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 was ostensibly adapted from Thornton Wilder’s 1955 play THE MATCHMAKER, but its true inspiration was the 1958 film version. Both dispensed with the play’s […]
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 approached a well-known lyricist at a party. She said that she adored a certain song of his. Linda even put […]
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 that he wouldn’t always be there for her. But she loved him so much that she settled for having as little or […]
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 saying “charisma.” And that brings us to Time magazine’s choice for “Breakthrough of the Year”: Alex Newell, who had plenty of […]
MERRILY: NOTHING’S THE WAY THAT IT WAS IN KAUFMAN AND HART By Peter Filichia
Whether you loved it 42 years ago or sometime after, here’s a way to have even more respect for MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Read the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. You’ll find that George Furth and Stephen Sondheim greatly improved it. First and undoubtedly least, they renamed the characters. Richard Niles […]