99 stories by "Chip Deffaa"
Jay Rogers, who's lost his battle with cancer, was a wonderfully impish cabaret star, with impeccable comic timing. Totally likeable fellow, on stage and off stage. I was so happy to be able…
In October, he opened in an autobiographical Off-Broadway play that he wrote, 'Everything's Fine""a good-natured remembrance of his youth, and of a school teacher who fell for him.  He pe…
I've often told friends what an impact "Funny Girl" had on me. That was the show that made me fall completely, utterly, and permanently in love with Broadway. I was a teenager when I saw…
He won a Tony Award starring in the Broadway masterwork "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." And fortunately his performance was captured well in the film adaptation of th…
This production was an ensemble success"which is what Jonathan Larson was hoping to achieve"so I'd like to mention every member of the company.  Not just the leads, whom I very much e…
In the past 20 years, I've produced a total of 34 different albums; 16 of them have dealt with Irving Berlin (1888-1989). The newest album in this ongoing Berlin series, "Chip Deffaa's Irvi…
I want to be clear. "The Music Man" is such a masterfully written musical that making some changes here and there can't really ruin it; but changes are not needed in this show and they c…
De Niro's goal is to lure more film and television production from Hollywood to New York, and that can only be a plus for New York-based actors. A brand new studio, created for the needs of …
The show's pre-Broadway, out-of-town tryout was very successful financially, suggesting that there's an audience for the show. (The show broke box-office records in Seattle, during its tryou…
So how is Broadway doing right now, in terms of ticket sales and attendance? Not bad at all, all things considered.... There are currently 24 shows running on Broadway. Last week…
George Wein, who died peacefully at his New York apartment at the age of 95, was the founder of the modern music festival. His contributions to pop culture were enormous.  I liked…
I wanted to write something in remembrance of Don Schaffer, who's passed away. He was 82. He helped an awful lot of people in New York's entertainment community, myself included. And I'll al…
Don long worked as a publicist for one singer he greatly admired; when age and ill health prevented her from working much anymore and her finances grew precarious, she told him she could no …
Gianni Valenti, who runs one of the city's best-known and most important nightspots, Birdland Jazz Club on 44th Street, deserves a lot of credit for leading the way. He was one of the fi…
More than 30 Broadway productions are expected to open or re-open before year's end. Producers are gambling that by the fall, audiences will be ready to return. I'll list below the shows and…
There were few women in positions of authority when she started in theater. But as she once told me, "If I wanted to do something, I just went ahead and did it." She blazed a trail f…
Rather than sit around and mope, Flynn wrote "Good Morning, Quarantine""setting his own new lyrics to the familiar melody of "Good Morning, Baltimore," composed by Marc Shaiman (with lyricis…
Will people--especially people who are older or have pre-existing health issues (and many theatergoers are older and have such heath issues)--be willing to gather in packed theaters or conce…
I'm very glad that a friend and I were able to enjoy the high-spirited, fast-moving revue "Five Guys Named Moe," which is currently playing   at Westchester Broadway Theatre.  Â…
The festival has given birth to musicals that have gone on to Broadway ("Next to Normal," "Chaplin," "[title of show]," "In Transit") and Off-Broadway ("Altar Boyz," "The Other Josh Cohen…
Composer/lyricist Jerry Herman was, of course, a Broadway legend.  He gave us such unforgettable shows as "Hello, Dolly!," "Mame," and "La Cage Aux Folles." These musicals were all…
David Cassidy's autobiography "C'Mon Get Happy""which I ghost-wrote for him at his request"has now come out as a Kindle E-book, with a brand new afterword by me. (It's available for purchase…
Chasing Rainbows has an exceptionally appealing cast. This is one of those rare productions where even the smallest roles are vivid. The show itself is not perfect. There are fixes that …
I'm stunned and saddened by the passing of one of the best music directors I've known--and one of the nicest gentlemen-- Hubert Tex Arnold. He died suddenly, unexpectedly of a brain aneurism…
Westchester Broadway's Ain't Misbehavin'--the 208th offering at this venerable dinner theater--is indeed in good hands. For starters, it is directed by none other than Richard Maltby Jr., w…
