Ethel Shutta

Broadway veteran Kurt Peterson (Dear World, Follies) will appear in the NYC concert debut of Proud Ladies at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center (129 W. 67th St.) on Monday, October 10 at 7:00pm. 

In this episode, Ben and Daniel discuss the results of Roses and Daffodils: The Essential Follies Playlist. For this project, listeners voted weekly for their favorite versions of the Follies female solos, and 'Friends of the Pod' appeared with Ben and Daniel on 'Next Year, Some Year' to weigh in on the deeper cuts.

'Sondheim: A Musical Tribute' was the title given to a benefit staged in March 1973. American Musical and Dramatic Academy and the National Hemophilia Foundation first wanted to honor Harold Prince, but he declined, so they chose Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim thought it would be 'merely a dinner,' but it was actually a full-scale production with 33 performers and a 30-piece orchestra, staged on the set of the then-running 'A Little Night Music' at the Shubert Theatre. Below, check out footage from a short documentary that was made about the show.

With its many supporting roles for older performers, one of the great pleasures of productions of Follies is the opportunity to see some of the theatre's senior members making a triumphant return to the Broadway stage.

Today we are taking a look at the extended streak of genius exhibited by Stephen Sondheim, along with director/producer Hal Prince, following the resounding success of COMPANY in 1970. Throughout the rest of the 70s they would continue to change the form of theatre itself with four momentous musicals tackling every topic from aging showgirls singing one last tune to Ingmar Bergman sunsets and a topic for a concept musical no less epic than the westernization of Japan in the wake of Commodore Perry - plus, who could forget the remorseful Barber and his knife (or should that be “wife“?). Without question, these are four richly-encrusted crowning achievements of a legendary career and these musical jewels are still sparkling and shining, as glistening and beautiful as ever dazzling us and enticing us to inspect them closer...

After Tony in West Side Story, Dear World, and Follies, Kurt Peterson left the world of performing. Now he's back producing Stephen Schwartz's Captain Louie....

Donna McKechnie and Karen Ziemba will headline Folles at the Barrington Stage Company from June 23rd-July 16th