SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR CAPTAIN HOOK By Peter Filichia
Sixty years ago this week, one of the most anticipated events in the history of television took place: PETER PAN in color. The first two broadcasts of the musical version of the James M. Barrie classic in 1955 and 1956 had to settle for black and white. But by 1960, color TV had made its […]
JUNO – AND NOT THAT 2007 TEEN MOVIE By Peter Filichia
“How could a musical that boasted what many have called Blitzstein’s most melodic, accessible music have failed?” So asked Jeff Godsey in 2007. He was writing a paper on the 1959 musical JUNO for a historiography class at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. He shared it with me, and I’m glad he did, for we all […]
CLOSE BUT NO TONY By Peter Filichia
Which races were the closest in Tony history? We could ask this question of all two-dozen plus categories that have come, gone or stayed during the awards’ august seventy-four-year history. But for today, let’s limit it to musical performers in their four slots. This list isn’t intended to imply that those who wound up winning and […]
The Butlers Did It By Peter Filichia
While listening to the splendid original cast album of LITTLE ME – in honor of the show’s fifth-eighth anniversary on Nov. 17 – I started thinking about a certain occupation that’s made its mark on Broadway. Butler. That may seem to be a strange thing to take away from LITTLE ME, given that anyone listening […]
THE SOUND OF MUSIC QUESTIONS By Peter Filichia
Do you know or remember the three suggestions that Oscar Hammerstein made to the staff of GYPSY after he’d attended a tryout performance in early 1959? One: Fix the loose doorknob on the set. Two: Move “You’ll Never Get away from Me” from the middle of the scene to the end. Three: Give the audience […]
