Ben Walker - Meadowlark (The Baker's Wife) - Boys, Boys, Boys! - University of Michigan
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- Senior musical theatre major Ben Walker sings "Meadowlark" from THE BAKER'S WIFE for Boys, Boys, Boys! A Gay Cabaret at the University of Michigan.
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Piano: Brian Buckner
Venue: Kerrytown Concert House
this is the most good looking man i’ve ever seen
pfffffft
He is rather gorgeous!
1.) Wow. Damn :)
2.) We always praise singers who cover Meadowlark but also props to the accompanist as well because, man, that song is hard and they are really rocking out those notes!
i come back to this video every now and then to cure my anxiety
It's on my saved and suggested viewing post and I will never stop watching it
Yes! I love the song since the first time I heard Sarah Brightman. I am creating a spanish adaptation of it.
I just have to say how refreshing it is that a man has the balls to come forth and do this piece. Ben...you did a magnificent job in your performance. Thank you!!!
Andrew Rannelles also has a version of this for miscast Broadway.
His acting 100% was on-point too. Destined for Broadway.
He's got a great career ahead of him. Can't wait to see where he goes. Beautiful voice.
And now he's getting his Broadway debut in &Juliet
And I just saw him yesterday and it was amazing!
&Juliet the Musical adaption of Romeo and Juliet ....He performed on Broadway and was this year 2023 Tony Awards singing.
BEST rendition of meadowlark EVERRRRRRR!!!! You will be a broadway star. No doubt about it.
I think I have to agree with you. Now, of Ben Walker could perform this with the Liz Calloway orchestrations, that would be heaven!
This song is NOT easy for a woman and this young man sang it so effortlessly and beautifully! AND he is leading man handsome! Gonna keep my eyes out for him on Broadway soon!
Honest to God, I've watched this a dozen times over the last year and cry every time. This guy is so special. Where is Ben Walker? More vids please!
Ben Jackson Walker is now a Broadway Actor
Thanks for letting me know!@@ricoltmetric8156. I've looked him up and am following him. What a talent!
Here I am, once again, in the year 2022 still watching this on a regular basis as my go to song cover of this
the way he hit the "before my past" part was phenomenal, I love his voice
Gorgeous voice
Just stumbled across this video. I have to say how impressive this is for a man to do this song. Its quite the feat! I've always had a special place in my heart for Meadowlark. Its not a song you jump into lightly, both as the singer and the piano accompaniment. I will say though, if you want to show what you can REALLY do, this is song to do it with. Ben glides effortlessly through this piece with a range and power that usually only opera moves me like this. Standing ovation sir!
And now he's our Broadway Romeo in &Juliet 💜😍
What a beautiful and pure tone this young man has. What a great job.
This guy is a shoe in for Book of Mormon, NOW!!
The list of possibilities is long and should include King George in HAMILTON
@@timothysmith7888 Defnitely
why is this man nowhere to be found on social media
Hello, I'm the stalking fairy and here is his FB profile : facebook.com/ben.walker.716
@@clpt8526 love ya genius
C.l. Ptt thanks 🤪🤪🤪
Such a difficult song for any performer to master---Ben's version is wonderful.
one of my many cancellable opinions: despite the occasional flat or swallowed note, this is the best-ever rendition of this song
I wish him the best in a career as a singer ... real Broadway Bound talent. GO BLUE
BEN. Why am I just finding this you are a STAR.
My gay friend introduced me to this song with betty Buckley singing it always has moved me to tears I didn't think anyone else could touch it but this guy also moved me to tears you nailed it Ben brought this 50 yr old single mum to tears I rarely cry or a moved but you got me xxx hope to hear more from him xxx
Ben Walker is enormously talented. To hear a beautifully orchestrated and beautifully performed version, look at the Liz Calloway UA-cam clip of Meadowlark.
I feel like I’m watching the god of the sun singing this song to the meadowlark. 😭🤩❤️👏👏👏
One of the best male performances I ever heard of this amazing song. ❤️ loved it.
He is a very good performer, I hope he goes to Broadway.
He can easily be my "beautiful young man". Gosh he's gorgeous!
Countrycowboy08 what show is that from?
