The First Hit Broadway Musical from a Movie
By Peter Filichia — These days, we often hear people complain that too many Broadway musicals are made from motion pictures. Actually, the start of that trend can be traced backed to 1953, when musical versions of Nothing Sacred and Carnival in Flanders debuted. The former, renamed Hazel Flagg, was not a hit, but it […]
My Funny Valentine’s Day Song
By Peter Filichia — Many of us spent last week looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day cards to give to our beloveds. Some of us bought cards with puffy embossed hearts in the middle. Inside were such sentiments as “To my love, to whom I give my heart and soul” or “You make every day, […]
It’s the Little Things, the Little Things …
By Peter Filichia — I received a nice e-mail from Elliot J. Cohen, who’d read my “A Tale of Three Dollys” a few weeks ago. In it, I wondered why Carol Channing on the original Broadway cast album of Hello, Dolly! sings, “Ambrose, let me hear that tonic chord” in “Put on Your Sunday Clothes”– […]
Black (Musical Theater) History Month
By Peter Filichia — February is, of course, Black History Month. So celebrate each day by playing an African-American’s performance from different cast albums. We have plenty to choose from. Black entertainers have been important components in the Broadway musical, as cast albums dating back to Show Boat’s 1946 revival prove. In case you need […]
A Superb Thurber Carnival
By Peter Filichia – A Thurber Carnival, the original cast album that Masterworks Broadway is re-issuing this week, could just as easily be called A Character Actors’ Carnival. If you’re a vintage stage, movie or TV buff, you’ll immediately recognize the distinctively dry voices of Tom Ewell, Peggy Cass, Paul Ford, Alice Ghostley and John […]
