Tuesday, July 23, 2024

STARTING HERE WITH MALTBY, SHIRE AND ROSENBLUM By Peter Filichia

“My first reaction was that all of the songs were losers.” “A terrible idea.” That first quotation, reported by Joshua Rosenblum in his excellent new book CLOSER THAN EVER, came from…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, July 16, 2024

LISTENING TO THE GREAT GATSBY By Peter Filichia

Although the title is printed in gold, on a black background, it also offers one tiny dollop of a different color. There’s a shining burst of green situated atop the first “T” of THE G…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, July 9, 2024

AS FOR FRANK LOESSER’S TRUE MASTERPIECE… By Peter Filichia

And then there was another loss that may have been the unkindest cut of all… As we discussed last week, although GUYS AND DOLLS was the biggest hit of the 1950-51 season, Frank Loesser’s…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, July 2, 2024

FRANK LOESSER’S BAD LUCK By Peter Filichia

Seeing the recent, brilliantly staged reading of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING by The National Asian Artists Project started me thinking. Frank Loesser had twice provided …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2024

SO MANY TONY QUESTIONS! By Peter Filichia

And now that the books have been officially closed on the 2023-2024 season and the Tony Awards, I’ve been answering a great many questions from relatives, friends and (let’s face it) fre…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:27AM
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

OPERATION MINCEMEAT’S OUTSTANDING-O’S By Peter Filichia

Understand that in this tally, we’re not counting curtain calls. But indeed, last month in London during a Saturday matinee of OPERATION MINCEMEAT, I saw not one, not two, but three standi…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:14AM
Tuesday, June 11, 2024

THE OUTSIDERS’ INSIDERS by Peter Filichia

Although it’s a book that’s sold 20 million copies in 30 languages in the last 57 years, Danya Taymor had never encountered it. “I read the musical before I read the book,” said the …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, June 4, 2024

PLANNING YOUR THEATRICAL SUMMER By Peter Filichia

So, which type of cast album listener are you? Before you see a musical, do you play the show’s recording and learn the score down to every hemidemisemiquaver? Or do you avoid the album be…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 03:28PM
Tuesday, May 28, 2024

CABARET: PERFECTLY MARVELOUS By Peter Filichia

Only ten days after it had opened, its original cast album was already in stores. Frankly, the first-ever pressing of CABARET would have arrived even earlier had the musical not opened on a …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:37AM
Tuesday, May 21, 2024

A COMPLICATED WOMAN WHO LOVED GOLDEN AGE MUSICALS By Peter Filichia

Although the new musical trying out Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre is called A COMPLICATED WOMAN, it could just as easily be titled A COMPLICATED MAN. That sounds complicated, too, doesn…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, May 14, 2024

ON THE TOWN’S SUBWAYS AND TURNSTILES By Peter Filichia

Does everybody get the joke in ON THE TOWN? That occurred to me last week at the uber-popular Ellen’s Stardust Diner. How popular? Pass by, and you’ll undoubtedly see a line longer than …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Tony Timing Is Everything By Peter Filichia

In the last week, you’ve probably heard two words over and over. “Robbed” and “snubbed.” Yes, it happens every spring once fans hear the nominations for New York theater awards. Th…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

One Night Only at the Mark Hellinger By Peter Filichia

Forty years ago this week, a revival of a smash-hit with a Tony-winning score opened. It boasted a Tony-winning actress and an Oscar-nominated star who was repeating his role on stage. And y…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, April 23, 2024

SPRINGTIME FOR HIT SHOWS IN GERMANY (AND SOUTH KOREA) By Peter Filichia

Although FINIAN’S RAINBOW asks, “How are things in Glocca Morra,” let’s instead enquire, “How are things in Germany and South Korea? Where Broadway musicals are concerned, David Sa…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

THE OTHER DO RE MI By Peter Filichia

And speaking of Comden and Green – which I did last Tuesday – J2 Spotlight Productions will present their 1960 musical DO RE MI this week and next. Make no mistake: DO RE MI has nothing …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

