484 stories from Masterworks Broadway
This must be a first. What other book celebrates two theater artists, each of whom has a Broadway theater named for him? The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is on 45th Street west of Broadway while Th…
Although he didn't sing "A Boy Like That" in WEST SIDE STORY, Grover Dale still chose it as the title of his memoir. He does, after all, have a connection to that landmark musical that opene…
So, according to the records, September 17 is the day of the year on which most people are born. Now that we're around the 260th day of 2025, let's celebrate the birthdays on that date of th…
It all started with my wanting to do something nice for The Theatre World Awards " the 79-year-old organization that recognizes performers who make their Broadway and off-Broadway debuts. Fo…
In a way, it could be considered a Bernadette Peters album. Most of the star's longtime fans can tell you that over the decades, Peters has released six solo recordings. But she really did a…
What you don't know " or don't remember " about SWEENEY TODD could fill a book. Rick Pender has proved that by writing Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: Behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece.…
With all the talk about A CHORUS LINE'S 50th anniversary, let's remember that without this excellent 1975 musical, there wouldn't have been an excellent 2001 musical. A CLASS ACT. It told of…
Both friends and readers have asked me, "How did July 26 come and go without you commenting on A CHORUS LINE's 50th anniversary?" Actually, I was saving it for this week, because August 9 wa…
Returning to the original cast album of REDWOOD had me recalling a column that was once a go-to feature in Ladies' Home Journal. Starting in 1954 and continuing for several decades, this mag…
Congratulations to Rocco Landesman, Kenny Leon, Kathleen Marshall, Paul Tazewell, Richard Thomas, Tom Viola and " posthumously " Rebecca Luker. Earlier this month, they were voted into The A…
Let's go back to November 15, 1956, when two very different events occurred in entertainment history. And yet, in one strange way, they were related. On this date, Elvis Presley's recording …
There aren't all that many documentaries that bring back actual memories, but Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story was one that did for me. I first encountered Ms. Minnelli when I sa…
Sometimes, scattering those postcards around town does pay off. That's how I discovered a play called Thank You, Don Ameche. Lawrence A. Heman's new comedy runs this week at The Sargent Thea…
"Maybe it was a compliment. I'll never know." So writes Thomas Z. Shepard in his most informative memoir, Recording Broadway: A Life in Cast Albums. He's referring to the leading character i…
BEAU reminds us of an unshakable truth. When you were growing up " with as much love as you may have had from your parents " you probably received more from your grandparents. That's what Ac…
Everyone I spoke to before the Tonys knew he'd be a shoo-in. And indeed, Jak Malone won the Best Featured Actor in a Musical prize. When his name was announced, I'm sure I wasn't the only on…
Leslie Uggams was certainly surprised last week. Oh, she knew that she was receiving a Lifetime Achievement trophy from The Theatre World Awards. We had announced that weeks ago, and she was…
THE PRODUCERS: THE NEW MEL BROOKS MUSICAL experienced that famous theory. Starting 25 years ago, THE PRODUCERS indeed saw that bad luck comes in threes. "Wait," you're saying, "it was a smas…
And he was only three weeks away from his next birthday. True, anyone who's 96 can't count on becoming 97, but we would have wished that Charles Strouse could reach this June 7th and many mo…
As soon as I returned home from seeing the London revival of OLIVER!, I reached for the original American cast album. Yes, original American cast, not original Broadway cast. Throughout 1962…
idina Menzel wasn't the only one galvanized by the story. Tina Landau was equally engaged when she heard about julia butterfly hill. (And yes, julia prefers small letters in the spelling of …
Jonathan Groff's brilliant performance in JUST IN TIME got me listening to a recording that I hadn't heard in some time. And I was reminded that BELLS ARE RINGING " which includes "Just in T…
In 2010, Antonio Banderas announced that he'd appear in a revival but never did. Some years before, Mandy Patinkin was offered the show but wasn't enthusiastic enough to spur a new productio…
Fifty years ago this week, many musical theater fans were talking about one show and one show only. A CHORUS LINE. It had debuted at the Public's Newman Theater on April 15, 1975, making man…
How fitting that I got this book on April 1st, for it does seem to be a fool's joke. It's David H. Lewis' Broadway Musicals: A Hundred Year History, in which he gives opinions on musical the…
