1,448 stories by "Peter Filichia"
It was the month in which we celebrated “World Theatre Day” – on March 27. Do you think that day was chosen it because on that date in 1964, Barbra Streisand awoke and read…
Jason Meehan Photography .Alyse Alan Louis (Kira) and Bernard Dotson (Danny) in Revision Theatre's Xanadu. At least "Xanadu" knows exactly what it is. "This," says one character, "is childre…
Ever hear of a comedy called Come Live with Me?
You’re pardoned if you haven’t. After all, the 1967 comedy lasted all of four performances at the Billy Rose (now the Nederlande…
Rick Engler (Center) Greg Jackson as Timon fends off the debt collectors. So you've never seen "Timon of Athens"? Attend the production at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and half an …
By Peter Filichia --
If all had gone according to plan, I would have written and posted this column -- marking a sixty-second anniversary -- last Tuesday.
Don't blame me: I'm not the one w…
In Douglas J. Cohen's musical The Gig, a would-be professional jazz musician is excited because "I played with a guy who played with Benny Goodman." Well, right now I'm just as exc…
Paul Whelihan Playwright Dominique Morisseau, seated, with "Follow Me to Nellie's" cast members, from left, Ley Smith, Michelle Wilson and Kelly McCreary. It was the best little wh…
You may recall that in 1932, Oscar Jaffee was pressuring Lily Garland to star in his production of The Magdalene. She didn’t wind up doing it. Now, here’s The Magdalene at St. Cl…
David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce, who is directing "It Shoulda Been You" for the George Street Playhouse this fall, has hired an old colleague, Edward Hibbert, to be in the new musical. T…
An acrobat performs a hoop balancing act in Cirque Ziva, which will be presented in Asbury Park throughout July. In addition to all the pretzels served on the beach at Asbury Park, a theater…
Remember the question that Joe Gaken asked a few weeks ago? He wanted to know, “What was the musical that was announced that made you say ‘Are you kidding? There’s going to…
By Peter Filichia --
You may know Song of Norway, for which Robert Wright and George ("Chet") Forrest adapted melodies from Norwegian classical composer Edvard Grieg. In the '40s, it ran t…
I’ve seen 26 of Shakespeare’s plays performed outdoors in 34 different productions, but I’ve never had quite the al fresco experience with the Bard as I’m having in A…
What a blessing in disguise Cirque de Soleil gave us by renting Radio City for Zarkana, thus sending the Tonys to the (comparatively speaking) more intimate Beacon. Have you heard anyone not…
Alicia Keys is going where Whoopi Goldberg, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have gone before her.
See what can happen when you root for a sports team? Consider the Oyster, David MacGregor’s terrific new comedy that’s playing at The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Mich…
By Peter Filichia --
There was a good deal of talk last week about the change in cigarette packaging. Terribly graphic images are now to be put on the labels.
Why couldn't this have happ…
My, what wondrous responses so many of you gave to my question, “What line or lyric that comes from a musical is one that you tend to say quite often in your everyday life?” Tony…
Next to "When are you going to write about Follies in Washington?" the question I've been most asked is "When are you going to write about Spider-man?" On December 26, 20…
Interesting, isn't it, that a story that proves the transformative power of art should be one of the oldest and most enduring? That’s One Thousand and One Nights, the ancient Arabic st…
By Peter Filichia --
Last week, we talked about the Robert Merrill-Patrice Munsel recording of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel that was made in 1955 " when the world wasn't as frank a p…
Here in Toronto at the annual Luminato Festival, meant to be a city-wide arts celebration, one pays a pretty penny for most of the attractions. Andromache, a contemporary retelling of the Ra…
I'm on a plane, getting ready to see a theatrical event to which I've looked forward for months. Ah, you're saying, Follies in Washington. Over the past few months, I've heard these two ques…
Of the two roles that Nitya Vidyasagar has in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," she prefers the one that has the fewer lines.
I'm on a plane, getting ready to see a theatrical event to which I've looked forward for months. Ah, you're saying, Follies in Washington. Over the past few months, I've heard these two ques…
