MERRILY: BEYOND THE ILLS OF THE ‘80S By Peter Filichia
Stephen Sondheim is getting closer to breaking his own record. His 1964 musical ANYONE CAN WHISTLE ran a mere nine performances but has received three cast albums. First, the one with the original cast, then a 1995 concert recording (both of which are on Masterworks Broadway) and a 2020 studio cast recording. No musical that […]
THE KIT KAT CABARET By Peter Filichia
Has this ever happened before? Go to the August Wilson Theatre, and you’ll see the words “The Kit Kat Club” on all three sides of the marquee. Above it is a two-sided sign that says the same thing. Some signs sport the letter “C” with a circle in the space that keeps a “C” from […]
A NICE PLACE TO VISIT By Peter Filichia
Channel-surfing brought me to a program that started me thinking and made me disagree with what it had to say. It was a first-season episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE called “A Nice Place to Visit.” Small-time crook Rocky is shot while attempting a robbery. When he awakens, he’s surprised that he’s alive. A genial gentleman […]
THE REAL PAL JOEY By Peter Filichia
Granted, hearing most any song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart is a pleasure. However, some theatergoers were disappointed to hear so many of them in the recent PAL JOEY at City Center. The reason: Rodgers and Hart’s songs from other properties were shoved into what had been a PAL JOEY […]
GET IT: WHOLESALE By Peter Filichia
Whether you’re discovering or revisiting Harold Rome’s score for I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, you’ll have a splendid time. The 1962 musical was not his biggest hit. The revues PINS AND NEEDLES and CALL ME MISTER ran longer. Rome’s book shows, FANNY and DESTRY RIDES AGAIN, did, too. WHOLESALE played 300 performances and […]