stories...and I certainly prefer character driven stories too. 

However, there is something that is just wonderfully loony about this episode and I think it is easy to see why it is often singled out as being an ultimate classic by fans and critics to this day.

Written by the eventual late night legend that is Conan O'Brien not long before he left to due the Late Night gig, he packs this episode with many rapid fire jokes that gives it an energy that is truly on fire.

It works so well because it was fresh for the show at that time and arguably, it could be seen as (for better or worse) an early forerunner into the kinds of the episodes The Simpsons would produce as it began to lose some of its creative spark and also you can a lot of its influence in the animated series' that were created by Seth MacFarlane.

So yes, I am not sure I want to give this episode a credit for giving us something like Family Guy because this episode certainly stands far above anything that series produced even at its prime.

If someone out there hasn't seen this episode, I am just going to give a very basic synopsis and wish that you would seek it out on your own to enjoy its zany brilliance.

When Mr. Burns is fined $3 million for dumping nuclear waste in a Springfield park, the community then has to decide how to put that money into use to better serve Springfield. Marge suggests that they need to fix a lot of the infrastructure in Springfield, particularly the roads.

Then...a mysterious man modeled after Music Man's Harold Hill named Lyle Lanley appears (voiced by the late legend that was Phil Hartman) and suggests that Springfield should invest in a monorail system...and thanks to a catchy tune, he instantly grabs the attention of Springfield that a monorail is the best option while Marge is left suspicious.

Let the lunacy ensue from there.

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#1 - Last Exit to Springfield

Written by Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky

"Dental plan!"

"Lisa needs braces!"

"Dental plan!"

"Lisa needs braces!"

"Dental plan!"

"Lisa needs braces!"

"Dental plan!"

"Lisa needs braces!"

So yes...if the union at Springfield Nuclear gets rid of their dental plan, Homer will have to pay for Lisa's braces that she just so happens to need at that very moment.

"Last Exit to Springfield" is one of those episodes that I always appreciated but didn't truly realize its greatness until I was a lot older. It is also something of a typical choice as not just the best episode of Season 4, but several outlets have dubbed it the best half-hour of The Simpsons.

I appreciate the episode having a very strong push of more leftist politics by way of the unions and I also like how it utilizes Lisa's rather leftist views by joining her father's colleagues at the strike to get the dental plan reinstated by Mr. Burns.

We also deal with Lisa's insecurity for having braces...particularly when she realizes that since her parents have to pay out-of-pocket that she will need to wear an bulky outdated headpiece. Lisa's concern for having braces is not a topic that was uncommon; Sitcoms like The Brady Bunch touched on the topic, but sitcoms like that didn't have Lisa go on a drug trip while under anesthesia.

It is certainly a very irreverent episode but perhaps one of the best aspects of the episode is how in the last minute or so, everything sort of gets wrapped up in a neat little bow and then intentionally ends on the cheesiest joke and forced laughter from the family and dentist to mirror the hokey nature of the sitcoms that The Simpsons had hoped to satirize from day one.

This would also be the last episode written by the duo of Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky, two of the best writers the series ever had and their contributions would be greatly missed...especially when going into season 5.

So yes...I very much love "Last Exit to Springfield" and do consider it to be not just the best episode of season 4 but possibly the best episode of the whole series.

"And that's the TOOTH!"

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IN CONCLUSION:

Season 4 has such an interesting aesthetic and tone that almost feels dark at times. When it excels, those episodes represent some of the finest half hours the series ever produced. Certain episodes just never worked as much for me as they may for others...which isn't to say they are bad...but it sort of is fascinating to me that the season wasn't as consistent as I expected it to be.

I suppose you could argue that is a mix of the writers room starting to dissipate and a sense that the show needed a bit of a jolt.

This jolt would continue even further with season 5 in which a new headwriter who had never written for the show before joined the staff and brought several new writers with him. 

Their goal would be to further develop the show and to take it to new places.

More to come on that in my next post, so be on the look out for that!

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REVISIT THE OTHER SEASONS!

SEASON 1 WILL BE REVISED AND RE-POSTED AGAIN SOON

Season 2

Season 3

Season 5

Season 6