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By Peter Filichia   Because the current revival of Chicago recently passed Cats to become the second-longest running musical in Broadway history, I decided to go back forty-one years and look at the script that John Kander, Fred Ebb and Fosse had on August 3, 1973. This was coincidentally twenty-two months to the day before […]

By Peter Filichia   Although the 1996 revival of Chicago opened to splendid reviews, did anyone at the time believe that it would become the second-longest running production in Broadway history? But figures don’t lie: Chicago surpassed Cats on November 23, 2014 with its Performance Number 7,486.   Alas, Bob Fosse, the original director-choreographer and […]

By Peter Filichia   You know what expression I really hate?   “Guilty pleasure.”   I hope you don’t know what it means – because that would show me that you’ve never used it.   However, I’m sure you do know the term, and I fear that you may have said it from time to […]

By Peter Filichia   A speak-singing leading man and a lilting soprano leading lady play characters who meet in London in the early 20th century. He’s the one with pedigree while she’s the parvenu. Comic relief stems from some songs that were written to sound like English music hall ditties. There’s a scene where the […]

By Peter Filichia   See the current revival of On the Town on Broadway, and you’ll hear three sailors proclaim “New York, New York — a helluva town.”   See the 1949 film version and you’ll instead hear the three sailors insist “New York, New York – a wonderful town.”   “Helluva” was a bit […]