Redhead 1959 - Articles Page 2.6

1959 was a heck of a good year for Broadway overtures.  The majestic trumpet fanfare and lowdown bump and grind of Gypsy's is generally regarded as the best in musical theatre, but there was also the rousingly rhythmic curtain-raiser to Fiorello! and, my personal favorite, Philip J. Lang's beautiful interpretation of Bob Merrill's music for Take Me Along, which touches on so many moods of the show while continually building the toe-tapping climax of The catchy title tune.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the directors and preliminary casts for the eight musicals being presented at its 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages (340 West 50th St) on Monday, October 20 and Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced the official selections for its 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals to be held in New York City.

Paper Mill Playhouse has announced its mainstage production of Happy Days: A New Musical, based on the hit Paramount Pictures television series created by Garry Marshall who also wrote the book, with music and lyrics by Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning Hall of Fame songwriter Paul Williams

Designers Santo Loguasto, Bob Mackie, Murell Horton, Kermit Love and Rouben Ter-Arutunian will all be honored for their contributions to the theater at the TDF/Irene Sharaff Award Ceremony March 23rd at the Hudson Theatre.

Like fine wines, there are some years in Broadway history where one finds a better vintage than others. Just today, for instance, I was playing a selection of tunes from shows that opened in 1966...