On the 50th Anniversary of Hello, Dolly!
Every now and then, I come across them. I’m talking about the intense musical theater fans who tell me that they hate Hello, Dolly! And yes, “hate” is the verb they gleefully use. Last January, when I did a story on Dolly’s 49th anniversary, I knew I’d do another around Jan. 16, 2014, when the […]
The Best Phone Call of 2013
How often does your phone ring anymore? We all seem to communicate differently now. Go away for a week’s vacation, and you’ll probably come back to fewer than a half-dozen messages on your answering machine. But, oh, look at those hundreds of e-mails! And yet, some people still use the phone, and I’m glad they […]
THE IDEAL BACKGROUND MUSIC FOR A PARTY
Here is the jackpot question in advance. Musically speaking, what are you doing New Year’s Eve at the party you’re hosting? A young friend excitedly told me that he planned to take many of his cast albums, select his favorite overtures and burn them onto CDs. Once the party began at nine, his guests would […]
It’s Christmas (Story) Time in the City
Of all the musicals that have been nominated for Best Musical, only one has been Christmas-centric: A Christmas Story: The Musical. Yes, Tony-winners Annie and Rent as well as Tony-nominees I Love My Wife, Irma La Douce, She Loves Me and Promises, Promises all involve Christmas in one way or another. Needless to say, Fiddler […]
The Sound of Music Fifty-Four Years Later
When was the last time that you really listened to The Sound of Music? Musical theater enthusiasts tend to avoid mega-hits. We played them so much when we first came to know them, after we’d discovered this marvelous thing called The Broadway Musical. After umpteen dozens of times, we filed away the recordings and haven’t […]
