''Infinite Joy'' is a musical revue consisting of songs by Broadway composer William Finn. The songs are mostly material cut from Finn's earlier shows and material from works Finn was then working on. Several of the songs were included in the composer's song cycle '' Elegies''.

Productions

The revue was initially performed on various dates in September 2000 and December 2000 through 2001 at Joe's Pub, a nightclub within The Public Theater in New York City. Finn played the piano and sang several songs. Other performers included:

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''Th ...

, Carolee Carmello,

Lewis Cleale Lewis Cleale is an American theatre actor and singer from Houlton, Maine. Early life and education A graduate of the University of Miami's Frost School of Music (where he has been named Distinguished Alumnus) and of the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatr ...

Stephen DeRosa Stephen DeRosa (born June 10, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Cantor in the television series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2013). Education He attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as an undergradu ...

Wanda Houston Wanda Houston is an American singer and actress. Biography Houston is originally from Chicago, Illinois. She started singing in gospel choirs of West Side, Chicago. She was born to John and Bessie, the oldest of four. Houston comes from a creati ...

, Norm Lewis, Mary Testa, Farah Alvin, James Sasser, and Kristin Woodbury. The revue was performed again at Joe's Pub in November 2008, with performers Carolee Carmello, Mary Testa, Malcolm Gets, and Stephen DeRosa. A live recording was made at the January 2001 performance and released on RCA Victor in May 2001. William Ruhlmann, reviewing the recording for Allmusic wrote: "Finn's songs often have an "inside baseball" quality to them, revolving around the gay, Jewish world of musical theater. But they are often so witty, moving, and accomplished that they become universal despite themselves." On March 29, 2004, another concert of Finn's songs was performed at the Merkin Concert Hall as part of The Kaufman Center's annual Broadway Close Up series, titled ''More Infinite Joy: The Music of William Finn''. Performers included

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

, Raúl Esparza,

Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he earned five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

and Janet Metz. The songs were from Finn's '' The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'', ''Elegies'', '' Falsettos'', and ''

A New Brain ''A New Brain'' is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, ''A New Brain'' dealt directly with his own harrowing experience ...

''. A third installment, ''Even More Infinite Joy'' was presented by The Kaufman Center at Merkin Concert Hall on October 31, 2005, featuring Finn, and featured songs from his "Songs of Innocence and Experience".

Songs

*Mister Make Me a Song *How Marvin Eats His Breakfast *The Music Still Plays On *Republicans *I'd Rather Be Sailing *Hitchhiking Across America *That's Enough For Me *And They're Off *Anytime *Falsettos At the East Milford Community Center (Finn & DeRosa's spoken intro) *The Baseball Game *The Bitch and the Madonna (Finn welcomes Mary Testa & Carolee Carmello) *All Fall Down *When The Earth Stopped Turning *Tannis Root (Bill & Mary discuss parenting) *Set Those Sails *I Have Found *Infinite Joy *Stupid Things I Won't Do *Infinite Joy (reprise) *Bows

References

External links

Free music tracks from the CD (U.S.A. Only)
{{William Finn Song cycles 2001 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Revues Musicals by William Finn