CONVERSATION PIECES By Peter Filichia
The week before Christmas always has me thinking about Betty Comden. It all has to do with what she once told me about those seven arduous days she spent in 1952. Comden, lifetime collaborator Adolph Green and their sometimes collaborator Leonard Bernstein had been invited, of course, to many lavish show-biz parties. They had to […]
A LATE BRAVO TO GIOVANNI By Peter Filichia
That December 18th is the anniversary of Ossie Davis’ birth made me think of the 1962 musical BRAVO GIOVANNI. No, although Davis interacted with three musicals in his career, BRAVO GIOVANNI wasn’t one of them. I’ll explain the connection, as Henrik says in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, “later.” In 1957, Davis would only participate in […]
YOUR CHANCE TO BE A SWINGER By Peter Filichia
Shall we celebrate the 275th anniversary of the first time that a Broadway musical had a song with the word “swing” in its title? First-nighters who attended the December 3, 1750, performance of THE BEGGAR’S OPERA heard “Since I Must Swing, I Scorn, I Scorn to Wince or Whine.” That’s not the “swing” you were […]
BROADWAY’S BEST EMPLOYEES
Remember Employee of the Month, in which Zack Bradley and Vince Downey battled to become one? Recently seeing the 2006 film started me wondering which characters in musicals would be contenders for Employee of the Month. Hinesy in THE PAJAMA GAME is a sure contender. Listen to this efficiency expert describe his philosophy in “Think […]
A MARTIN CHARNIN APPRECIATION By Peter Filichia
The lyricist of TWO BY TWO who wrote “I feel like I’m ninety again” would have been 91 this week. Alas, Martin Charnin only made it to 84, for he died in 2019 – but not before leaving behind two hits. First came TWO BY TWO in 1970. No, the musical about Noah and the […]