@@anthonyislam2926 which one? The song? It's from The Baker's Wife, an Off-Broadway musical by the Stephen Schwartz. The line "beautiful young man" is literally in the song haha
This song is so hard to sing and he did it phenomenally
He has a beautiful voice!
A fantastic rendition of a difficult song, superbly sung and acted!
My god this is amazing. I'm ugly crying now. So wonderful.
him being on Broadway is inevitable
Wow, he's wonderful. This gave me chills!
Beautifully sung.
I love this song. He does a good job.
Wonderful career ahead for this young man. Amazing job of my all time favorite musical theatre song.
Amazing beautiful rendition
it's effortless for him WOW the high note
I simply adore his voice.
Listen to the just released "Ohio" by Ben Walker on any of the platforms where you listen to music!
Ben is a star! Loved this performance.
When I was a girl l I had a favorite story
Of the meadowlark who lived where the rivers wind
Her voice could match the angels' in its glory
But she was blind, the lark was blind
An old king came and took her to his palace
Where the walls were burnished bronze and golden braid
And he fed her fruit and nuts from an ivory chalice
And he prayed:
"Sing for me, my meadowlark,
Sing for me of the silver morning,
Set me free, my meadowlark,
And I'll buy you a priceless jewel
And cloth of brocade and crewel
And I'll love you for life,
If you will sing for me."
Then one day as the lark sang by the water
The god of the sun heard her in his flight
And her singing moved him so
He came and brought her the gift of sight
He gave her sight
And she opened her eyes to the shimmer and the splendor
Of this beautiful, young god, so proud and strong
And he called to the lark in a voice both rough and tender
"Come along.
Fly with me, my meadowlark,
Fly with me on the silver morning,
Past the sea where the dolphins bark
We will dance on the coral beaches,
Make a feast of the plums and peaches
Just as far as your vision reaches
Fly with me."
But the meadowlark said no
For the old king loved her so
She couldn't bear to wound his pride
So the sun god flew away
And when the king came down that day
He found his meadowlark had died
Every time I heard that part I cried
And now I stand here starry-eyed and stormy
Oh, just when I thought my heart was finally numb
A beautiful, young man appears before me,
Singing â??come, oh, won't you come?â??
And what can I do if finally for the first time
The one I'm burning for returns the glow?
If love has come at last it's picked the worst time
Still I know
I've got to go
Fly away, meadowlark
Fly away in the silver morning,
If I stay, I'll grow to curse the dark
So it's off where the days won't bind me
I know I leave wounds behind me
But I won't let tomorrow find me
Back this way
Before my past once again can blind me
Fly away
And we won't wait
To say good-bye
My beautiful young man
And I.
So, so stunningly gifted.
I can’t get enough of this guy. He is just so exquisitely gifted.
The micro expressions are driving me wild!
The problem is they distract from the communication of the song--- if u were telling this "story" to another human being, you would do so using your words and phrasing...making sweeping gestures or facial commentary on what's being said is not only unnatural it indicates that you are not using the words and relying on externals to ensure we get it. The fact that the song is sung by the character to herself makes such externals even more bizarre...I don't know of anyone who talks to themself with corresponding body movements.
@@kennellschenck6656 Umm, yeah, but it's still a performance of a song for an audience, and in this case, it's out of context of the musical, and he's not playing that character in the musical. I do agree that his gesturing could have been lessened a bit, and/or more controlled, but I think the negativity of your reaction is extreme in my opinion.
Amazing!! I'll be watching for him on big stages in a few years!!
Incredible!
DAYUM! Kid's GOOD!
My goodness this is stunning
awesome rendition of the song
this is incredible wow
I think I found the best male version of this song. Wow ❤
Gorgeous voice. Loved it!
Geez! What a great rendition of the song. I wonder what this young man is doing now?
Ben you are AMAZING!
Beautiful!
Beyond talented. Looking forward to your career!
This is what the god of the sun should sound like
I have no words. This is unbelievable.
Titus sent me here. You pwned song, breh. i sob
Amazing young man so handsome and talented
Deacon from Orange Is The New Black
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw Judy's incredibly gorgeous secretary and had to look him up...
