A New Brain (Original Cast Recording)

The Off-Broadway musical A New Brain tells the story of a struggling songwriter who suffers a medical crisis when something goes wrong with his brain and he is forced to undergo surgery. The show follows his experiences in the hospital and the ways that his friends, relatives, and business associates deal with the situation. Composer/lyricist/co-librettist William Finn himself suffered a similar problem; as annotator André Bishop writes, "Everybody knows by now that Bill Finn was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, almost died, and then didn't." Everybody (in the musical theater, anyway) also knows that Finn is the celebrated composer of the Tony Award-winning Falsettos, a highly original show that, among other things, touched on medical matters in lively, unexpected ways. However autobiographical A New Brain may be, it is also a worthy follow-up to Falsettos, full of pop, rock, and funk tunes played primarily on synthesizers with lyrics that trace a group of funny, touching characters in ways that comment on contemporary life. Bishop accurately points out that Finn simultaneously occupies a central place in current musical theater and a place "on the extreme sidelines, " because he is recognized as a major talent, but is also uncompromisingly devoted to writing "idiosyncratic, highly personal shows." While, like Falsettos, A New Brain goes well beyond its nominal subject matter and is enjoyable purely for its music and wit, it nevertheless is idiosyncratic and highly personal, and listeners may find the juxtaposition of catchy songs and medical problems disconcerting. Finn is interested in getting his audiences to tap their feet, but he doesn't want them to forget their troubles. A New Brain is a less substantial work than Falsettos, but it is another highly accomplished effort from a challenging artist.