All tagged Phil Silvers

Remembering High Button Shoes

Remembering High Button Shoes

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Jule Styne was a one of the great composers for the Broadway musical stage, having penned the melodies for such classic scores as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bells Are Ringing, Gypsy, and Funny Girl. Styne’s first Broadway score, however came in the form of the breezy and bright High Button Shoes, which premiered in 1947. Paired with lyricist Sammy Cahn, the show is best remembered as the musical that introduced that showtune classic “Papa, Won’t You Dance with Me?” and the clever dance sequences staged by Jerome Robbins.

Summer Stock in a Winter Storm

Summer Stock in a Winter Storm

Mark Robinson
Stage To Screen, Cinematters

Before I even knew what a Broadway musical was (and it is hard to believe that there was ever such a time in my life), I spent my childhood waiting for old movie musicals to play on television. We lived in the country, and the odds of getting anything on your television outside of the three major networks, was pretty slim. Still, with my little black and white television, wrapped in aluminum foil, me with coat hanger in-hand and leaning out my bedroom window, I could sometimes pick up PBS and the occasional movie musical. I saw Kiss Me, Kate and Brigadoon this way.