Can You Say “Sempre Molto Rubato”? By Peter Filichia
Although directors aren’t supposed to give line readings to actors, composers and lyricists seem to be allowed to “direct” their singers and orchestras. Take a look at sheet music for various songs, and far more often than not, you’ll find a word or two at the top of Page One that says exactly what’s expected […]
ONE WAY TO CELEBRATE WORLD THEATRE DAY By Peter Filichia
Did you know that in 1961, March 27th was established as World Theatre Day? Sad to say, this year there was much less theater in the world. Until this situation rights itself, we’ll be armchair listeners to get our world theater fix. So start THE GRAND TOUR with Jerry Herman’s 1979 musical. Given the song […]
STEPHEN SONDHEIM: AN APPRECIATION By Peter Filichia
What a metaphor, huh? Take a look at the history of the Tony Awards for Best Original Score. There have been fourteen years when the category wasn’t even offered, and fifty-eight when it was. Do the math, and you’ll see that makes for seventy-two of the Tonys’ seventy-three seasons. So what happened the other season? […]
The Most Beautiful Girls in the World By Peter Filichia
“Who?” That’s the response I got last year when I made a passing reference to Elizabeth Taylor. There was a time when this could have never happened. Taylor, the recipient of three Oscars, was a world-famous movie star and the first one to get a $1 million salary for a film (CLEOPATRA). But the question-asker […]
DOUGLAS WATT SAVED HIS RAVES — AND PANS By Peter Filichia
They’re scrapbooks, but they’re not full of scraps. On the contrary, the many volumes that Patricia Watt shared with me are full of letters that her father treasured and kept. He was Douglas Watt, the first-string theater critic for New York Daily News from 1971 through 1986 (although he did occasional pieces there through 1992). […]
