Birds and Fences (crossposted from May 2022 newsletter)

Writing my newsletter takes a while and sometimes I forget to cross-post it to the website. I will be posting several catch-up posts and a new one soon. Cheers! —M

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Hello all,

Some music that I have been working on for a long time is finally available!

The short version:
1. Listen (or watch with captions) to "The Crane Wife", a 20-minute musical: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vow6fft5cpg 
2. Watch a live performance of "The House Next Door", a short musical theatre song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTLSYFBIpik 
3. Get tickets for the June 9 good thoughts concert: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-upsides-ep-release-good-thoughts-anna-sun-tickets-313925990087

Out Now

The Crane Wife: 

Our audio-play version of "The Crane Wife: a musical" starring Sienna Aczon, Jenny Kim-Godfrey, and Paul Chwe MinChul An is now available online. Libretto by Keurim Hur, lyrics by A. J. Freeman, and music by me, Maria Caputo.

Library blog article is here — Writeup is by Doug Reside, the curator for the Theatre Collection at the New York Library for the Performing Arts. Doug also serves as the facilitator for the Across A Crowded Room writing program (AACR), which culminates in a festival of 20-minute musicals. Usually these short musicals would be presented in person at the library at Lincoln Center; due to health and safety measures, the 2021 AACR projects were published online instead.

above: the credits/abbreviated program for "The Crane Wife: A Musical". A drawing of a crane stands beside the following credits: Book by Keurim Hur, lyrics by A. J. Freeman, music by Maria Caputo. Featuring: Sienna Aczon as the Crane Wife, Jenny Kim-Godfrey as the Sister, Paul Chwe MinChul An as the Man. Special thanks to Andi Lee Carter and Lily Desmond.

During the summer of 2021, fellow writer Alison Freeman reached out to me about collaborating on an AACR project with her and Keurim Hur: I would write music for Alison's lyrics, with a libretto by Keurim. The three of us were interested in fairytales and folktales about women and transformation. Keurim suggested we adapt the Japanese folktale known in English as "The Crane Wife", which she told to us from memory.

We chose to focus on the title character's point of view and her reasons for making her surprising choices. Why do people make sacrifices for the ones they love? What does it mean if a sacrifice is also a secret? Can we love someone without knowing their true nature?

We got to present our story concept and two songs over the course of a few weeks in masterclass sessions with notable dramatists David Henry Hwang, Heather Christian, and Amanda Green. What a thrill!

Our writing team is hoping to get together to do a rewrite this summer, perhaps to expand the show slightly and/or to add a companion piece. Let me know what you think of the show.

To watch: Click this direct link to hear our "Crane Wife" recording on YouTube ; you can choose to either watch with open captions, or just listen to the audio.

Highlight from the William Finn students concert: 

A month ago I got to set this startling lyric by E. M. Lewis as part of a lyric writing masterclass taught by Broadway composer-lyricist William Finn.

Ellen wrote these words for a prompt by Bill which reads in part: "Write a lyric about a difficult family. The father, the mother, too, and the children are unbelievably bad." (Accordingly, this song tackles some heavy topics and contains swear words.) I enjoyed the challenge of corralling nearly three pages of lyrics into a solo song. 

For this concert, I sang the song with piano accompaniment performed by my friend Dan Wilson. Ellen and I think that in a show setting, though, this would be a song for a teenager.

above: a still from the video of my performance of "The House Next Door". It's me at a microphone wearing a blue jumpsuit and an expression of surprise.

This video was filmed & edited by FAMOUS IN NY. It was recorded at our class's concert at the Music Hall, a free, creative space for writers provided by the Dramatists Guild Foundation. The concert was produced by Pearl Rhein and Lauren Taslitz.

Take a peek over the fence with me if you like, to "The House Next Door". (YouTube video link here)

Upcoming

Tickets for June 9: 

I'll be sitting in (on keys and vocals) with my friend Alex Petti and his band good thoughts for their June 9 show at the Chelsea Music Hall (407 West 15th Street, New York, NY 10011)

Doors are at 6:30 pm. We will be on at 9:30 pm. The band Anna Sun will open the show, with The Upsides headlining.

Follow @goodthoughtsnyc on Instagram

That's all for now, I think! Take care of yourselves, check your smoke detectors, and enjoy the sunshine.

Cheers,

Maria

Classy Dame EP announcement (crossposted from March 2022 newsletter)

Writing my newsletter takes a while and sometimes I forget to cross-post it to the website. I will be posting several catch-up posts and a new one soon. Cheers! —M

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Hello all,

My band released a three-song EP. It's called "Shut Your Mouth So the Bees Don't Get In" by Classy Dame. We're really proud of these fun, weird songs, and we hope you will like them, too!

