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IN THE HALL DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH By Peter Filichia

To celebrate March as Women’s History Month, let’s take a look at The Women’s Hall of Fame. The idea for the Hall came from a man: Robert Moses, who set the wheels in motion just before he helmed the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. In order to honor the “Twenty Outstanding Women of the Twentieth […]

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THERE’S MUCH MORE TO MARRY ME A LITTLE By Peter Filichia

Remember that great theatrical in-joke in DEATHTRAP? Sidney Bruhl, jealous of the terrific thriller that his student has written, tells his wife that it’s so good that “even a gifted director couldn’t hurt it.” Yes, some directors do believe that they can improve on what the writer(s) wrote. Ever hear about the production of SOUTH […]

music while waiting

MUSIC WHILE WAITING By Peter Filichia

Fifty-five years ago, audiences saw Charity Hope Valentine stuck in an elevator with Oscar Lindquist. As it turned out, she was the braver individual and helped calm down the claustrophobic.  As the title character of SWEET CHARITY, Gwen Verdon was marvelous – so what else was new? – in showing Charity’s concern for anyone in […]

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HAL HOLBROOK’S LOST MUSICAL CHANCE By Peter Filichia

He was known – and always will be known – for bringing Mark Twain back to life. But indeed, Hal Holbrook might well have become a star of Broadway musicals had he got the chance. When I heard of his death on Jan. 23rd, I recalled our conversation of nineteen years ago. It began with […]

kids master masterworks

KIDS MASTER MASTERWORKS BROADWAY MUSICALS By Peter Filichia

To be sure, we savor many wonderful songs when we hear the original cast albums of ANNIE, INTO THE WOODS, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and OLIVER! And yet, when we see and hear children sing selections from these scores, we get an additional treat. The Junior Theater Festival, held last month, saw kids perform hits from […]

Peter Filichia is the theater critic emeritus for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey and News 12 New Jersey.

He is a columnist each Friday for www.mtishows.com and www.kritzerland.com.

Filichia is the author of Let’s Put on a Musical, now in its third printing; Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit of the Season / The Biggest Flop of the Season and Broadway Musical MVPs 1960-2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Last 50 Seasons. His new book, Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks will be published in May, 2013 by St. Martin’s Press.

He has been a columnist for Playbill, Theater.com, Theatermania and Theater Week.

Before joining the Theatre World Awards in 1996 as host and head of the selection committee, Filichia served four terms as president of the Drama Desk. He has served on an assessment panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and is currently critic-in-residence for the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music and the musical theater judge for the ASCAP Awards program.