The obits and these comments deal mainly with his film work. But on Broadway, he starred in "Luther" and (I believe) the original production of "Joe Egg."
As an example, the top price for "My Fair Lady" when it opened in 1956 was $7.50, soon to be raised to $8.05. That price was retained for its seven-year run. The top price for "Gypsy" (1959) was $9.20. The top price for "Chicago" (1975) was $12. "A Chorus Line" (1975) changed the rules in a few ways. It charged the same for orchestra and mezzanine. It charged the same for Wednesday matinees (which had always been cheaper th
It's not devoted to one show, but Martin Gottfried wrote two BIG books, "Broadway Musicals," which ends around the time of "A Chorus Line," and a second volume that goes into the '90s. The first is hard to carry, the second less so.
Is Carnival the type of musical that could use a "big, splashy" production? The original was small in scale, which was a large part of its charm. Anything big and splashy would overwhelm the material.
The documentary is excellent, but it portrays Prince as a stage-struck kid who pursued his dream by writing to George Abbott and striking gold from there. Presumably just as any of us could have done. However, I was reading a discussion between Prince and Sondheim and how they met. Prince says it was at South Pacific's opening night. "I was with the Rodgerses and he was with the Hammersteins." So obviously he had some top-drawer Broadway connections to be
For the revival of "South Pacific" the audience was rapt during the overture, just letting all this beautiful music wash over them. Of course Michener's introduction was being projected on the curtain, so they also had that to read.
Maggie Smith in "Lettice and Lovage." I had the chance to see it a second time but passed because I didn't want to sully the memory of the first performance.
I agree that the shape of the theater makes a difference. The long and narrow ones, such as the Lunt, the Golden, and the August Wilson present problems unless you sit far forward.
Like Jarethan, I can't help thinking of some of these theaters by their former names.
This was a long time ago. I was sitting in the balcony of the Lyceum for Jules Feiffers' "Grown Ups" when I noticed a spare orchestra seat. At intermission I went down to grab it. I asked those seated next to it if it was vacant, and the woman put her head down. I realized it was Meryl Streep, who obviously did not want to be recognized and who believed I was planning to talk to her. I took the seat and positioned my head so that I could hardly see her.&n
Little as I like the idea, Springsteen's Broadway success may inspire other pop acts to take their chance on solo concert runs on Broadway. We already have an excess of jukebox musicals; the next step is to jettison the book and simply perform the songs.. Do you think this might happen, and who are the likely perpetrators?
How do they treat the chorus? Is it implied that the cowboys are all gay and the women are all lesbians? And what about the "Kansas City" lyric "as round above as (s)he was round below"? I guess that description could apply to a sexy man as well as to a woman, but it seems a stretch.
