1,448 stories by "Peter Filichia"
Who’d expect that Elf would contain one of the most significant pieces of dialogue in the history of the Broadway musical? But there it is midway through the first act. North Pole resi…
After Faith Prince had her landmark success with Adelaide in Guys and Dolls in 1992, many musical theater enthusiasts were heard to say, “Wouldn’t she make an ideal Ella Peterson…
It was a month that saw August: Osage County decide not only to offer student rush, but also senior rush. Well, why not? What’s good for the gosling is good for the goose and gander. S…
I swear – this will be the last column on The Most Clever Broadway Musical Moments. We’ve had five in the last two weeks, but I do believe I’ve saved the best for last: The…
As I mentioned on Monday, I’m the critic-in-residence at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, more chummily known as CCM, where recently I saw Aubrey Berg’s excellent production…
Guess who’s singing an album of Broadway songs. Sandi Patty. Some (especially pagans) may not know the name, but much of the country is quite aware that Sandi Patty is the doyenne of g…
Protest and the proletariat " but no punch
By Peter Filichia "
We have two important anniversaries this week, both as the result of West Side Story. It's celebrating its 54th year of never being out of the public consciousness since…
He’s made a name for himself by doing “exploratory readings” of musicals from the ‘40s (Barefoot Boy with Cheek) and ‘50s (Arms and the Girl) – not to men…
Carol RoseggFrom left, Harvey Fierstein, Jack Feldman and Alan Menken form the creative team behind the new musical "€œNewsies."€ Needless to say, relatives who baby…
Down the hall from Steve Spiegel’s office at Theatri©al Rights Worldwide is the warehouse that’s filled with a great many boxes. They’re waiting to ship out scripts to…
Twice before, I’ve given you excerpts from the diary that Mrs. Sherman Edwards kept while her husband's show 1776 was gestating. I reprinted excerpts in one column on the show&rsq…
36 years ago this week, CBS aired a TV version of a Tony-winning Broadway play – late at night, so as few people could see it as possible. The play was David Rabe’s Sticks and Bo…
Today, it’s a different experience for the playgoers at Music Theatre of Wichita. Usually, when they come to the Century II Theatre for a musical, the show essentially starts many minu…
Joan Marcus From left, Aaron Clifton Moten, Steven Skybell and Michael Cumpsty in "Much Ado About Nothing." Of all Shakespeare's plays, "Much Ado about Nothing" may have the least …
Tom Chapin Growing's pains Chalk up another setback to Hurricane Irene: It caused a postponement at the Growing Stage in Netcong. A planned Sept. 30 ribbon-cutting would have celebrated the …
Quick! What musicals have characters named Fortune Teller in Upright Coffin, Female Pirate, Patient, Rock Singer Holding Tray of Bread, Doctor with Most Hair, Little Girl, Shortest Male Doct…
It had to be more than just a homonym for him. In two decades of writing lyrics, Lorenz Hart used the word "heart" an inordinate number of times. That's readily apparent in "Ten Cents a Danc…
By Peter Filichia --
As we celebrate the 47th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof this week (on Sept. 22, to be precise), let's take a look at its most famous song -- and one of its least f…
Last week, I detailed 40 assets found in the current production of Follies. Would I be able to do the same with the production of Aspects of Love at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia…
I’m not going to do what every other long-time theatergoer does: tell you about the glories of the original 1971 Follies and detail how every other production has paled in comparison. …
I’m not going to do what every other long-time theatergoer does: tell you about the glories of the original 1971 Follies and detail how every other production has paled in comparison. …
Andrea Gallo stars as the title character in Ian August’s “Donna Orbits the Moon†at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch. Have you ever wondered …
In Paul Rudnick’s wonderfully witty Regrets Only, he creates a scenario where gays are furious about a proposed amendment to the consitution that will deny them the right to marry. The…
I certainly don’t share the musical taste of Rob Gordon, the owner of Championship Vinyl, or his employees Barry and Dick. Yet I was quite moved when they sang the opening number of Hi…
