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It’s now becoming a badge of honor for any Broadway musical. And THE PROM has received it. No, we’re not talking about Tony nominations, although the show now at the Longacre Theatre recently received seven of them. Of course they’ve been more than welcomed by the show’s performers, staff and crew. However, these days a […]

“A musical.”  “A new musical.” Hundreds if not thousands of Broadway shows have used these terms to define themselves. But sixty years ago this week, Broadway received one of its greatest properties with an atypical description after its title: “GYPSY: A musical fable.” That disclaimer took the pressure off librettist Arthur Laurents to tell the […]

Did you celebrate the sixty-seventh anniversary of the opening of NEW FACES OF 1952 last week? Yes, on May 16, 1952, Leonard Sillman opened the fourth of his eventual seven revues that featured then-unknown performers. Some became stars (Henry Fonda, 1934; Van Johnson, 1936) while others simply were relegated to a single listing on ibdb.com […]

Quick! Which Rodgers and Hart show enjoyed the longest run in its original production? PAL JOEY? No, that ran 374 performances, and the show we’re looking for clocked in at 427. A CONNECTICUT YANKEE? Close at 418. THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE? Only 235. We’re going backwards. No, R&H — the first R&H, that is — […]

Seeing the excellent current production of JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK at the Irish Repertory Theatre reminded me of the stunning musical version of the Sean O’Casey play. Last month was the sixtieth anniversary of its opening when it didn’t get the money reviews it needed. Don’t let the fact that it closed in two weeks […]