BETTY AND ADOLPH REDUX By Peter Filichia

Here’s a different slant on “There are no small parts – just small actors.” Mallory Portnoy and Nick Blaemire were lucky and talented enough to land the roles of Betty Comden and Ado…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, April 2, 2024

TOMMY, WE CAN HEAR YOU! By Peter Filichia

Those of us who attended THE WHO’S TOMMY on March 27 learned that it was a special evening. Before the show, director Des McAnuff stood near the orchestra pit and told us that this was “…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, March 26, 2024

A BRIGHT SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE By Peter Filichia

“A blank page or canvas” aren’t the only things that offer “so many possibilities,” as SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE tells us. So does a bare stage. Eamon Foley certainly knew how…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 05:26PM
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

REMEMBERING STEVE LAWRENCE By Peter Filichia

Steve Lawrence’s death on March 7 reminded me of the time when many Broadway observers assumed that producer Joseph Cates had lost his mind. In 1963, Cates was about to produce a musical v…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

THE SKINNY ON SUPERSTAR By Peter Filichia

Frank Loesser, of GUYS AND DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED fame, once asked “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” Instead, I’ll ask “What are you doing on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.?�…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, March 5, 2024

THE EVER-GRAND GRAND HOTEL By Peter Filichia

Memories of 1989 came flooding back. Last week, Walter Willison, an original cast member of GRAND HOTEL, edited, produced and directed a marvelous 35th anniversary tribute to the musical. It…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

IT’S NATIONAL RETRO DAY! By Peter Filichia

So, did you know that February 27th is National Retro Day? I remembered this while approaching the August Wilson Theatre. The great playwright for whom the theater was named had the brillian…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:03AM
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

REMEMBERING CHITA RIVERA by Peter Filichia

When a celebrity reaches an advanced age, journalists start writing an obituary, knowing that the star’s death could come at any moment. Considering that all others who write about theater…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 01:29PM
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

52 REASONS TO CELEBRATE GREASE By Peter Filichia

Considering that anniversaries are deemed significant when they end in “5” or “0,” why make a big deal of GREASE’s 52nd? Yet 52 is an apt number because young producers Ken Waissma…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

THAT NIGHT ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW By Peter Filichia

On February 9, we’ll celebrate the 60th anniversary of what was then the most-watched event in television history. No fewer than 73,000,000 viewers tuned in to The Ed Sullivan Show that Su…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

MORE THAN ONCE UPON A MATTRESS By Peter Filichia 

So, for the first time since the Sarah Jessica Parker revival in 1996, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS was back in the Broadway theater district last week. Although more than a quarter century has pass…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, January 23, 2024

THE BEST CONCERT OF THE ‘80S By Peter Filichia

Ever hear of PopDaze? The website, we’re told, is “the place to learn, interact, and relive your youth with other fans, as you explore and play with the music, entertainment, and pop cul…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

HELLO, 60TH! By Peter Filichia

So, what does January 16, 2024, mean to musical theater fans? The 60th anniversary of the Broadway opening of HELLO, DOLLY! Let’s celebrate with 60 facts, observations and rumors. 1. DOLLY…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, January 9, 2024

WHAT COMES FIRST – THE MUSIC OR THE LYRICS? By Peter Filichia

So far, 351 people have given their opinions on a question I asked on Facebook. And, my, have I been surprised with what so many wrote. Let’s start at the very beginning. My beloved Linda …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE, HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER By Peter Filichia

No, Henry does not have commitment issues. Clare knows that’s not the reason why the boyfriend who became her husband doesn’t see her for long periods of time. From the outset, she knew …

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 12:38PM
Tuesday, December 26, 2023

AS 2023 COMES TO AN END … By Peter Filichia

No, Oxford’s “Word of the Year” for 2023 is not a nickname for a character in GREASE. But by now, you probably know that “rizz” doesn’t refer to Rizzo. It’s a short way of sayi…

SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 06:00AM

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