Blog

As I watched the excellent production of BAT BOY at City Center, two other musicals came to mind. ANNIE and FOLLIES. You’re laughing. Fine. But back in 1977, many walked into the Alvin Theatre thinking that they’d see a spoof about an eyeballs-deficient moppet who would say “Leapin’ lizards!” every other second. Instead, they came […]

In case we needed a reminder that RAGTIME is magnificent, the new production at Lincoln Center proves it. Many musical theater aficionados have known its worth for almost 30 years. There aren’t many scores that are recorded months before the show has an announced opening, but RAGTIME is one of the handful. In 1996, some […]

So, how much faith do we place in numerologists and astrologers? Many of them claim that people born on four certain days of the month – the first, the 16th, the 27th and the 31st – are more likely to remain single than those born on the other dates. Can we substantiate these claims based […]

But no mention of KISS ME, KATE? Granted, film producer-director Stephen D.M. Smith was more interested in celebrating where Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne lived in This Place Matters! Ten Chimneys. (Yes, Ten Chimneys. Santa Claus would have no problem entering Lunt and Fontanne’s rural Wisconsin retreat.) However, while I was watching this marvelous hour-long […]

Everything went quiet. This is what came to mind when the concert version of SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS was announced. It’ll play November 21-22 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. The announcement took me back to a potent silent moment that had occurred in the 2001-02 Tony Awards’ press room. The upstairs […]