June 2009 News Archive (older news link at bottom of page)
June 29, 2009
Twelfth Night: The Album
Over the weekend I had the excellent fortune of visiting Hem in the studio as they worked on the Twelfth Night album. The variety of songs I heard from the show sound more lush and clear than possible in an outdoor theater, and the bonus songs not in the show were extremely exciting. The bonus songs are thematically relevant to the Twelfth Night characters but have roots in other Shakespearean plays. In particular, the song "Where Is Fancy Bred?" (from The Merchant of Venice, and probably not coincidentally, Willy Wonka) sung by Orsino (Raśl Esparza) was a marvel, with a melody and orchestration that created a goosebump extravaganza that made my jaw drop each time the song rang through the studio. Every song sounded gorgeous, and you should preorder the CD right now! I took too many photos for speedy sorting and sharing, so please visit again in a few days for pictures from the studio that are bigger and better than the little preview on the left. Thanks to Hem for the opportunity, with special thanks to Steve for getting the ball rolling and to Dan and Gary for so nicely giving me free reign and for having bowls of chocolate everywhere.
Twelfth Night: The Reviews
Official opening night of Twelfth Night was June 25, which means that reviews started flooding in on June 26. Here's a round-up (and I'm not only sharing the great reviews - they're all like that, and almost all of them singling out the music of Hem). You can also find these review links on the Twelfth Night page.

AmericanTheaterWeb
Associated Press
Backstage
Bergen Record
Bloomberg
The Central Park Blog
Curtain Up
Globe and Mail
Hollywood Reporter
Huffington Post
Lighting & Sound America
New York City Theater
New York Daily News
New York Examiner
New York Magazine
New York Post
New York Times
Newsday
nytheatre.com
Talkin' Broadway
TheaterMania
Time Out New York
Variety
June 16, 2009
Preorder Hem's Twelfth Night Album
You may have noticed the big new banner at the top of this page. Hem's "Twelfth Night" album is available for preorder! Go! Get it! CDs ship in August. More details about the album on the Twelfth Night discography page.
June 14, 2009
Twelfth Night: The Show
It was my pleasure yesterday to see (and hear!) the Public Theater's production of Twelfth Night, which as you surely know includes original music written and recorded by Hem. The show was a lot of fun (even in the rain), and the music was divine. Throughout the show there was recorded music, and there also turned out to be a great deal of Hem-penned live music performed on stage by the ensemble (which includes Hem's Steve Curtis on guitar). Pictures and recording are not allowed inside the theater, but you can find photos of the playbill and posters outside the theater on the new Twelfth Night page of fun.
Twelfth Night: The Album
Yes, the album! Within the next 2 weeks, Hem's Twelfth Night album should be ready for your listening enjoyment. Pre-ordering details should be available at performances of the show shortly, and I'll share ordering information for everybody else as soon as I know it. The album will include the cast singing and the music from the show (recorded songs and live-performed songs) as well as a number of songs that did not end up in the final version of the show. Hem briefly Tweeted and Facebook-ed about this project. Trust me, your life will not be complete until you hear "Come Away Death."
Departure and Farewell
The discography page formerly known as the "new album" page is now officially renamed with the name of the album, Departure and Farewell, which you can also see in the Twelfth Night playbill. The page is also updated with some new details about some previously-shared songs ("A Wolf in the Woods" and "Last Call") and the addition of some new songs ("So Long" and "Departure and Farewell"). Expect the album in early Autumn 2009.
You Don't Know About Me Without You
In October 2007 All About Hem and Hem first mentioned Hem's album project called "You Don't Know About Me Without You." The album now at long last has a discography page! The album is a collection of 43 songs each having a name of one the 43 chapter titles in Mark Twain's book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (Get the book for free at Project Gutenberg.) The album name is a play on the book's first line ("You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'; but that ain't no matter."). Hem has already collaborated with a number of artists for about 10 songs in progress, and the album is planned to be completed following "Departure and Farewell." This project is also mentioned in the Twelfth Night playbill. I'm pretty sure none of our lives will be complete until we hear a Hem song called "All Full of Tears and Flapdoodle."
June 10, 2009
Twelfth Night Starts Today
The Public Theater's summer production of Twelfth Night in New York's Central Park starts today and runs through July 12. Go watch, and especially go listen to the music made by Hem. Seen the show? Show or tell All About Hem or go talk about it at Hem's message board!
June 2, 2009
Twelfth Night Casting Surprise
You already know that Hem is writing and recording original music for performance at the Public Theater's summer production of Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park from June 10 - July 12. New to the ensemble cast is Hem's own Steve Curtis (cast list and Hem's MySpace). Now you can go hear AND see some of Hem!
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This site is fan run and is not affiliated with Hem in any way. You can visit Hem's Official Website here. You can contact me at Christina@AllAboutHem.com