Above: Album art for "Shut Your Mouth So The Bees Don't Get In" by Classy Dame. It features an illustration of school kids sitting in a subway car where plants, flowers, and mushrooms are growing through the walls and floors. Illustration by Thomas Turner.

About the EP & where to listen

The band members (bassist/singer/songwriter Eric Wharton, drummer Austin Deyo, and myself on keys/vocals/songwriting) all recorded separately and remotely in the summer of 2021. We got our friend Lily Desmond to contribute a fiddle solo and backing vocals on one song. Then our friend Conor Keelan mixed and mastered the songs, and somehow made them sound like we were in the same room together.

Here are some places you can listen to the songs, and purchase if you like. (You can find it on most common platforms, but I've selected the ones I think you're most likely to be using already.)

• Bandcamp: https://classydame.bandcamp.com/album/shut-your-mouth-so-the-bees-dont-get-in 

  • Often, the first Friday of the month is "Bandcamp Friday", where Bandcamp gives up its usual (small) revenue percentage and allows its artists to receive 100% of the profits. Consider supporting small artists by buying on Bandcamp Friday, or any day of the week really.

  • A special bonus: If you buy the whole EP on Bandcamp for $3 or more, you will also get a high-resolution download of the gorgeous album art by our friend Thomas Turner. And the songs should download in whatever audio format your heart desires (including lossless options, for the audiophiles out there), with lyrics attached.

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4pvVAclvtxG1Hlz3giVwA5

• iTunes / Apple Music: https://geo.music.apple.com/us/album/_/1610051784

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B09SGYJ7H7

• Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/216728453

Live music

Classy Dame played the Bowery Electric on the night we released the EP, February 17, 2022. Here are some snaps from our set. Special guest and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Weidinger joined us for a few tunes. (Photos by Tony DiTaranto)

Above: Classy Dame performs at the Bowery Electric. Left to right: Maria on keys and vocals, Austin on drums, Eric on electric bass and vocals.

Above: Classy Dame performs at the Bowery Electric. Left to right: Maria on keys and vocals, Austin on drums, Eric on electric bass and vocals, special guest Morgan Weidinger on violin and vocals.

Above: Maria emoting at the keys and mic at the Bowery Electric.

Thank you to everyone who came to the show, everyone who listened to the EP, and everyone reading this! There's more on the horizon from us and we appreciate all the support so far.

Cheers,

Maria

Update on the cave piano (crossposted from my November newsletter)

Madison, aka "the cave album"

On November 5, 2021, the band Sloppy Jane released their full-length record Madison on the Saddest Factory Records label (an imprint of Dead Oceans). Sloppy Jane's leader, Haley Dahl, composed a sprawling musical epic of astonishing grandeur and intimacy with the intention of recording all the songs in natural caves. True to her vision, the album was recorded at Lost World Caverns in West Virginia back in the autumn of 2019.

We brought a 3/4-size upright piano into the cave, along with over 20 musicians and their instruments. In the past, I had tuned pianos for the band in some of their Brooklyn practice spaces, but this setting was a new challenge. I did my best to keep the piano in tune and functioning in the unusual and extreme environment the cave maintained: 55ºF, 95% humidity. We became nocturnal, because we could only record in the cave when tourist hours had ended for the day.

A reporter from the New York Times joined us on the final day or two of piano tracking, a fact I had forgotten in the intervening two years. Then Haley sent me a message two weeks ago to tell me the Times article was finally out, and it included a quote from me.

above: a photo of Sloppy Jane bandleader Haley Dahl on the front page of the New York Times Arts section on November 3, 2021— two days before the album release.

• Read the New York Times article about the recording process here (special gift link so non-subscribers will still be able to access it!)

above: my quote in the New York Times article. "'I don't think the idea was for this to be easy,' Caputo said. 'The idea was for this to be awesome.'" I'm glad my first mention in the Gray Lady denotes some of my most impressive talents: piano tuning and sitting on rocks.

I recommend listening to Madison with headphones in a dimly lit room to fully appreciate the immersive soundscape of the orchestra reverberating throughout the echoing, dripping cave. The full orchestral moments on the record sound almost exactly as they did live in the cave.

