All stories by Terry Teachout on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Almanac: S.N. Behrman on novelists and playwrights by Terry Teachout

"The author of a well-received novel never knows whether his book, even if it sells, is also read. Nor does he know where his reader yawns, at what page he may have decided that he wants no …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 2, 2019

Just because: Jimmy Durante sings "This Is All I Ask" by Terry Teachout

Jimmy Durante sings Gordon Jenkins' "This Is All I Ask" on Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Hour. This episode was originally telecast by ABC on October 31, 1969: (This is the la…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: S.N. Behrman on contentment by Terry Teachout

"What strikes me as I look back is that I have known few contented people. I have known very busy ones, rich ones, triumphant ones, but few who have been contented." S.N. Behrman, People …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 30, 2019

Hear me talking to you (cont'd) by Terry Teachout

Titus Techera, who hosts a podcast for the American Cinema Foundation on which he and his guests discuss important films of the past and present, invited me back last week for the latest in …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 08:02PM[SHARE]

Replay: Imogene Coca performs "The Modest Stripper" by Terry Teachout

Imogene Coca performs her "Modest Stripper" routine on Admiral Broadway Revue. This episode was originally telecast simultaneously by NBC and DuMont on March 11, 1949: (This is the latest…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: S.N. Behrman on reading in old age by Terry Teachout

"There is no more painful human illusion than that you can catch up on lost reading in old age. Old age is the busiest of them all. Things you used to do effortlessly take you forever, provi…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 29, 2019

Almanac: S.N. Behrman on poverty by Terry Teachout

"To be brought up in a poverty-stricken household, to know nothing but poverty in childhood and adolescence, is not so bad while you are enduring it; it is quite tolerable in fact, at least …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Snapshot: Ethel Merman sings "There's No Business Like Show Business" by Terry Teachout

Ethel Merman sings Irving Berlin's "There's No Business Like Show Business" (from Annie Get Your Gun) on Shower of Stars. She is introduced by Red Skelton. This episode was originally …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 3, 2019

When the game is fixed by Terry Teachout

In today's Wall Street Journal drama column, I review the Irish Repertory Theatre's off-Broadway revival of The Plough and the Stars. Here's an excerpt. *  *  * The most importan…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:02AM[SHARE]

Replay: Anthony Blunt talks about his secret life as a Soviet spy by Terry Teachout

Anthony Blunt, the English art scholar who was exposed as a former Soviet spy in 1979 and stripped of his knighthood, discusses his crimes in an excerpt from a TV interview, the only one he …

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: Louis Auchincloss on parents and children by Terry Teachout

"All children like to irritate and disappoint their parents. It's a way of growing up, of sharpening their teeth." Louis Auchlncloss, The House of the Prophet

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 2, 2019

Almanac: Louis Auchincloss on children and their elders by Terry Teachout

"Children have no mercy on adults. It does not occur to them that adults may need it." Louis Auchlncloss, The House of the Prophet

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Snapshot: William F. Buckley, Jr., interviews Louis Auchincloss and Helen MacInnes by Terry Teachout

William F. Buckley, Jr., interviews Louis Auchincloss and Helen MacInnes on "The Plight of the American Novelist" on Firing Line. This episode was taped on January 6, 1969: (This is the l…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: Louis Auchincloss on the loneliness of old age by Terry Teachout

"Nothing is more shocking about old age than the speed with which even the most famous persons are isolated and forgotten." Louis Auchlncloss, The House of the Prophet

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Look alive by Terry Teachout

As I grow older, I find that my personal definition of what it means to be beautiful is becoming far more encompassing. To be sure, I can't remember ever having had a perfectly clear-cut "ty…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:02AM[SHARE]

Lookback: on simultaneously finishing a book and an opera by Terry Teachout

From 2009: When I told Paul Moravec three years ago that I'd love to collaborate with him on an opera, it didn't occur to me that The Letter would open in the same year that Pops: A…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: Joseph Conrad on determination by Terry Teachout

"Facing it"always facing it"that's the way to get through." Joseph Conrad, Typhoon

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 29, 2019

Just because: Peter Pears sings "O Waly, Waly" by Terry Teachout

Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten perform Britten's arrangement of the English folk song "O Waly, Waly" (The water is wide) on the BBC in 1964: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and hi…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: George Santayana on the utility of music by Terry Teachout

"That a pattering of sounds on the ear should have such moment is a fact calculated to give pause to those philosophers who attempt to explain consciousness by its utility, or who wish to ma…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 26, 2019

A touch of class by Terry Teachout

In today's Wall Street Journal I review the Broadway transfer of Ink. Here's an excerpt. *  *  * The newspaper movie used to be an established genre in Hollywood, and a consisten…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:04AM[SHARE]

Overwhelming by Terry Teachout

In today's Wall Street Journal I review the new Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Here's an excerpt. *  *  * Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" is back on Broadway, thi…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:03AM[SHARE]

Did you see the same show I did? by Terry Teachout

The thirtieth episode of Three on the Aisle, the twice-monthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for liste…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:02AM[SHARE]

Replay: Alfred Deller sings Purcell by Terry Teachout

Alfred Deller sings Purcell's "From rosy bow'rs" in an undated film clip: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: John R. Allen on belief in times of trial by Terry Teachout

"The things of men will break"whether weapons, machines or bodies. When that time comes, know what you believe. It will be the only thing that keeps you going." John R. Allen (quoted in Chri…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 25, 2019

Lear, Lear, and more Lear by Terry Teachout

I've been so horrifically busy throughout the past couple of weeks that I forgot to mention that the twenty-ninth episode of Three on the Aisle, the twice-monthly podcast in which Peter M…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:38AM[SHARE]

#MeTootsie by Terry Teachout

In today's Wall Street Journal I review the Broadway premiere of Tootsie. Here's an excerpt. *  *  * It was inevitable that "Tootsie," Sydney Pollack's much-loved 1982 romcom abo…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:02AM[SHARE]

Almanac: Dr. Johnson on war and the truth by Terry Teachout

"Among the calamities of war, may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates, and credulity encourages." Samuel Johnson, The Idler (…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Snapshot: John Lennon meets Chuck Berry by Terry Teachout

John Lennon and Chuck Berry perform "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Johnny B. Goode" and are interviewed on a 1972 episode of The Mike Douglas Show: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

Almanac: Alfred Korzybski on doubt and belief by Terry Teachout

"There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking." Alfred Korzybski, Manhood of Humanity

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Charity Tillemann-Dick, R.I.P. by Terry Teachout

Charity Tillemann-Dick, a coloratura soprano who suffered from pulmonary hypertension (the same rare disease that afflicts Mrs. T) and who resumed her singing career after undergoing a doubl…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 03:06PM[SHARE]

Lookback: on being the dedicatee of a book by Terry Teachout

From 2009: One of my closest friends, a writer whom I admire greatly, has dedicated his latest book to me. I was one of the first people to suggest that he write it, and he claims to have pr…

SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 07:01AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off