SPEAK TO US, OH BEAUTIFUL CAST ALBUMS By Peter Filichia
“Listen, girls, the way to catch a man is to be a natural woman…” So said Lena Horne before she launched into “Pretty to Walk With,” her opening song in JAMAICA, which opened 67 years ago this week. Many moons ago, when Jonathan Schwartz was a radio commentator, he played the song on his program. […]
RAGTIME MADE US HEAR IT By Peter Filichia
Masterworks Broadway has two ways to whet your appetite for the upcoming presentation of RAGTIME at Encores! The last great musical of the 20th century will play October 20 through November 10 at City Center. That it’s the biggest house in the theater district is fitting for a musical that requires the largest of canvases. […]
WHEN MAGGIE SMITH WAS A NEW FACE BY PETER FILICHIA
Maggie Smith’s recent death inspired me to listen to NEW FACES OF ‘56. Are you asking, “What could she possibly have to do with that show?” In fact, Smith made her Broadway debut in this revue, one of the series that producer Leonard Sillman occasionally sponsored. The key word is “occasionally.” Many of us, when […]
And for a Significant Anniversary … By Peter Filichia
I was racking my brains in trying to find the perfect gift for Princeton and Kate Monster’s 20th wedding anniversary. Princeton, you may recall, proposed to Kate Monster on June 6, 2004, the night that AVENUE Q won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score. Oh, the two weren’t in attendance at Radio […]
HAPPY 60th, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF By Peter Filichia
The 1964-65 season gave birth to a dozen new musicals, but only one has ever enjoyed a Broadway revival. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, of course. Make that, revivals, plural. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, there have been five remountings of the musical that celebrates a significant anniversary this week. After 60 full years, it’s […]
