I missed Eric by a cell phone call away (I forgot to call) so we didn’t have a chance to hook up, but we did reach each other by email. I wanted to know what else he had been working on. Turns out he has been fairly busy working on his own Broadway musical, The Titans, with friend and co-writer, John McDaniels.
He also has written a fabulous song for Broadway legend Betty Buckley’s cabaret act, “For the Love of Broadway!,” which is getting phenomenal reviews. Catch a glimpse of these accolades:
“For the Love of Broadway!” reconciles the two sides of Ms. Buckley – the Broadway traditionalist and the post-1960s jazz-infatuated rebel – in the most satisfying way imaginable. Though Mr. Werner had some magnificent piano solos, and the show allowed room for two other players – Billy Drewes on reeds and percussion and Tony Marino on bass – to exercise their musical imagination, the arrangements remained taut and focused on Ms. Buckley’s interpretive acuity. Yet jazz currents ran through both the arrangements and the vocals. “When I Belt,” a clever piece of special material by John McDaniel and Eric Kornfeld, wittily acknowledged Ms. Buckley’s conflicting agendas. ~ New York Times
From Variety: “The jazz/Broadway divide is addressed in “When I Belt,” a very funny piece of special material by McDaniel and lyricist Eric Kornfeld.”
From Gay Socialites: It’s no accident that Betty Buckley’s doing a lot of Broadway in her latest cabaret act – “For The Love Of Broadway!” – she says that Feinstein’s got complaints about the jazzier slant of her earlier acts at the club. “We came to see Betty Buckley; we want to hear Broadway, dammit!” She even comically complains about the situation in a very funny specialty number called “When I Belt” written especially for this act by John McDaniel and Eric Kornfeld.
From Backstage: “You want it loud and high,” sings Betty Buckley as she satirizes audiences’ expectations of her repertory in an enchanting new cabaret show at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency. Entitled “For the Love of Broadway,” this 90-minute set focuses strictly on show tunes. In the hilarious original comedy song, “When I Belt” (John McDaniel, Eric Kornfeld), Buckley explains that she likes to warble soft jazz and esoteric pieces, but because of her reputation as a Broadway powerhouse, cabaretgoers want endless renditions of “Memory,” her signature song from her Tony-winning performance in “Cats.”
And from Leader Newspapers: She feels the music, closing her eyes and sloping her arms like a hipster. On at least one tune (“If You Go Away” by Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen), the emotion of the story seemingly overcomes, resulting in wet eyes and a far-off, distant stare. Buckley is not so much singing a cabaret act as making her way through a litany of emotions, from joyous (“When I Belt,” a new number by John McDaniel and Eric Kornfield) to hilariously poignant (“There’s a Fine, Fine Line” from “Avenue Q”) to triumphant (“The Best is Yet to Come” by Coleman and Carolyn Leigh).
So, as you can see Eric has been a busy, busy bee this last year – working with the Showgirl, the Broadway legend, and on his own musical. Many congrats to go around…..
Love, Mister D