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Having a Halloween party? Many of my friends do, although they do demand that their guests come in costumes that were seen in Broadway musicals. My favorite memory: I was dressed in Hugh O’Brian’s John Adams costume from his summer stock tour of 1776; Raymond Wood was attired as a Munchkin, even though he was […]

Broadway already had Starbucks long before every street corner did. Starbuck Number One appeared as a pivotal character in N. Richard Nash’s play The Rainmaker fifty-nine years ago next week, on Oct. 28, 1954. Starbuck Number Two showed up fifty years ago this week on Oct. 23, 1963 in the play’s musical version, 110 in […]

Forty-seven years ago this week, Cabaret opened in Boston, where the show would have its sole pre-Broadway tryout. Although Tony-winner Lotte Lenya and Tony-nominee Jack Gilford were “only” supporting characters, most everyone had greater interest in them than the leads. Oh, many were interested in Jill Haworth, who’d play Sally Bowles, and Bert Convy, who’d […]

We don’t usually get terribly sentimental about theaters, but in this case we must make an exception. On September 29, the Shubert Theatre on West 44th Street celebrated its hundredth anniversary. Considering that it’s always been the flagship for the all-important Shubert Organization, attention should be paid. Although Othello opened the house, the Shubert has […]

While any year would be a good one to give Ann-Margret a lifetime achievement award, 2013 is particularly apt. It is, after all, the fiftieth anniversary of her breakthrough role as Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, the first hit for Michael Stewart, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. Not that Ann-Margret was a new face […]