All tagged Neil Simon

Shedding Some Light on the Dimming of Marquees

Shedding Some Light on the Dimming of Marquees

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

It is a tradition in the Broadway Theatre to dim the lights of all Broadway marquees in tribute to a celebrated artist who has passed. This is a lovely ritual, a much-needed way to show respect and to synthesize a shared loss in a community that is tight-knit. It’s a simple gesture that symbolically represents the light going out on a beloved friend and a career that touched many. It’s the community’s way of putting our flag at half-mast. It’s a collective way to essentially say “goodbye,” but also assert that “we will not forget.” 

Remembering the Musicals of Neil Simon

Remembering the Musicals of Neil Simon

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

This weekend we received some incredibly sad new in the theatre community: the death of one of America’s most prolific and beloved playwrights, Neil Simon. Simon mixed humor with humanity, honesty with insanity, and always connected with the individual in each of us. Many of his plays remain well-regarded in theatre circles the world over. Titles such as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Chapter Two, The Star-Spangled Girl, Plaza Suite, The Gingerbread Lady, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, and Rumorscontinue to be as poignant and funny as they were when they were first written. Simon won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1991 play Lost in Yonkers.

Though often celebrated first as a playwright, Simon was also an adept collaborator when writing books for Broadway musicals. Over the years, he was responsible for the librettos behind a handful of musicals, meeting varying degrees of success for his efforts. Here is a stroll down memory lane, taking a look at the musicals for which Simon provided the book. 

From Little Me to City of Angels: The Eclectic Brilliance of Composer Cy Coleman

From Little Me to City of Angels: The Eclectic Brilliance of Composer Cy Coleman

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Broadway composers tend to settle into a style that is distinctly their own. We know a Stephen Sondheim score when we hear it. Andrew Lloyd Webber, the same. In fact, many people cling to the familiarity of a Broadway composer’s style, knowing that attending their latest show will hopefully yield something new and familiar at the same time. We can almost count on this result, and why not? Each composer is unique and cultivates their own sound with each new show that they write. There was, however, one musical theatre composer who reinvented his voice several times over throughout his career, so it is much harder to pinpoint what his style exactly is. Working with a variety of musical styles, and a wide-range of writing partners, each score he touched sounded like he reimagined his talents to best capture the musical world at hand.  This is the eclectic brilliance of composer Cy Coleman.

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at Sweet Charity

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at Sweet Charity

Mark Robinson
Theatre Time Machine

With Sweet Charity returning to the New York Stage this fall in a production starring Tony-winner Sutton Foster, this week I will explore the history and makeup of this imperfect musical that somehow manages to delight theatre folk, particularly dancers. What is it about this dated, meandering musical that continues to intrigue directors, choreographers and performers enough to keep returning to it