@@ajromero3692 He is so cute
@@ajromero3692 same sis
I like your song you sing so pritty
Easy on the eyes and ears!
he sings with his whole body. a good thing. the piano was too loud. drowned the vocal out. a bad thing..
Thats kinda of his fault a little bit too. When you have a piano and you've got no mic, you have to put your voice as much forward as possible, so your voice cuts throught the instrumental. They teach that in college, and hes a Michigan Musical Theatre graduate, thats literally the best MT program there is. They probaby taught him that.
His talent is absolutely breathtaking tho, amazing voice and wonderful acting. Hope to see him doing Broadway soon.
I agree, but, this also started when Broadway gained the ability to add body mics. Two things then changed, orchestrations became louder with more instruments; theatre voices became less supported, and, less acoustic-non-amplified-but-we-can-still-hear-you-in-an-1,800-seat-theater, and, more and more, amplified Studio Voices where a sound Mixer can up your volume, if necessary. Increasingly, Producers wanted the audiences to hear, IN THE THEATER, what they had already heard on the original cast recordings!
Magnificent! I’d love to know what he’s doing today.
amazing
Okay, get this guy to Broadway right away. I mean NOW!
So damn good.
he is so cute. he looks cute in orange is the new black.
3:35 YES GET IT
INCREDIBLE
wow just wow
LOL the pianist overshot at 4:12. I would've burst out laughing if that were me. The pianist, that is. I doubt I would've noticed if I was singing, same as this guy. Haha
Stunning! What key is this in?
He's gorgeous
I can't imagine I would be in love with a boy. This guy turned me gay in an instant. 😍
Of course this song is best as it was conceived and enjoyed in a female legit belt voice. When a man sings this it becomes another song really. That said this was enjoyable and the artist did his absolute best with a mixed head tone and tenorial charm. The Bakers wife never ran on Broadway and the musical was considered a off off Broadway fare that sort of flopped. Later it appeared on West end to some success and has had a later revival. This song by S. Schwartz has consistently appeared on the favorite list of Broadway numbers nevertheless. The song has a composition that wriggles its self all over the place with every voice type giving it a go. That says a lot for it’s creation. This charming performance is just another way it continues to live on since its premier on the West End in 1989 and it’s off off Broadway performances and recording of 1976. #meadowlark
I hope dis man is doing well DAMN
WOW
Best version since LuPone herself.
Joel. Check out Liz Callaways version - beautiful. She takes her time with the song - Lupone always seems to be rushing through it like she's late for a doctor's appt.
I agree with JJ C, the Liz Calloway version has terrific orchestrations.
Is there ANY update on where this kid ended up? I watch this nearly once a week just to get lost in the song with the way he tells it. (I listen to Patti often too) But THIS guy. WHERE IS HE NOW?
Listen to the just released "Ohio" by Ben Walker on any of the platforms where you listen to music!
@@sarahk1681 OMG that’s awesome. What a talent!!!
He is currently performing on Broadway as Romeo in the musical “& Juliet”!
G O R G E O U S VOICE!
Please, if you have not already done so, also sing If Love Is A Chain of Love from the musical THE GRASS HARP by Claibe Richardson and Kenward Emslee. Also, sing anything Karen Morrow sang.
I expect when I leave this page and check IBDB I will find that you’re already playing King George in HAMILTON and, that you’re a Broadway star! Bravo!
I love the vocals and the intensity of the performance. But if I can offer a small nugget of constructive criticism and that would be to work on facial expressions so that they more closely match the meaning of the lyrics and the acting choices you want to make. I know we don't have total control of how our faces move - and that you have to do certain things to produce the sound you want at any given moment. But an audience needs to connect to the whole package. This shows a huge potential.
Interesting observation. Mr. Walker seems to be very clear about to whom he is telling this story and why. I’m very curious to know Mr. Walker’s internal thoughts on this performance. There are moments when he appears to be sneering and/or angry, and, it strikes me as odd.
I didn’t hear a word he sang. I tried. I really did. But he is so handsome it’s distracting.
The Piano was overmiked...very loud... He needed a lav mike..
