MY TAKE ON TAKE ME ALONG By Peter Filichia
Yes, we like that, on every July 4, Turner Classic Movies shows a film of a Broadway musical that concludes on that date. But the situation would be even better if it could also broadcast a Broadway musical that starts on that date. For in addition to 1776, in a more perfect union, TCM would […]
THE ENCORE: ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH By Peter Filichia
Although “Always leave ’em wanting more!” has been a long-established and much-observed theatrical policy, there is a time-honored exception. The encore. This came to mind after Michael Portantiere’s excellent concert presentation of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE last month. Leah Horowitz, Megan Styrna and Katie Dixon did a sterling rendition of “Sing for Your Supper” at […]
John Kander’s Most Unexpected Birthday Gift By Peter Filichia
Have you ever received a 42-page birthday card? John Kander did in March, when he hit The Big Nine-Five and the “card” arrived in his mail. Quotation marks surround the word “card” because Richard Seff actually sent Kander a little book. He called it COME HEAR THE MUSIC PLAY, which he did with Kander’s music […]
SEVENTEEN WITHOUT THE SEVENTY-SIX By Peter Filichia
Remember the film 18 AGAIN, in which George Burns’ character goes on a youthful journey? It starts on Jack Watson’s birthday: his 81st, as we see from the foot-high numbers on his commemorative cake. The screenwriters made sure that a straight up-and-down “pole” was its number “1,” for that way, when Jack walked around the […]
For Your E-dification by Peter Filichia
So, do you know a novel called GADSBY? Not THE GREAT GATSBY, mind you, but GADSBY, a 50,110-word tome that Ernest Vincent Wright wrote in 1939. It concerned a man who thought his hometown would be better off if children ran it. As flabbergasting as that may sound, the book’s real surprise is that not […]
