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by Peter Filichia 42 Years Ago this week, New York’s newspapers began sporting ads that said, “What’s a four-letter word for a great Broadway musical?” The answer, of course, was Hair. “The American Tribal Love Rock Musical” opened at the Biltmore Theatre (now the Friedman) on April 29, 1968, and didn’t leave until July 1, […]

by Peter Filichia This week, we’ll be marking the 446th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare – inarguably the greatest writer the world has ever seen. And, not last and hardly least, the writer who inspired many musical theater writers. The first notable attempt was by Rodgers and Hart, who wrote The Boys from […]

By David Foil Get together a group of Broadway musical fans, bring up the subject of cast recordings, and, sooner or later, you’re going to hear an impatient question that begins with the words, “When are they going to release… ?” Meet “they” – at least as far as the Masterworks Broadway catalogue is concerned. […]

By Peter Filichia Wasn’t that Anyone Can Whistle Encores! concert last week sensational? Yes, the book once again let us down — though you have to admire that Arthur Laurents went out on a limb and wrote in a style unlike any he’d tried before or since. But, oh, that Stephen Sondheim score! Goddard Lieberson […]

By Didier C. Deutsch I can imagine how Ali Baba must have felt when he entered the cave where the 40 thieves had hidden their loot. A sense of awe, of wonder, almost indescribable, when confronted with the wonders that were laid in front of his eyes. I experienced something akin to it when I […]