George Crumb / Taboo

On this day in classical music: George Crumb’s “Makrokosmos I” for amplified piano was given its premiere in New York in 1973. Subtitled “Twelve Fantasy-Pieces after the Zodiac,” “Makrokosmos” was composed for Crumb’s friend David Burge who gave the premiere. The composer would write three additional sets of “Makrokosmos,” the second also for amplified piano, the third for two amplified pianos and two percussionists, and the fourth for amplified piano, four hands. Listen to Benoît Gagnon perform “The Magic Circle of Infinity,” the eighth movement from “Makrokosmos I.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=322Yqli6Y9I

On this day in the musical theatre: The musical “Taboo,” a stage musical loosely based on the early life and career of pop star Boy George, closed on Broadway after a 100-performance run in 2004. Originally staged in London in 2002, “Taboo” was set in an abandoned London warehouse frequented by Boy George’s contemporaries. The Broadway production, which opened in November 2003, was substantially rewritten by Charles Busch. Talk show host Rosie O’Donnell had been so impressed with the show that she financed the Broadway production. Listen to Euan Morton sing “Stranger in this World” from “Taboo.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIoF9JO6qNE

Musical musings: “Taboo,” a disastrously overcrowded tableau of a show about hedonists who hide their hearts, can keep your head spinning for any number of reasons. And that’s not even counting all the extracurricular drama that attended the show in its rehearsals and previews — tabloid tales of battling egos and last-minute fixes overseen by no less a personality than Rosie O’Donnell, its ardent co-producer. But like its London prototype, this “Taboo” is essentially a singing showbiz soap opera, in which rising stars in a glittery world misplace their souls, hiding the tears of clowns beneath their greasepaint. The newspapers bubbled with stories of starry ego clashes, missed performances and last-minute consultations with outsiders, all given enhanced fascination by Ms. O’Donnell’s simultaneous involvement in a high-profile court case with her former magazine publishers. Up to the moment of the first critics’ preview, rumors persisted that the show would be postponed or perhaps even canceled altogether. But here it is, still definitely alive, if dazed and confused. And it has enough exciting talent — in a cast that includes bright stars-in-the-making like Raul Esparza and Sarah Uriarte Berry — so that no one should really want to hurt “Taboo.” But there’s no denying that the show is a crazy, mixed-up mess in tone, structure and rhythm. Its first act inspires a kind of open-mouthed fascination, as such messes often do. By the second act, the numbness descends that comes from overdosing on plot lines. – Ben Brantley in The New York Times

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