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Pal Joey – Broadway Revival Cast Recording 1952

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

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

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). […]

Say Yes to Optimism

Say Yes to Optimism

By Peter Filichia “But perhaps the most American part of this truly American art form is its optimism. Broadway music calls us to see the best in ourselves and in the world around us.” So said President Obama last Monday night from the East Room during “The White House Music Series Event Saluting Broadway.” And […]

Guest Blog: Meeting the Phantom

Guest Blog: Meeting the Phantom

By Michael Tatasciore As a lucky grand prize winner in the MasterworksBroadway.com “You Gotta Get A Gimmick” Sweepstakes, I chose to see The Phantom of the Opera on July 17th in New York City. I was amazed by our cool hotel which was the Renaissance in Times Square. It was right in the heart of […]

Peter Filichia is the theater critic emeritus for the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey and News 12 New Jersey.

He is a columnist each Friday for www.mtishows.com and www.kritzerland.com.

Filichia is the author of Let’s Put on a Musical, now in its third printing; Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit of the Season / The Biggest Flop of the Season and Broadway Musical MVPs 1960-2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Last 50 Seasons. His new book, Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks will be published in May, 2013 by St. Martin’s Press.

He has been a columnist for Playbill, Theater.com, Theatermania and Theater Week.

Before joining the Theatre World Awards in 1996 as host and head of the selection committee, Filichia served four terms as president of the Drama Desk. He has served on an assessment panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and is currently critic-in-residence for the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music and the musical theater judge for the ASCAP Awards program.