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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:59PMDe 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 o…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:08PMThe 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:22PMSo 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, over…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:27AMGeorge 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 him v…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:06PMDon 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 …
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:33AMGianni 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:15PMMore 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:56AMThere 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:57PMRather 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 (wi…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:01PMWill 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:30PMI'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. A lot o…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:19PMThe 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,"…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:00PMComposer/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 huge…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:08PMDavid 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 availabl…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:53PMChasing 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 ne…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:49AMI'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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:18AMWestchester 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…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49PMAdapting Broadway shows for "live" TV is never easy. And this production was hampered by some extraordinary bad luck. One of the stars, Brennin Hunt, ("Roger") broke his foot at the last min…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:35PMShe encouraged me to dream big, grab opportunities when they came, and work full steam--and not to wait, because none of us know how much time we have. (I thought she'd live forever.) When…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:34PMNo one loves Berlin's music more than I do. But the creators of this stage adaptation have tried to jam too many well-known songs into the show. I think that cutting a couple of the songs…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:05PMThe generous spirit of Jonathan Larson (1960-1996) certainly was felt in New York's great supper club, Feinstein's/54 Below, the night I went to see The Jonathan Larson Project (which filled…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:09PMToday’s column will be focusing on theatrical rights. The first rule in the theater, for anyone contemplating presenting a play: make sure you have the right to present the work. That …
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49AMIf you’re in the mood for a night of laughter, “The Outsider”—a new comedy by Paul Slade Smith, receiving its East Coast premiere in January and February at the Paper Mill Playhouse-…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:24PMI'm sorry to note the passing of David Cassidy. And I want to share a few remembrances of him--as a performer and as a person. He was capable of conveying magic in his concerts--a "Peter P…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:07PMMemo to Broadway producers: You need to do everything you can to hook the next generation while they're young. I got hooked on theater because I saw the greatest performers, the greatest sh…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:10PMIn the first half of her career, Barbara Cook was a top leading lady in musical theater, famously originating roles in such Broadway shows as “The Music Man” and “She Loves Me.” (Dec…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:16PMI’ve seen “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” many times, many places. I didn’t see the original Broadway production, alas–although I loved the cast album–but I�…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:24PMI am so happy I got to see my longtime friend Victoria Leacock Hoffman--a very special person; kind, smart, instinctive, and “giving” by nature--honored by the Keen Company in New York C…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:27PMThe three new albums are “The Chip Deffaa Songbook” (39 of my theater songs, from shows I’ve written over the years); “Chip Deffaa’s Irving Berlin Revisited” (featuring rare, and…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:08AMThere were a number of fine performances on the stage. But the performance I enjoyed the most was given by the fellow who, I noted last year, gave the most commanding performance of any fell…
SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:22AM