
Does the musical that toasted "To Life!" have any life left? Oh, yes. Almost 50 years to the day that FIDDLER ON THE ROOF began rehearsals at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, Edina (Minnesota…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 09:33AM[SHARE]It was the month of The New York Musical Theatre Festival, which yielded a true winner in THE GIG, Douglas J. Cohen's terrific reminder that the word "amateur" means first and foremost "one …
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 08:44AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia Can't you just see Elaine Stritch entering heaven, looking around, seeing all those angels in their wings and muttering "Does anyone still wear a halo?" All r…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 08:20PM[SHARE]Did you see that someone took the trouble to put every one of the issues of BROADWAY BUNION on line? Do you remember this venerable tabloid whose motto was "All of the Rialto at your feet"? …
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 11:25AM[SHARE]Some of the Thespian Festival workshops on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus are held in modest classrooms. Not this one. The mammoth all-purpose room in the Westbrook Music Building…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 10:00AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia Had all gone well, a revival of Pump Boys and Dinettes would have opened on April 8, 2013. But two months to the day before the planned opening, the six produ…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 09:28PM[SHARE]What would Jesus think? Would he approve of Bill Russell? After all, Russell got his theatrical start by appearing in a passion play that dutifully and sincerely honored Jesus' name.
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 03:25PM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia During his long career, Ed Ames only made two appearances on Broadway. In 1962, he took over for Jerry Orbach as Paul the puppeteer in Carnival; then in 1963, he ori…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 10:02PM[SHARE]In lo these many decades I've been interviewing, I've always concluded with the same question.
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 04:29AM[SHARE]Here's an easy prediction to make. Theater teachers and high school drama club members who weren't in Lincoln, Nebraska last week didn't have nearly as good a time as those who trekked to th…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 02:42PM[SHARE]I once asked Charles Strouse if he expected that "Baby, Talk to Me" would be Bye Bye Birdie's big hit. After all, it was the first featured song in the overture, placed and played wit…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:50PM[SHARE]It was the month in which Mark Rylance didn't give an asinine acceptance speech. Meanwhile, JERSEY BOYS had to start advertising "Live! On Stage!" while that show at the Majestic finally got…
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 08:29AM[SHARE]Most of the hundreds of original cast albums have of course been recorded in studios. A few have been recorded live, such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt's Porgy & Bess, the British Moby Dick an…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 10:39PM[SHARE]Whodunnit? One thing's for certain: in the musical MURDER BALLAD, the butler didn't. He couldn't have, for none of the characters in this 2012 musical works in that capacity. Michael is a po…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 04:19PM[SHARE]They pored over 50 sports references found in lines or lyrics in Broadway musicals. Only Joe Keenan got all 50 -- so I'll inform the rest of you what he knew that you didn't.
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 06:34AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia What a nice event at the Spiral Theatre Studio last Wednesday night. At Richard Skipper Celebrates, a chat-series helmed by the eponymous raconteur, the ever-charmin…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:22PM[SHARE]Of course you know ANYTHING GOES and KISS ME, KATE. You probably know CAN-CAN, SILK STOCKINGS, OUT OF THIS WORLD and perhaps MEXICAN HAYRIDE as well. And while you would know plenty more Col…
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 08:06PM[SHARE]Two middle-aged character men, one middle-aged character woman, one set, one piano, everyday contemporary clothes (well, okay, one mink coat), and you're in business. In fact, you don't even…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 10:26AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia All right, most of us don't like the semi-recent phenomenon of "jukebox musicals." And yet, we must admit that far more often than not such shows spur entertaining o…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 10:43PM[SHARE]May 26, 1985. Rome. I'd just finished seeing TAXI A DUE PIAZZE. That may not translate to RUN FOR YOUR WIFE, but that was the title given to Ray Cooney's farce about bigamy.
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 02:07PM[SHARE]Here's the way to advertise it: "From the composer-lyricist of WICKED, PIPPIN and GODSPELL." That's ad copy that'll sell tickets " and you wouldn't be lying. Oh, your audience may think you'…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 09:54AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia So many of us who are crying out for original musicals are doubly grateful for If/Then " because it gives us two of them. Bookwriter-lyricist Brian Yorkey doe…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 09:27AM[SHARE]So we come to the end of another season, one that was supposed to create record grosses thanks to the Super Bowl's February appearance in nearby Rutherford. But Broadway got no significant b…
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 07:04AM[SHARE]In his program bio, Will Shunk stated that he is "a fifth grade student" who was "born with CP" — cerebral palsy " "which affects his ability to control his body." Shunk then added, "H…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 09:57AM[SHARE]By Peter Filichia On Friday, May 16, when the Dow Jones average hit 16,491, I interviewed the woman who'd hundreds of times said that the Dow had hit 1,000. She was lying. But …
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 11:09PM[SHARE]Here is a new article from Peter Filichia’s column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’ It’s an honor to bring Peter’s column every week to our reader…
SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:30AM[SHARE]All the nominations are out, and even some awards (such as the Outer Critics' Circle) have been dispensed. Time to move on to the new season. Welcome, 2014-2015!
SOURCE: Kritzerland at 07:37PM[SHARE]On the list of things that people fear most in life, you'll always find "Getting up in front of a crowd and speaking." A hundred or so New York City tweens and teens conquered that fear long…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 12:25PM[SHARE]<p>By Peter Filichia</p> <p>Even a splendid production of <i>Allegro</i>, such as the one that Tom Wojtunik is delivering right now at The Astoria Perfor…
SOURCE: Masterworks Broadway at 07:31AM[SHARE]Here is a new article from Peter Filichia’s column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’ It’s an honor to bring Peter’s column every week to our reader…
SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 08:15AM[SHARE]Jason Brantman and Fiona Santos certainly had a dilemma. Now did they have a solution? The two were looking to co-direct a musical for their Broadway Training Center of Westchester (New York…
SOURCE: Music Theatre International at 11:11AM[SHARE]

