Austin Opera’s moving production of Fiddler on the Roof grounds itself in lived tradition, to great effect.
MasterVoices presents a strongly-cast Sweet Smell of Success—but the merits of this noir musical are hardly black or white.
Wanna feel old? Hair, “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” as it styled itself, has its 56th birthday this month.
Love in Hate Nation is a little musical that could and can… and I sure as hell hope it does!
Little Shop of Horrors loses its necessary edge when it’s wrested from the gritty world of its creation.
The Royal Opera Covent Garden is getting into the act with a star-studded revival of Cats featuring Sir Bryn Terfel (pictured) as “Old Deuteronomy.”
I was floored to find that Company with a female protagonist, at least in Marianne Elliott’s West End production, is a better and more complete show than original recipe Company.
La Cieca wishes to be among the first to congratulate Jessye Norman, who has emerged from semi-retirement to leap upon the musical theater bandwagon.
Has anyone who assigned, wrote, edited or published this piece ever seen My Fair Lady?
I’ve always believed that Follies, like life, should be relentless and inescapable.
Our own publisher and New York Observer scribe Julie Jordan James Jorden plays pundit again for WQXR’s “Conducting Business.”
“What prevents Company from being the greatest musical ever written (which, given the talents going into it, it certainly could have been) is that there is something central to the work that is false, a cheat.” Our Own JJ (not pictured) reveals his theater queen side in Capital New York.
La Cieca’s fans worldwide will be happy to note that she doesn’t think scandals are limited to only New York and Bayreuth. In fact, wherever Patti LuPone goes, scandale follows. Right now, La LuPone is in Chicago, and, yes, the Hogtown natives are restless.
UPDATE: The news breaks today, and yes, it’s Debbie, but no, it’s not Shirtless Nathan. Letting his defenses down in the role of Frank Butler at Glimmerglass will be Rod Gilfry. (Meanwhile, Mr. Gunn will continue his exploration of the esoteric Blusenrolle fach by role-debuting Eugene Onegin in Cincinnati.)
A Little Night Music at the Walter Kerr last night left me longing for a little more than we were given. Yes, there are some wonderful things about this revival of Stephen Sondheim’s most unabashedly romantic musical – and I’ll get to those in a minute – but the sets and costumes by David Farley…
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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