All tagged Noel Coward

Remembering High Spirits

There is not all that much about Noël Coward’s brilliant 1941 play Blithe Spirit that would initially make you think “this needs to be a musical.” It’s a drawing room comedy, with a relatively small cast, and tightly-written That doesn’t leave itself room for opening up or expanding in the way that musicals traditionally are. On the other hand, Blithe Spirit features an array of colorful, larger-than-life characters, including a wacky medium and an insane diva who happens to be a ghost. Suddenly, the prospects for musical comedy seem just a bit more accessible. That must be what Timothy Gray and Hugh Martin had in the front of their minds when they conjured up the musical High Spirits, adapted for the musical stage from Coward’s Blithe Spirit

Gifts of Love: Holiday Wish List for Broadway Enthusiasts

Whether we want to admit it or not, the holidays are here. Since tickets to Hamilton seem like an unlikely present this Christmas or Hanukkah (unless you bought them six months ago or don’t mind waiting until 2020 to see it), the Broadway musical enthusiast will have to look elsewhere for gift ideas to put on their wish list. Fortunately, there are a great many wonderful and unique options guaranteed to make every musical theatre fan a happy camper this holiday season.

Noel, Tallulah, Cole, and Me: A Memoir of Broadway's Golden Age –The Book You Need to Read

Those of us who love musical theatre are always looking for that next amazing book that offers us a special look into the making of Broadway musicals and the exciting lives that help create them. An unlikely book has emerged that I am confident that many of you are going to want to read. Noel, Tallulah, Cole, and Me: A Memoir of Broadway's Golden Age by John C. Wilson, edited with commentary by Thomas S. Hischak and Jack Macauley is the intriguing autobiography of a man that you might not know much about, but who helped shape classic musicals of the Golden Age of Broadway.