TOMMY, WE CAN HEAR YOU! By Peter Filichia
Those of us who attended THE WHO’S TOMMY on March 27 learned that it was a special evening. Before the show, director Des McAnuff stood near the orchestra pit and told us that this was “Alumni Night.” Many of the cast and crew members from his original 1993 Broadway production were in attendance in the […]
A BRIGHT SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE By Peter Filichia
“A blank page or canvas” aren’t the only things that offer “so many possibilities,” as SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE tells us. So does a bare stage. Eamon Foley certainly knew how to use it in his recent production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winner. He made the 40-year-old musical about […]
REMEMBERING STEVE LAWRENCE By Peter Filichia
Steve Lawrence’s death on March 7 reminded me of the time when many Broadway observers assumed that producer Joseph Cates had lost his mind. In 1963, Cates was about to produce a musical version of Budd Schulberg’s classic 1941 novel WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? It would again center on Sammy Glick, a young man who’d […]
THE SKINNY ON SUPERSTAR By Peter Filichia
Frank Loesser, of GUYS AND DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED fame, once asked “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” Instead, I’ll ask “What are you doing on Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.?” If you’re in town, do drop by the Drama Book Shop to hear me interview Ellis Nassour, the esteemed author of […]
THE EVER-GRAND GRAND HOTEL By Peter Filichia
Memories of 1989 came flooding back. Last week, Walter Willison, an original cast member of GRAND HOTEL, edited, produced and directed a marvelous 35th anniversary tribute to the musical. It reiterated what a miraculous entertainment this show was – and is. It started out as a 1958 musical called AT THE GRAND. Luther Davis, its […]