We received this in the office the other day and thought we'd pass it along
to the forum.
In the May 25 edition of the _New York Post_ appeared a review of a cabaret
_A Lighter Shade of Weill_.  The singer, Gerta Grunen, has apparently dug up
old Kurt Weill material, including excerpts from an unfinished Huck Finn
musical.  Here's the relevant part of the review...

"Most any enthusiast of Broadway and Hollywood musicals would know that Mark
Twain's _Huckleberry Finn_ was turned into the Broadway show _Big River_
(1985), with a score by Roger Miller.

What few would know is that an earlier attempt to musicalize that
definitively American novel was undertaken by no less a composer than
Gernan-born Kurt Weill.

Weill died in 1950 before completing his _Huck Finn_ musical.  If you're
curious to know what Weill's score (with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson) would
have sounded like, four surprisingly sunny songs -- surprising to those who
associate Weill's name with the heavy, brooding _Threepenny Opera_ -- are
included in Gerta Grunen's new cabaret show, _A Lighter Shade of Weill._"

The review is written by Chip Deffaa and ends saying that the cabaret will
be
performed on June 5 at 7 p.m. at Don't Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St
(212)757-0788 $10 cover, two drink min.  So maybe one of the "locals" can
check this out!

Just thought you'd all like to know!

Renee L. Gross
Center for Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College