Piano wasn’t mic’ed at all. Ben Walker needed to be on a mic, not because he’s not loud enough. But, because Broadway musicals are no longer written for acoustic voices in acoustic theaters with acoustic orchestrations. Since at least the mid 1970’s, with THE WIZ, (which had Pit Singers), sound technology finally progressed to the point where they began to put body mics on Principal performers (but, not on the ensemble). Original cast albums were to sound like the live, Broadway performers. Slowly, that got flipped, so that the live performance needed to sound more and more, like the studio recording of the cast album! Fact! Mr. Ben Walker ought to have been on a mic.
This man is a ghost on social media. Bad move if you want to be a prolific actor.
salt fork
I love the way you sing this song and your expressions! My 17 year old sang "Meadowlark" at her Chorus concert a couple months ago. Here's her singing it... ua-cam.com/video/I2e7OAWLM_I/v-deo.html (Chloe Lamb) Her dream school is The University of Michigan, I can't wait to show her you singing!! Best Wishes to you!
Dear Ms. Lamb, Thank you SO much for sharing the link to your young daughter's amazingly incredible performance of this wonderful song. I just finished watching/listening to it, and I was totally blown away by her voice. She is so freaking talented I haven't the words to express just how much I adored her singing. However, although I am acutely aware of the extreme difficulty of the accompaniment to this particular song, I have no idea how your poor daughter managed to focus with the multitude of gigantic flubs the pianist made. If it were I singing, I would have had to stop and give her such a huge much-deserved slap across her face that it would have knocked both her and her page turner to the ground. Your daughter sounds like a consummate professional, and it is a shame that the pianist (who was probably a faculty member) sounded like she was sight-reading the piece for the first time. What a terrible way to ruin not only a great song, but also a wonderful performance by a young budding theatrical singer. I can only hope that your daughter wasn't discouraged because of this and that now, two years later, she is doing well at UofM, and on her way to Broadway, at least if it ever comes back to life after all the madness and illness in the country and the world today.
@@finsterbaby1996 thank you for the wonderful comment! An update on my daughter, she dropped her dreams of performing after covid hit and theaters shut down. She is now at UF in the communications division.
I NEES TO KNOW WHAT KEY THIS IS IN!!!!!!! PLEEEAAAASE
I believe it's in A Major, but don't quote me on that lol
It's in A Major, 7 half steps below the original
My only gripe is in the instrumentation. This song is long as fuck and we have a lot of ground to cover. Keep it moving. Stephen Schwartz does that so well
Interesting. I know what you mean. I think Schwartz does keep it moving in the orchestration (listen to the orchestrations in the Liz Calloway UA-cam clip). The piano accompaniment starts off at a clip (is this in 12/8 or something?). Plus, the character is in a huge conflict, and, dramatically speaking, has to literally sneak out of the house and RUN AWAY! Sooo, there are moments where the plot shifts gears.
TalenTalent . GO BLUE ..... it is not all about Football in A2
Just marry me,
thanks. get famous, if... rip, aretha and mr. lemon!
Agree completely. What is it about pianists who seem to feel that they are the performers that people come to see. The vocalists are just backup singers. But it happens to the best. Look at Patti Lupone singing this same song. Here on UA-cam. A shame.
Piano's too loud, he really has to work to sing over it. He's good.
He should have been on a mic.
Schwartz wrote the emotional turbulence into the accompaniment, so, the listener is tipped off to what’s about to happen before the character knows.
The way he re-enacts the king really cheapens the whole song
I’m angry and I don’t know why
Singing is great. But the piano is way too loud and disturbing.
I agree that the piano vocal balance is bad because this was an event meant to be experienced in person, not on UA-cam, but, it just happened to be captured by someone’s phone.
The composer, Stephen Schwartz, put all the character’s emotions into the accompaniment. I think the time signature is something like 12/8, and alla Tedesco, or something. Anyway, the vocals start off small, sweet & reflective, but, the accompaniment is off and RUNNING from the START. The foreshadowing that the character is going to run away is right there in the downbeat! We know before the character does, so when it happens, it’s a big payoff.
Therefore, the Piano accompaniment is complex as it’s an indication of what the full orchestra will sound like. And, this accompanist is excellent. (Since the mid-1970’s, and, definitely in the 1980’s on, theatre orchestrations have gotten fuller and louder because of the ability to put body mic’s on the performers. The Creatives have increasingly wanted the sound audiences hear in the theater, to match the sound they hear on the cast album on their headphones.
