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Shoshana Bean

 My main reason for seeing "The Lost Boys" was Shoshana Bean. And I had a great time. It's a bad musical. In a way, that doesn't matter. People are up there taking big swings--it's difficult not to feel excited.


Shoshana Bean invented her own career. After "Wicked," she did not wait for others to invite her to a recording studio; she figured out how to make her own pop album, and she did the work. It's strange how pop stardom is denied to some and not to others. Bean has the head voice, the belt, and the riffing capabilities of a new Whitney Houston. But--also--who cares? If the pop world doesn't want Shoshana Bean, then Broadway *does* want her.

My favorite Bean song is "No One," by Alicia Keys. It is reimagined as a mother/child duet, and it makes me think of my own kids.

I know people will search the world
To find something like what we have.
I know people will try -- try to divide
Something so real --
So, till the end of time, I'm telling you there ain't no one --
Can get in the way of what I feel for you.

In the mother/child context, some of the words don't make sense. But, again, who cares? I especially love Bean's well-placed gesturing and eye-rolling. Long may she reign.

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