My Book - sung by Carolee Carmello

The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast

Episode #19: Carolee Carmello wouldn't let me gush about her on the podcast as much as I wanted, so I'm going to have to do it here! Carolee and I met doing a production of Grease at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in 1989, and her career since then has been continuously and completely jam-packed with goodies, many of which we didn't even get to discuss!! Broadway shows like Mamma Mia!, Urinetown, and Kiss Me, Kate, which took great advantage of Carolee's ridiculously powerful and versatile voice and great sense of humor. Or Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and this season's Lestat, which let her flex her impressive dramatic leading lady muscles. And let's not forget her brilliant performances in such high-profile Off-Broadway productions as john & jen, Hello Again, Infinite Joy, A Class Act, and Elegies, all of which were recorded, fortunately for us!
Add to all that a few more Broadway shows (City of Angels, Falsettos, and 1776), a slew of regional and tour productions (Arthur, Chess, Bells Are Ringing, The King and I, etc.), a TV show (Remember WENN), and a Broadway star husband and two beautiful kids, and you start to realize that Carolee is a true Wonder Woman.
In this episode, Carolee sings "My Book", the "Sloth" song from the Audra McDonald song cycle, The Seven Deadly Sins. Clearly meant to be performed in front of a live audience, Carolee gamely rolled with it and chose me for all the audience participation duties. I have to add: given how dense this song is, can you believe that this is literally Carolee's third time singing through it... ever?? DIVA! Recorded 6/5/06.
Look for Carolee in the upcoming Broadway by the Year: 1978 concert on June 19th at Town Hall. And you can hear her wonderful performance on the Lestat recording when it's released in July. Don't forget to watch for her (and several other podcast guest divas) on the Tony Awards this Sunday, June 11!