Musical Theatre Time Machine – Looking Back at Anything Goes

One of the most durable musical comedies of all time is the nutty and tuneful Anything Goes. Written in 1934, this one owes its shelf-life to the champagne and cotton candy score of Cole Porter, chock full of many of his greatest ear worms, to mention his clever use of internal and arch rhymes. The musical has no definitive script or song list because, with each inception, the book has been altered and different Cole Porter songs have been substituted for others in the score. What has been always consistent is that Anything Goes is a screwball comedy full of great music and loads of synchronized tap dance, set aboard an ocean liner making its way across the Atlantic from New York to London.

Live-Streaming Broadway Musicals: Will She Loves Me Start a Trend?

Like almost every other musical theatre fan, I was glued to my computer screen watching the live-stream of the Broadway production of She Loves Me this past Thursday night. The idea of live-streaming a Broadway musical carries a most delicious excitement for those who can’t get enough Broadway and who will take the next-best thing, especially at the manageable cost that one seldom gets with the price of a Broadway ticket. The question is, can a live-stream of a Broadway musical be an effective alternative to making the trip to the Big Apple and will this become a trend?

Musical Theatre Time Machine - Looking Back at The King and I

With the recent closing of the Lincoln Center production of The King and I, I thought it would be an appropriate tribute to this lovely production to look back on this oft-revived musical.

Rodgers and Hammerstein had just enjoyed another major success with the Pulitzer Prize-winning South Pacific and set about the find a new property for musicalization. Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam would be their source. Based on a true story, the novel told the story of a British governess brought to the royal palace of the King of Siam to teach his wives and children in the Western philosophies and contemporary thought. The musical followed the complicated professional relationship between the monarch and his new employee (and perhaps friend), and their struggle to find a middle ground where tradition and change could coexist.

Broadway Musical Musings: Serviceable vs. Spectacular – Musical Theatre Songs That Fail to Ignite

As I was riding the subway the other day, one of those special moments occurred where a street performer entered the car and gave a little show for a captive audience who were less-than-captivated. With a guitar, the lady started to sing “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie, and it suddenly dawned on me that there are just certain showtunes that I don’t ever need to hear again, especially while trapped on a delayed, uptown C Train. “Tomorrow” and its cloying optimism is one of them.