by Julie Musbach
- Apr 21, 2017
They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway -they say there's always magic in the air… And soon, there will surely be some of that Broadway magic gracing the Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage, "mountain-style", with the return of the State Theatre's 2007 hit, Smokey Joe's Cafe!
by Joseph Baker
- Sep 29, 2014
When Gaston Leroux published THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA back in 1911, little did he realize the numerous chandeliers that would come crashing down through the decades, and I've witnessed a good number of them. First, in 1925, there was 'the Man of a Thousand Faces,' Lon Chaney, Sr., who frightened poor Mary Philbin (a well-done version, even IF the film was silent); then, for Universal in 1941, Claude Rains (Bette Davis' favorite co-star) was a more subdued vocal coach for soprano Susanna Foster (a wooden Nelson Eddy, alas, is a greater impending horror as 'Raoul'). I could go on - even Herbert Lom, the actor who was the harried police superior to Peter Sellers' 'Inspector Clousseau,' took a swing on the old light fixture. (And let us not forget diminutive Paul Williams in the slightly askew PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.) All of these pale, of course, in comparison to the legendary interpretation by Michael Crawford in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which first brought the audience to its feet in 1986.
by Stephen Sorokoff
- Jun 27, 2013
From 1941 to 1976 New York City subway and bus riders were treated to more than 9,000 posters of 200 attractive young women all dubbed 'Miss Subways' for the month. The women on the posters were the faces of New York. They were wartime nurses in the 1940s, college girls studying to become teachers in the 1950s, and secretaries who dreamed of singing careers in the 1960s. These amazing girls shared their stories and the hopes and dreams of their generation at the legendary Friars Club. Friar Stewie Stone created some extremely funny moments as he interviewed Miss Subways, and 'The Copa Boys' performed some Four Seasons tunes.