I got teary listening to the section of the title track where I was called in to pinch-hit for Haley, who otherwise conducted the whole album. Because of sightline issues during the piano-orchestra moment in which literally all other hands were occupied, I ended up conducting the music you hear from 4:38 to 5:31: an elegant waltz section that melts into a series of unsettling portamento slides interspersed with choral shushing.

above: a selection of the Madison album credits, as seen on the back of the vinyl record. One line reads "On-site Piano Tuning, Additional Conducting (Madison) by: Maria Caputo."

• Listen to the whole album here or watch one of the music videos

• Watch the Madison album trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zU0-faG0Qk (you can spot me briefly tuning piano by the light of my headlamp at 2:40)

• Read the Atwood Magazine interview with Haley about the album

Live shows Fall 2021!

If all goes according to plan, I have some shows coming up in the next few weeks!

Yes, I am playing two similarly-named venues, Berlin and East Berlin, both on the Lower East Side on Avenue A. Yes, they are close enough that if you go to the wrong one by accident, you can still make it to the other one within ten minutes of walking.

And don’t forget to bring proof of vaccination with you to the venue! ❤

Keep scrolling for more information. You can also visit [the /events page] to add the events directly to your Google Calendar or iCal!

poster for the September 30th and October 13th shows.

On Thursday September 30,

I will be playing a solo set at Berlin Under A on a bill with Lily Desmond, Lady Pills, and Docents. Tickets are available now! Currently it looks like I’ll be on first at 7 PM. 

Thursday September 30: Maria is playing a solo set at Berlin Under A with Lily Desmond, Lady Pills, and Docents.

Berlin Under A is located at 25 Avenue A, New York, NY. (At the southwest corner of Avenue A and East 2nd St)

Venue calendar: https://berlin.nyc/calendar 

Doors at 6:30 PM.

Tickets are $11 at: https://dice.fm/event/6v9n2-lily-desmond-lady-pills-maria-caputo-30th-sep-berlin-under-a-new-york-tickets

Photo-collage from a recent rooftop show in Bushwick, BK in early September 2021.

Clockwise from top left: Maria Caputo (in red, at keyboard) and Lily Desmond (in black, with violin) soundcheck; Lily and Maria take a sunset selfie; a view of the sun setting over Brooklyn and the Manhattan skyline.

On Wednesday October 13,

we will have the first Classy Dame show of 2021! We’re playing on a bill with good thoughts (my friend Alex Petti’s band) and Juliana Parker at East Berlin.

Alex and Juliana are both friends and classmates of mine from the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. While this is not going to be a musical theatre concert, you bet your buttons we are gonna have catchy songs with clever lyrics. Come rock out with us! We are hoping to see a lot of our BMI friends in the audience. All three artists will be releasing brand new music around that time, too!

Wednesday October 13: Juliana Parker, Classy Dame, and good thoughts play East Berlin.

East Berlin is located at 169 Avenue A, New York, NY. (On Avenue A between East 10th St and East 11th St; a block north of Tompkins Square Park.)

Venue calendar: https://eastberlinnyc.com/calendar/ 

Tickets here: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/good-thoughts-classy-dame-juliana-east-berlin-tickets/11374585

social media poster for Classy Dame on October 13th

This fall,

Classy Dame is releasing an EP. Stay tuned for more information on that front!

For now, you can follow our socials if you are so inclined.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2whmqq3P4wlhDztFG2zpQ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/classydame69/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/classydameband 

“Bees Learn to Drive Small Cars” by Brooke Goggins. (It’s an EP title hint!)

Curious

September 12 marks one year since I released my single “Curious” on all platforms. 

Listen on most platforms at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mariacaputo/curious 

Get a high-quality version at https://mariacaputo.bandcamp.com/track/curious 

Watch the music video I made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxc6Gqo32I 

a video still from underwater footage shot for "Curious". I'm enveloped in a cloud of bubbles so you only see my right arm and dark hair reaching out from chaos.

I discussed the making of “Curious” with my friend Conor Sullivan on his artist interview podcast, The Friendluck Show. (Like a potluck, but you bring a friend.)

The Friendluck Show’s website is https://conortlsullivan.com/thefriendluckshow 

Direct link to listen to the episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z7wDcJl9RFnGCqAnXCEfo 

Or you can find the episode on other podcast platforms.

Conor compiled some of my behind-the-scenes images and more information here: https://conortlsullivan.com/ep4mariacaputo 

a screenshot of the Friendluck Show episode playing on the Spotify app. Below the rainbow "Friendluck Show" banner, there is a filtered portrait of me at the piano, and the episode number and title: #4 - Maria Caputo - 9/3/21. Maria Caputo shares about her song "Curious"

Piano biz

Last month, I went into a recording studio to play live acoustic piano for a singer-songwriter’s EP. Last week, I went to evaluate a Steinway upright piano from the 1880s for a friend.

me in front of a Steinway upright piano built in the 1880s. I'm wearing a headlamp so I can investigate the interior of the instrument. The front panels of the piano have been removed so the interior and action are visible above the keys.

