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HAIL TO THE CHIEFS! (16)

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 version of Budd Schulberg’s classic 1941 novel WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? It would again center on Sammy Glick, a young man who’d […]

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS! (14)

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.?” If you’re in town, do drop by the Drama Book Shop to hear me interview Ellis Nassour, the esteemed author of […]

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS! (13)

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 reiterated what a miraculous entertainment this show was – and is. It started out as a 1958 musical called AT THE GRAND. Luther Davis, its […]

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS! (12)

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 brilliant notion, as well as the talent and fortitude, to write a play set in each of the ten decades of the 20th century. […]

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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 had had their Chita Rivera obituaries ready to go, readers have been asking me why I didn’t. I guess there was a part of me […]

Peter Filichia is the theater critic emeritus for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey and News 12 New Jersey.

He is a columnist each Friday for www.mtishows.com and www.kritzerland.com.

Filichia is the author of Let’s Put on a Musical, now in its third printing; Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit of the Season / The Biggest Flop of the Season and Broadway Musical MVPs 1960-2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Last 50 Seasons. His new book, Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks will be published in May, 2013 by St. Martin’s Press.

He has been a columnist for Playbill, Theater.com, Theatermania and Theater Week.

Before joining the Theatre World Awards in 1996 as host and head of the selection committee, Filichia served four terms as president of the Drama Desk. He has served on an assessment panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and is currently critic-in-residence for the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music and the musical theater judge for the ASCAP Awards program.