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Forty-seven years ago this week, Cabaret opened in Boston, where the show would have its sole pre-Broadway tryout. Although Tony-winner Lotte Lenya and Tony-nominee Jack Gilford were “only” supporting characters, most everyone had greater interest in them than the leads. Oh, many were interested in Jill Haworth, who’d play Sally Bowles, and Bert Convy, who’d […]

We don’t usually get terribly sentimental about theaters, but in this case we must make an exception. On September 29, the Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street celebrated its hundredth anniversary. Considering that it’s always been the flagship for the all-important Shubert Organization, attention should be paid. Although Othello opened the house, the Shubert has […]

While any year would be a good one to give Ann-Margret a lifetime achievement award, 2013 is particularly apt. It is, after all, the fiftieth anniversary of her breakthrough role as Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, the first hit for Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. Not that Ann-Margret was a new face […]

Bless John Simpkins for giving Sweet Smell of Success another chance. The gifted director, who also teaches at NYU, staged a revival of the 2002 musical on campus two years ago. On Sept. 12, with Marvin Hamlisch being inducted in the NYU Hall of Fame, Simpkins felt that another revival of his 2002 musical was […]

The original cast album of Cowardy Custard is a must for the very young and the very old. The two-disc set of the 1972 London revue features selections and snippets from more than five dozen songs and sketches by Sir Noel Coward (1899-1973). The songs are mostly arranged as medleys, which allow a listener a […]