With the availability of N95 masks and increased vaccination rates in the areas I typically work in, I’m looking to tune pianos more regularly once more. Send me a message if you know someone whose piano needs a little love.

Cheers,

Maria

Musical Theatre Update

My typical disclaimer: The most up-to-date information is generally in my newsletter (which you should totally sign up for at https://tinyletter.com/mariajc93 )

In the past few months, I’ve reached some milestones. I completed my second year at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, and was invited to join the Advanced Workshop, an ongoing association of musical theatre writers.

It’s really wild to think of everything that has happened in the past two years. I recorded my audition demos for the BMI Workshop by myself in my old apartment, squeezing in vocal takes between sirens and highway traffic, transcribing piano parts I had played many times but had never taken the time to formally notate before. After I passed the initial screening round, I asked a singer friend, the fabulous Racquel Williams, to sing three of my songs in the room with me for the live round of auditions at the BMI corporate office.

The energy in the audition room was friendlier than I was expecting— I had never heard a room of strangers laugh at my comedy lyrics before, for instance. Rick Freyer, one of the co-moderators of the Workshop, asked if I would be interested in joining as a composer. I replied that I would be interested in whatever role the panel thought suited me, should I be so lucky. I left the room feeling oddly hopeful. (Hours later, Racquel and I joined my sister at a massive Manhattan rooftop venue for a concert by Natalia LaFourcade, one of my singer-songwriter heroes, so it was a momentous day on several counts.)

Eventually an acceptance email arrived, followed by a flurry of train rides, collaborators, lectures, song presentations, advice taken, advice ignored, advice reconsidered, practice rooms, coffee shops, actual flurries, and of course, burnt Brussels sprouts with soy sauce. This pivoted to a flood of video conference calls, Google Drive folders, Final Cut projects, bad captions, caption instruction videos, better captions, demos with me singing every part, Messenger chat threads, cat memes, home-brewed coffee, jumpsuits, audio equipment, and painstakingly earned stamps on my local café’s loyalty card.

All in all, I clocked out from the two years of the Workshop with over a dozen songs written with nearly as many collaborators, including a ten-minute musical (“Astoria”, music by me and book & lyrics by Alex Chang) and a twenty-minute musical excerpt (“Stardust”, music by me and book & lyrics by Allison Light). I also co-wrote a maniacal Christmas song for department store tycoons, a cheerfully morbid duet for a pair of sisters, and a controversial tap-dance number for a security guard played by Laurence Fishburne, to name just a few.

Along with the skills I honed— writing music for characters, on a deadline, with clarity and humor— I gained an incredible cohort of roughly three dozen colleagues and friends whose work I enjoy and whose opinions I trust. I can’t wait to see what everyone does next!

This past winter, I was invited to attend a masterclass on lyric writing with renowned musical theatre composer-lyricist William Finn (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Falsettos, etc.) This was another fantastic opportunity to meet different collaborators and see new work develop.

I was intrigued by classmate Jaime Jarrett’s lyric about edible cookie dough, so I asked to set his text to music. Our song “Cookie Dough” was selected for a concert of songs from the masterclass. The New York Theatre Barn streamed the concert on their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJQRFOaUg80 Singing actor Terran Scott performed Maria and Jaime’s song “Cookie Dough” at about 18:53 in the video.

Next up for me: I’m in the middle of writing songs for a twenty-minute musical with Alison “AJ” Freeman (lyrics) and Keurim “KC” Hur (book) to present at the culmination of Across a Crowded Room 2021. This summer program through the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts allows musical theatre writers to meet and collaborate with new writing partners, and get masterclass feedback on developing work from acclaimed expert guests like David Henry Hwang, Heather Christian, and Amanda Green. AJ, KC, and I are adapting a folktale about transformation, trust, and sacrifice.

I’m sporadically posting videos on my YouTube channel, so feel free to subscribe there as well! I have posted the two short musicals I mentioned, plus many other weird and wonderful items.

photo: screenshot from a demo recording for the “Stardust” project. Maria is laughing in front of a green-screen mid-recording session, wearing headphones and standing by a microphone. She has long hair and is wearing gold eyeshadow to match her gold bolo tie, plus a light blue dress.