THE SECOND TIME AROUND By Peter Filichia
In Say, Darling, Johnny Desmond sings, “It’s the second time you meet that matters.” It’s true of songs in musicals, too. Although a great opening number makes theatergoers assume that they’re going to see a good show, a second great number makes them even more confident that they’ll have a memorable evening. So what are […]
An Evening with Sheldon Harnick By Peter Filichia
Time to say “The best laid plans …” Last Monday, I did a one-on-one interview with Sheldon Harnick at a benefit for The Workshop Theatre, that West 36th Street bastion of new plays. This was on Oct. 17 – one day before the 50th anniversary of the opening of The Apple Tree, the penultimate Jerry […]
HEAVEN, I’M IN SIMPLY HEAVENLY By Peter Filichia
Love is simply heavenly but sex means you’re going to hell. So thinks Joyce in Simply Heavenly, the 1957 Broadway musical for which the illustrious Langston Hughes wrote book and lyrics to David Martin’s music. As was the case with so many women in the Eisenhower and pre-birth control pill era, Joyce (Marilyn Berry) believes […]
Broadway’s Three B’s By Peter Filichia
As I went to meet my friend Donald Tesione for lunch, I didn’t realize that he was just a few steps behind me and ready to catch up just before I entered the restaurant. As a result, he’d overheard me whistling “The Three Bs’,” because just before I left my apartment, I’d been listening to […]
70, GIRLS, 70 HAS REACHED MIDDLE AGE By Peter Filichia
No, the recent production of 70, Girls, 70 at HB Studios will never be the definitive one. A group of well-meaning seniors who take class at the famed acting school did their best in conveying John Kander’s music, Fred Ebb’s lyrics, and the book that Ebb and Norman L. Martin fashioned after Joe (Cabaret) Masteroff […]
