'Eddie and the Palaceades Save the Palace' CD is Out

‘Eddie and the Palaceades Save the Palace’ is a hometown musical written by Roy O’Neil. Just like ‘The Music Man’ and Lin Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights,’ this show is inspired by people, places and events in the writer’s hometown of Waterbury, CT.

‘Eddie and the Palaceades’ is the story of an over the hill rock star who literally runs for mayor to save the Palace Theater where his band got its start decades ago. CT residents will know that the magnificent Palace Theater was restored to it former glory and is now drawing theatregoers to downtown Waterbury, albeit not as often as city leaders would like. In the story, Eddie and his wife Gracie, a member of the band, are now empty-nesters facing a new coming of age crisis as they approach their sixties. Eddie wants to save the theater and their hometown (redubbed as Waterbury’s nickname “Brass City”) and Gracie wants to reboot their musical career and go back out on tour. The engaging tale is punctuated with a variety of musical numbers that move the action along.

The show has played to sold out audiences at The Midtown International Theatre Festival and The Manhattan Theatre Mission New Musical Showcase. It was also the inaugural show in the Woods Hole Theatre Company New Works Series on Cape Cod. I had the pleasure of catching a performance seated at the author’s table at The Square Foot Theatre Company in Wallingford, CT.

Click here to read my review of the show; I was honored to see that the (top) quote from my review included on the CD liner notes is “A charming mix of freshness and nostalgia.” WATR radio host Tom Chute called the music “immensely hummable” and I would concur. It was great to see that a very good photo of the interior of the Palace was included on the back of the CD case.

Listening to the brand new CD during a commute to a show during a busy weekend for reviews, I was reminded of the charm of the 15 songs written for ‘Eddie and the Palisades.’ I loved the energy of the opening number “Meet Me at the Palace” and the catchy signature tune “Bangarang.” The writer in me responded to “Write About That,” especially the references to Waterbury.

The tone of the numbers sung by the Brass City officials are marked with an “official” tone and the driving tone of the two parts of “Come On Eddie, You Can Do It” works well. The two “wanna” songs sung by female singers are “Spread My Wings” and “I Need the Band Back Together.” I was impressed with the professional quality of this album.

Mr. O’Neil tells me that most of the songs were arranged and produced by Michael Holland (2011 ‘Godspell’ revival) and a couple were produced by Galen Breen in Nashville. The writer also noted that a saying he has come across in musical theater writing is that the “rewriting never ends, the show just opens.” Mr. O’Neil admits that even after his show’s openings, he continues to tweak various scenes and songs. After receiving feedback from a panel of industry experts at an NYC workshop, he further adjusted the ending scenes and he added a new song.

I would love to attend another production of this musical with local roots at one of the area community theatres. Maybe then I could figure out which one is the new song.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and she posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417