Nothing (A Chorus Line song)

Nothing is a song from the musical A Chorus Line. It is sung by the Hispanic character Diana.

Production

This song is the major centerpiece of Montage - Part 2.

Synopsis

City Beat explains "Diana...talks about a teacher who berated her". All About Theatre talks about "Diana's recollections of a horrible high school acting class". The Independent describes it as "an account of her humiliations at the hands of a high-school Method Acting teacher".

Critical reception

The Arts Desk describes it as "the song about theatrical pretension". Metro Theatre Arts wrote the song had "the essence of a star waiting to bloom". CT Theatre News and Reviews described the song as "dead-on and quite moving". The Independent "hilarious, gutsy to attack...that is one of the best songs in Marvin Hamlisch's snappy, agile score".

References

Nothing (band)

Nothing is an American rock band that formed in 2011. The band signed to Relapse Records and released its debut album Guilty of Everything in March 2014. The band are currently recording their follow up LP which is set to be released in 2016.

History

Nothing founder Domenic Palermo was previously a member of the hardcore punk band Horror Show. The short-lived band only released a pair of EPs through Jacob Bannon of Converge's Deathwish Inc. during its existence. Horror Show was put on hold when Palermo stabbed another man during a fight and spent two years in jail for aggravated assault and attempted murder. About this period in his life, Palermo said: "It was kind of a violent time. We were going to shows and kind of, like, fucking shit up for the whole [hardcore] scene." He also performed in XO Skeletons, which featured Wesley Eisold (Give Up the Ghost, Cold Cave).

Following his stint in jail and performing in punk bands, Palermo spent about four years soul searching. He said: "I didn't know what else to do with my life, what would make me want to wake up every day. I really struggled with that for like four years and, not to sound dramatic or anything, but I thought about blowing my brains out every day." Palermo began making music again and released a demo titled Poshlost under the name "Nothing" in 2011. Nothing went through several line up changes over the next few years and also released the EPs Suns and Lovers and Downward Years to Come.

Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn is a feminine given name, a variant spelling of Gwendolen (perhaps influenced by names such as Carolyn, Evelyn and Marilyn). This has been the most popular spelling in the United States.

Notable people called Gwendolyn

River Songs

River Songs is the third full length studio album by American band The Badlees. It was released on their independent label, Rite-Off Records, in February 1995 and sold over 10,000 units before being picked up by the national label Polydor/Atlas after the band signed with that label later in 1995. The album was re-released nationally with no further production enhancement in October 1995 and went on the spawn three national hits - "Fear of Falling", "Angeline Is Coming Home", and "Gwendolyn".

Background

After returning home from China in August 1994, where The Badlees played the Qingdao International Beer Festival, the band headed back to the studio to start on another album. They planned on calling this next one simply "The Badlees", as a symbol of their commitment to hit the "reset" button and return to their roots musically, but soon found a more fitting title that would become familiar to music fans nationwide.

The band made daily commutes from their base in Selinsgrove to The Green Room, a studio in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to record their third full-length album. This 50 mile journey in each direction follows the Susquehanna River as it winds through rural central Pennsylvania towards the mini metropolis of the commonwealth’s capital city. The new album would ultimately become River Songs, and would be the catalyst that finally propelled the Badlees into the national spotlight.

Gwendolyn Sanford

Gwendolyn Sanford is an American singer-songwriter and composer. She is best known for her performances with Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang and for her contributions to the scores for Weeds, Orange Is the New Black and other films and plays.

Biography

Sanford was born in Philadelphia and raised in Sierra Madre, California. Sanford studied acting at the Los Angeles County School High School for the Arts. While in school, she learned to play guitar and at age 22, formed Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. The group was first noticed at a 2003 street fair in Los Feliz.

In addition to her solo works,Sanford, and her husband Brandon Jay, recorded four albums of children's music as Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang.

Film, TV and stage

Sanford, Brandon Jay and Scott Doherty compose music for Netflix's original series Orange Is the New Black. Prior, Gwendolyn and Brandon Jay composed the score for Weeds. At least two different versions of Gwendolyn's song "Freedom of the Heart (Ooodily, Ooodily)" are prominently featured in Mike White's 2000 film Chuck & Buck. Sanford wrote the music and lyrics for Romy and Michele's High School Reunion the musical. She and Jay composed music for the play, Gruesome Playground Injuries.