These are frightening times, and we all must take necessary precautions as we social distance and self-isolate. That being said, you deserve a break every now and then. Welcome to Playbill's Daily Distraction.
Day 17: Eccentric, Erratic, and Up the Octave
Adam Schlesinger died March 31 following complications with COVID-19. The singer-songwriter was a founding member of Fountains of Wayne and acclaimed for his works on screen (including the Oscar-nominated "That Thing You Do!" and songs for The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), but his passing robs us of the opportunity to hear more of his comedy style on stage.
Through Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and songs for two Tony Awards ceremony (each earning him Emmy Awards), his appreciation and understanding of the musical theatre form was apparent. At the time of his death, he was at work on two musicals: an adaptation of Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter (originally scheduled to premiere Off-Broadway this month) and a stage treatment of The Nanny (collaborating with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom).
He earned a Tony nomination for his one Broadway musical, an adaptation of John Waters' Cry-Baby. The highlight of the score: a Patsy Cline pastiche sung by obsessive and deranged fan Lenora. Though the musical didn't get a cast recording, revisit Alli Mauzey's performance of "Screw Loose" alongside Seth Rudetsky (and a special invisible friend) in the Obsessed! video above.Mauzey delivers a master class in comedy and belting—particularly, using one to highlight the other. After emulating a steel guitar for an "instrumental break," Mauzey jumps back and forth between octaves, making her Lenora equal parts hilarious and terrifying.
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