On the London Town
By Peter Filichia If I had a chance to run into Leonard Bernstein wherever he is now, I’d ask him to forgive me. I just – for the first time ever – heard the Original London Cast album of On the Town that was recorded in 1963. And I vastly prefer how musical […]
THE ORIGINAL SIDE SHOW
By Peter Filichia What a good season for Bill Russell! He’s just seen one of his musicals return to off-Broadway — Pageant, now at the Davenport Theatre on West 45th – and come October, Side Show makes its return to Broadway. In June the musical that Russell wrote with Henry (Dreamgirls) Krieger opened […]
1776: IT’S A MASTERPIECE, I SAY
By Peter Filichia Remember, 1776 is first and foremost an entertainment. What was not on the minds of its bookwriter Peter Stone or its composer-lyricist Sherman Edwards was 100% historical accuracy. For one thing, the 1969 Tony-winning hit shows us fourteen people putting their John Hancocks on the Declaration of Independence (and that […]
LESLIE UGGAMS – FROM TONY TO GYPSY
By Peter Filichia There are plenty of raised eyebrows at Connecticut Repertory Theatre as soon as many theatergoers hear the first note of the overture. Long-time fans of Gypsy – and who isn’t? – are startled to hear a shortened version of what many consider to be the greatest of all Broadway overtures. […]
REMEMBERING ELAINE STRITCH
By Peter Filichia Can’t you just see Elaine Stritch entering heaven, looking around, seeing all those angels in their wings and muttering “Does anyone still wear a halo?” All right, in many ways Stritch wouldn’t seem to be a candidate for heaven. But in her prime, she was more than heavenly on stage. […]
