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So, last week marked the 75th anniversary of the opening of the first United Nations building. And given that each member nation gets one vote, we’ll pick one song from a musical that’s set in a country that was a member in 1951. In alphabetical order: Argentina: Something from EVITA would be a logical choice, […]

I blinked when I read the news. WISH YOU WERE HERE is the Number One album in the United Kingdom? That an original cast album from 1952 would make such a spectacular renaissance astonished me. No, it’s Pink Floyd’s album WISH YOU WERE HERE that’s made a remarkable comeback 50 years after its original release. Granted, it […]

The week before Christmas always has me thinking about Betty Comden. It all has to do with what she once told me about those seven arduous days she spent in 1952. Comden, lifetime collaborator Adolph Green and their sometimes collaborator Leonard Bernstein had been invited, of course, to many lavish show-biz parties. They had to […]

That December 18th is the anniversary of Ossie Davis’ birth made me think of the 1962 musical BRAVO GIOVANNI. No, although Davis interacted with three musicals in his career, BRAVO GIOVANNI wasn’t one of them. I’ll explain the connection, as Henrik says in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, “later.” In 1957, Davis would only participate in […]

Shall we celebrate the 275th anniversary of the first time that a Broadway musical had a song with the word “swing” in its title? First-nighters who attended the December 3, 1750, performance of THE BEGGAR’S OPERA heard “Since I Must Swing, I Scorn, I Scorn to Wince or Whine.” That’s not the “swing” you were […]