Remembering Gower Champion
By Peter Filichia — Thirty years have passed since the most famous Winter Garden incident happened. After David Merrick had heard his production of 42nd Street get loads of love and applause from the opening night house, he walked on stage. “I’m sorry to report …,” he said, causing everyone to laugh uproariously. Leave it […]
The Last Smash Hit Operetta
By Peter Filichia — It was recorded in June of 1959, but stayed in print for only three years. And yet, most musical theater enthusiasts covet the recording of Song of Norway by the Jones Beach Marine Theatre’s revival cast. They feel that the score has been well served in both performance and sound on […]
Nightclubbin’ on Broadway
By Peter Filichia — Nightclubs are expensive and crowded and offer not-so-hot food. They were even worse when they were smoke-filled. Nevertheless, the musical theater greatly appreciates that such places exist, for they’ve played host to some of our best songs. Musicals set in the good ol’ U.S. of A. have taken us to nightclubs […]
The Highs and Lows of Highlights Albums
By Peter Filichia — The choice is yours: You can get a single disc that will give you a good deal of music from Ain’t Misbehavin’, Allegro, Children of Eden, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Most Happy Fella, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd and The Who’s Tommy. Or you can get a much more complete two-disc set of […]
Guest Blog: Reflections of Theatre Going
By Ruth DeSarno The 35th anniversary of Chicago has given me an opportunity to think back and reflect on a wealth of memories. I saw Chicago at least three times over the years. The first time was at the 46th Street Theater (Playbill, yes) although I’m not sure of the exact date (ticket stub, no). […]
