Finally, The Return of Pump Boys and Dinettes
By Peter Filichia Had all gone well, a revival of Pump Boys and Dinettes would have opened on April 8, 2013. But two months to the day before the planned opening, the six producers who’d intended to bring the 1981-82 Tony-nominated Best Musical back to Broadway said they were postponing it. We […]
Return with Ed Ames to Broadway
By Peter Filichia During his long career, Ed Ames only made two appearances on Broadway. In 1962, he took over for Jerry Orbach as Paul the puppeteer in Carnival; then in 1963, he originated the role of Chief Bromden, the tortured soul who became the title character of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. […]
The Overtures Is About to Miss
By Peter Filichia I once asked Charles Strouse if he expected that “Baby, Talk to Me” would be Bye Bye Birdie’s big hit. After all, it was the first featured song in the overture, placed and played with such authority that it seemed to say “This is the one, folks. This is the […]
Cabaret’s Sui Generis Cast Album
Most of the hundreds of original cast albums have of course been recorded in studios. A few have been recorded live, such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s Porgy & Bess, the British Moby Dick and Catch My Soul. And then there was Mummenschanz, a mime show where a listener ONLY heard the audience response. (Seriously: nothing else.) […]
In Praise of Anita Gillette
By Peter Filichia What a nice event at the Spiral Theatre Studio last Wednesday night. At Richard Skipper Celebrates, a chat-series helmed by the eponymous raconteur, the ever-charming Anita Gillette was the subject. Granted, most Americans may remember Gillette from her 20,000 appearances on The $20,000 Pyramid and other game shows. Daytime mavens […]