I recommend listening to Liz Calloway’s UA-cam clip of this song. She’s terrific, as usual, but the ORCHESTRATIONS! (which are only hinted at in this piano chart), are rich and full and exquisitely RESTRAINED until they BURST. Schwartz quite deliberately wrote the restraint and subliminal energy of the character into the accompaniment. In the original recording, Patti Lupone had the perfect voice for this song. This young man comes damn close to being perfect. Obviously, Lupone is on a studio mic in the cast album recording. Liz Calloway is also mic’d and Ben Walker, who has no trouble being heard, would have been better served had he been mic’d for a clip like this.
Enjoy!
I agree that the piano vocal balance is bad because this was an event meant to be experienced in person, not on UA-cam, but, it just happened to be captured by someone’s phone.
The composer, Stephen Schwartz, put all the character’s emotions into the accompaniment. I think the time signature is something like 12/8, and alla Tedesco, or something. Anyway, the vocals start off small, sweet & reflective, but, the accompaniment is off and RUNNING from the START. The foreshadowing that the character is going to run away is right there in the downbeat! We know before the character does, so when it happens, it’s a big payoff.
Therefore, the Piano accompaniment is complex as it’s an indication of what the full orchestra will sound like. And, this accompanist is excellent. (Since the mid-1970’s, and, definitely in the 1980’s on, theatre orchestrations have gotten fuller and louder because of the ability to put body mic’s on the performers. The Creatives have increasingly wanted the sound audiences hear in the theater, to match the sound they hear on the cast album on their headphones.
I recommend listening to Liz Calloway’s UA-cam clip of this song. She’s terrific, as usual, but the ORCHESTRATIONS! (which are only hinted at in this piano chart), are rich and full and exquisitely RESTRAINED until they BURST. Schwartz quite deliberately wrote the restraint and subliminal energy of the character into the accompaniment. In the original recording, Patti Lupone had the perfect voice for this song. This young man comes damn close to being perfect. Obviously, Lupone is on a studio mic in the cast album recording. Liz Calloway is also mic’d and Ben Walker, who has no trouble being heard, would have been better served had he been mic’d for a clip like this.
Enjoy!
Must be nice to be talented 😒
When i was a girl l i had a favorite story
Of the meadowlark who lived where the rivers wind
Her voice could match the angels' in its glory
But she was blind, the lark was blind
An old king came and took her to his palace
Where the walls were burnished bronze and golden braid
And he fed her fruit and nuts from an ivory chalice
And he prayed:
"Sing for me, my meadowlark,
Sing for me of the silver morning,
Set me free, my meadowlark,
And i'll buy you a priceless jewel
And cloth of brocade and crewel
And i'll love you for life,
If you will sing for me."
Then one day as the lark sang by the water
The god of the sun heard her in his flight
And her singing moved him so
He came and brought her the gift of sight
He gave her sight
And she opened her eyes to the shimmer and the splendor
Of this beautiful, young god, so proud and strong
And he called to the lark in a voice both rough and tender
"Come along.
Fly with me, my meadowlark,
Fly with me on the silver morning,
Past the sea where the dolphins bark
We will dance on the coral beaches,
Make a feast of the plums and peaches
Just as far as your vision reaches
Fly with me."
But the meadowlark said no
For the old king loved her so
She couldn't bear to wound his pride
So the sun god flew away
And when the king came down that day
He found his meadowlark had died
Every time i heard that part i cried ...
And now i stand here starry-eyed and stormy
Oh, just when i thought my heart was finally numb
A beautiful, young man appears before me,
Singing "come, oh, won't you come?"
And what can i do if finally for the first time
The one i'm burning for returns the glow?
If love has come at last it's picked the worst time
Still i know
I've got to go
Fly away, meadowlark
Fly away in the silver morning,
If i stay, i'll grow to curse the dark
So it's off where the days won't bind me
I know i leave wounds behind me
But i won't let tomorrow find me
Back this way
Before my past once again can blind me
Fly away ...
And we won't wait
To say good-bye
My beautiful young man
And i.