OL’ SPOON RIVER, THAT OL’ SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY By Peter Filichia
So this week, Masterworks Broadway finally gives you the opportunity to hear a 1963 Broadway hit on a CD or download. Spoon River Anthology. Yes, hit – although it could only manage 111 Broadway performances. That’s not a long run, but in the 1963-64 season, it was enough to outdistance Mary Martin’s new musical Jennie […]
FINIAN’S IS SOMETHING VERY GRANDISH By Peter Filichia
En route to Finian’s Rainbow at The Irish Repertory Theatre, a song from Darling of the Day popped into my head. Not so surprising, you say, given that both musicals have lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, although their fates were markedly different: Finian’s closed as the sixth-longest book musical in Broadway history while Darling (at thirty-two […]
Another Milestone for A CHORUS LINE By Peter Filichia
Last week A Chorus Line celebrated a twenty-fifth anniversary. Not of its opening, which happened more than forty-one years ago. But a quarter-century ago on October 30, 1991, a plaque was installed in the lobby of the Shubert Theatre. It states that here was “Home of A Chorus Line, the longest-running show in Broadway history.” […]
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 […]
