PRESS
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GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
"Almond's roof-raising "Duquesne Whistle" is uplifting in every sense, and [his] occasional bursts of classic Dylan harmonica throughout the show are an invigorating link to the original artist's work." - Hollywood Reporter "McPherson's spectral affinities show up in the staging of a stunning second-act number, Almond's four-alarm delivery of "Duquesne Whistle." -Washington Post THE ODYSSEY " . . . [a] brash, funny and heart-stirring musical version of Homer’s “The Odyssey” . . . lovely and ample score . . . Ms. deBessonet and Mr. Almond display once again their own ample-hearted resourcefulness in this ebullient production . . . "-New York Times, Charles Isherwood KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY "Unsurprisingly awesome, slyly punk rock . . ." -Rolling Stone "Mr. Almond . . . holds his own against the formidable charisma of his co-star . . ." -New York Times, Charles Isherwood " KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY is a loose, irresistible gem." -Billboard GIRLFRIEND (in L.A., July 2015) "The performances are inspiring and the band rocks the house…GO!”--Performing Arts LIVE “A beautiful, affecting story.”—Katie Buenneke, LA Weekly "…the feeling behind the songs—the alternative energy, the stolen freedom—is just right. It won't be hard for anyone to relate to the way these struggling adolescents use music to claim their independence."—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times |
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MELANCHOLY PLAY
"In its simple wisdom is a cry for human connection. I say that’s something to feel good about."
Boston Globe
"His music is most haunting and quite beautiful, in an aptly melancholy way."
-Chicago Tribune
IOWA
"Smart, off-angle pop art songs, by [Jenny] Schwartz and the excellent Todd Almond, add to the abundance of pleasures. 'Heaven and earth do not touch one another,' sings a new mother in a lullaby. 'But jump, jump, jump, jump up and try.' Iowa delights in taking just such leaps."
-Time Out New York, Adam Feldman
THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Todd Almond’s music is terrifically nimble, as is Mr. Almond’s portrayal of Ariel, striking just the right notes of camp and heart. He moves charmingly between Shakespearean phrases and casual, contemporary asides, conveying both affection and angst . . .
THE NEW YORKER:
. . . Almond’s brilliant lyrics and music are reminiscent of Hoagy Carmichael’s songs, with their bemused and fragmented stylings.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Stephen Holden:
Ms. Scott’s gifted arranger and pianist Todd Almond . . . helps steer the show into ever deeper waters. An especially poignant moment is her duet with Mr. Almond on Annie Lennox’s “Honestly.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE:
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle,’’ a smart and arresting musical adaptation by Adam Bock and Todd Almond of a 1962 novel by Jackson, contains a similarly jolting moment when the small-town social masks come off, and the baser aspects of human nature, in all their ice-cold brutality, stand revealed.
TIME OUT NEW YORK:
Ol’ Man River rolls over everyone in On the Levee, a roiling and wide-ranging new work of music theater that examines a cataclysmic 1927 flood in Greenville, Mississippi . . . Like the striking silhouettes that Kara Walker has contributed to the set, it manages to be both delicate and blunt, drawing oblique energy from classic past shows—most notably Show Boat and Caroline, or Change—while forcing a space for itself . . . Todd Almond’s exemplary score is framed as existing blues songs and spirituals that the characters know; in the third, the characters seem to express themselves spontaneously in song.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE:
Love is in the air at Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage. Throbbing teen hormones burst through the power-guitar chords and yearning anticipation trembles in the lyrics of Matthew Sweet's songs. The flayed-skin raw nerves of adolescent insecurity and the awkwardness of first romance inform every glance, gesture and warbled note in the performances of Ryder Bach and Jason Hite . . . Author, vocal arranger and co-orchestrator Todd Almond uses the melodic rock ballads and mood of Sweet's 1991 album, "Girlfriend," to craft a gentle, heartfelt, two-character chamber musical that celebrates the pain and joy of first love between gay teens in early '90s small-town Nebraska.
VARIETY:
Almond's music captures the plaintive, as well as the playful . . .
TIME OUT NEW YORK:
"Soulful and original"
NPR, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED:
"I wish I could give this CD to every poetry lover I know!"
"In its simple wisdom is a cry for human connection. I say that’s something to feel good about."
Boston Globe
"His music is most haunting and quite beautiful, in an aptly melancholy way."
-Chicago Tribune
IOWA
"Smart, off-angle pop art songs, by [Jenny] Schwartz and the excellent Todd Almond, add to the abundance of pleasures. 'Heaven and earth do not touch one another,' sings a new mother in a lullaby. 'But jump, jump, jump, jump up and try.' Iowa delights in taking just such leaps."
-Time Out New York, Adam Feldman
THE NEW YORK TIMES:
Todd Almond’s music is terrifically nimble, as is Mr. Almond’s portrayal of Ariel, striking just the right notes of camp and heart. He moves charmingly between Shakespearean phrases and casual, contemporary asides, conveying both affection and angst . . .
THE NEW YORKER:
. . . Almond’s brilliant lyrics and music are reminiscent of Hoagy Carmichael’s songs, with their bemused and fragmented stylings.
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Stephen Holden:
Ms. Scott’s gifted arranger and pianist Todd Almond . . . helps steer the show into ever deeper waters. An especially poignant moment is her duet with Mr. Almond on Annie Lennox’s “Honestly.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE:
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle,’’ a smart and arresting musical adaptation by Adam Bock and Todd Almond of a 1962 novel by Jackson, contains a similarly jolting moment when the small-town social masks come off, and the baser aspects of human nature, in all their ice-cold brutality, stand revealed.
TIME OUT NEW YORK:
Ol’ Man River rolls over everyone in On the Levee, a roiling and wide-ranging new work of music theater that examines a cataclysmic 1927 flood in Greenville, Mississippi . . . Like the striking silhouettes that Kara Walker has contributed to the set, it manages to be both delicate and blunt, drawing oblique energy from classic past shows—most notably Show Boat and Caroline, or Change—while forcing a space for itself . . . Todd Almond’s exemplary score is framed as existing blues songs and spirituals that the characters know; in the third, the characters seem to express themselves spontaneously in song.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE:
Love is in the air at Berkeley Rep's Thrust Stage. Throbbing teen hormones burst through the power-guitar chords and yearning anticipation trembles in the lyrics of Matthew Sweet's songs. The flayed-skin raw nerves of adolescent insecurity and the awkwardness of first romance inform every glance, gesture and warbled note in the performances of Ryder Bach and Jason Hite . . . Author, vocal arranger and co-orchestrator Todd Almond uses the melodic rock ballads and mood of Sweet's 1991 album, "Girlfriend," to craft a gentle, heartfelt, two-character chamber musical that celebrates the pain and joy of first love between gay teens in early '90s small-town Nebraska.
VARIETY:
Almond's music captures the plaintive, as well as the playful . . .
TIME OUT NEW YORK:
"Soulful and original"
NPR, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED:
"I wish I could give this CD to every poetry lover I know!"
