Joanna Merlin News

Fosse. Bennett. Robbins. Scott Wise got to know and work with them all. His incredible dancing skills were featured in 13 Broadway musicals including A CHORUS LINE, CATS, CARRIE, and JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY, for which he won the Tony Award.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: The power of illumination! 

For over fifty years, the big, belt voice of Karen Morrow has been filling theatres and TV screens. While audiences across America will fondly remember her numerous appearances on The Merv Griffin Show, it is her live appearances on Broadway, blasting the roof of numerous theatres, that epitomize Karen Morrow. Joining Rob & Kevin via phone, Karen reminisces on how she became known as 'the flop queen', what it was like to share the spotlight with Buddy Hackett,  and how she counted Ethel Merman among her biggest fans.

You would be hard pressed to find someone who loves the theatre more than Peter Filichia. For years, Peter's observations on musical theatre have inspired countless actors, directors, and writers to start a career in show business. Now, Peter talks to Rob and Kevin, his two biggest fans, about the importance of arts education, for whom a critic should be crafting their reviews, and why he still loves the theatre. Plus, memories of Senator Joe, The Wiz, and My Fair Lady! 

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and under appreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week: Great writers. Great director. Great actors. Where did they go wrong?

For over fifty years, the beautiful voice of Carol Lawrence has filled our hearts. No one will capture the love, yearning, and heart break of Maria, the doomed heroine in WEST SIDE STORY, better than the actress who originated the role: Carol Lawrence. Joining Rob and Kevin from her home in California, Carol talks about the power of WEST SIDE STORY, what it was like working with Jerome Robbins, and how the theatre still has the power to heal all souls!

Bruce Yeko is one of the most fascinating men in show business. If it wasn't for Bruce we wouldn't have the original cast recordings of such musicals as THE BAKER'S WIFE, IN TROUSERS, PRETTYBELLE, and countless other musicals that no commercial record company would have produced. Selling off his massive baseball card collection, Bruce used those funds to  produce over 300 cast recordings, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his 78 years of entertaining, Lawrence Merritt has truly seen it all. From dancing on Broadway in GOLDEN RAINBOW and PIPPIN, to modeling for the greatest magazines, to being an underwater dancer in Paris, Lawrence is not short on amazing stories.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: James Lipton writes a musical & Kevin extols the virtues of having three names! 

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: Rob and Kevin go to two very different churches! 

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: The grandfather of Broadway choreography and a look into the songs lost on the road to Broadway!

Orchestrator Larry Moore has been praised by the New York Daily News as 'one of the most ingenious practitioners in his profession,' and you'll find no argument in that statement once you hear Larry's fascinating story. Stopping by to pull back the curtain on the role of an orchestrator, Larry tells Rob and Kevin what it was like orchestrating such musical series favorites as 'Unsung Musicals' and 'Lost in Boston,' which recording is the greatest cast album of all time, and how he got Stephen Sondheim his Pulitzer Prize!

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: June is bustin' out all over and the birds are flying down to Rio!

Audiences across America remember Nancy Dussault as Ted Knight's wife in TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, Alan Arkin's wife in THE IN-LAWS, and as the original host of GOOD MORNING AMERICA. But before Nancy became a television and movie legend, she was heralded for her Broadway performances in DO-RE-MI, BAJOUR, and countless others!

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This Week: FLOYD COLLINS gets stuck in a cave and Ethel Merman gets stuck in a sitcom!

There are three types of musical theatre lovers: Fan, Obsessed, and Stephen Cole. Stephen, who has had a wonderfully varied career as a lyricist and librettist, invited Rob & Kevin over to the musical theatre mecca he calls his apartment to talk about the craft of writing, meeting Merman, and how social media sites, like Facebook's Forgotten Musicals page, is uniting musical theatre fans from across the globe!

? MICHA, the not-for-profit association dedicated to attending to actor/director/author Michael Chekov's artistic vision and technique, today announced the creation of The Michael Chekhov Scholar Award and its inaugural recipient, Connie Rotunda. Rotunda received her accolade and presented her work at  the organization's International Workshop and Festival last week in New London, CT.

Every week director Robert W Schneider and actor Kevin David Thomas pull back the curtain on neglected, forgotten, and underappreciated musicals, as well as bizarre performances, endearing television appearances, and all things show business. This week Behind the Curtain celebrates two great comediennes of the American Musical Theatre, Dorothy Loudon and JUNO!

Christine Toy Johnson has come full circle in a career with many facets: from her first Equity role to her current stint as Bloody Mary in Guthrie Theater's SOUTH PACIFIC, this Rodgers & Hammerstein musical has been important to her.

George Lee Andrews holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most performances in the same Broadway show, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. But, before he won that honor, he was Broadway's go-to character actor appearing in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, STARTING HERE, and ON THE 20TH CENTURY.