Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 6, 2009, 4:32 pm
Upon the premiere of A White House Cantata in 1997, Humphrey Burton wrote a detailed feature on the history of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue called "The House That Alan and Leonard Built," for July 5, 1997...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 6, 2009, 3:24 pm
"I mean, there are times when you walk into that dressing room and you think, 'I can't do this. I cannot do this.' And it's a curious thing: When you sit down in front of that mirror a...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 4, 2009, 10:30 pm
Rita Moreno's famed Tony acceptance speech for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Ritz in 1975. Enjoy:
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 3, 2009, 2:31 pm
It's an annual TV event that I take great pleasure in every winter, and I'm not even talking the Oscar ceremony. Every year to celebrate the annual Academy Awards, Turner Classic Movies has it...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 2, 2009, 4:20 pm
On March 30, 2008 I was lucky enough to be in the audience for the New York premiere of A White House Cantata, the concert revision of Bernstein-Lerner's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, a fast failure i...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 2, 2009, 2:54 pm
With the first-ever Broadway revival of A Little Night Music approaching its opening date, I've felt like revisiting all my various recordings and texts and video of previous productions. This one...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Dec 2, 2009, 2:45 am
Leslie Caron, star of so many classic films, has released a memoir about her life called Thank Heaven. Trained as a ballerina, she got her big break at the age of 20 as a last minute substitute for a ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 30, 2009, 8:24 pm
- Donna Lynne Champlin has taken it upon herself to release a solo CD on a shoestring budget of $1,000. When she broke her ankle in September she found herself with six weeks to spare and got to work...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 30, 2009, 3:09 pm
A Little Night Music, then (1973 Original Broadway production): A Little Night Music, now (2008 Menier Chocolate Factory):
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 30, 2009, 1:03 pm
Whether tackling a mega musical or a mega ego, Forbidden Broadway has been a staple of the Broadway scene for almost three decades. The small off-Broadway revue has thrived on poking fun at NY theatre...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 26, 2009, 9:15 pm
Does anyone not like The Muppets? No doubt most have seen these by now, but I couldn't help but share. First up: the Muppets "Bohemian Rhapsody" For an encore - Beeker does "Ode to Joy."
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 25, 2009, 8:53 pm
I'm always grateful for Encores! and have made an effort to see everything they do from here on out regardless of whether or not I'm really interested in seeing it. Truth be told, while I have...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 22, 2009, 10:28 pm
"What is your favorite film of all time?" (Spoilers ahead) Not the easiest question to answer. When I'm asked, an immediate list pops up in my head and from Vertigo to Gone with the Wind and The ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 21, 2009, 2:30 am
There was incredible excitement around some blogs and message boards yesterday because there was a private industry workshop reading of the legendary 1988 failure Carrie. It's the show so well kno...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 20, 2009, 3:37 pm
While the purist in me has some obvious quibbles with the chopping away at the score, I am still intrigued and very much looking forward to the film adaptation of Maury Yeston's Nine. The movie mu...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 18, 2009, 5:34 pm
A fan put together this video and posted it on YouTube, I don't normally go for such things except that it features a rare recording of Miss Martin live in performance singing the iconic title son...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 16, 2009, 9:30 pm
I'm still reeling from attending the 50th anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center, but before I wrap my head around all that I experienced today, I thought I'd continue The Sound of Music fe...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 16, 2009, 3:22 am
... to the overwhelming success of the film adaptation of The Sound of Music, the original stage production often gets lost in the shuffle. The ... Broadway has reissued the original cast album. ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 15, 2009, 10:42 pm
That was just one of the many anecdotal gems I heard yesterday afternoon during the 50th anniversary celebration of The Sound of Music at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble. Bringing together authors, ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 15, 2009, 9:23 pm
Some might feel it is too soon for a revival of Ragtime, but there is no time like the present for this exhilarating, moving epic musical based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow. The show is well known fo...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 14, 2009, 12:46 pm
Truth be told, had I not been invited to see it I probably wouldn't have seen Love Loss and What I Wore. I'm not really the target demographic for this production, currently playing off-Broadw...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 13, 2009, 5:14 pm
The revival opens this Sunday at the Neil Simon...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 12, 2009, 1:57 am
... his favorite cast album as it came to life in his own living room. It won a few Tonys, was a decent hit and endeared co-librettist/star ... - Kitty poses as a married woman to get a hotel room an...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 11, 2009, 10:11 pm
Collection of videos from various TV appearances, and a couple of interviews. Most of the performances appear to be from Ed Sullivan. It's the first time I've ever seen Andrews perform "Just Y...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 9, 2009, 5:04 pm
One of my current favorite recordings is "Sibling Revelry" with Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway in concert. Unfortunately it is out of print (DRG, get it back out there!) but if you can get your...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 9, 2009, 10:58 am
It made the Broadway press circuit late Wednesday afternoon that South Pacific star Kelli O'Hara would be singing "God Bless America" at the seventh inning stretch of World Series Game 6. As I am ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 7, 2009, 8:28 am
Forbidden Broadway is now in book form! And they are celebrating the release with several different parties: NOVEMBER 23 AT BIRDLAND In celebration of the release of Forbidden Broadway, the first po...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 6, 2009, 9:21 pm
Little did Julie Andrews know in 1962 that in three years she would take on the iconic leading role in the blockbuster film adaptation of The Sound of Music. On the telecast of the Emmy-winning specia...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 6, 2009, 7:57 am
Two musical productions that most excite me this season are The Addams Family and the revival of Ragtime. Here is the first glimpse of the former in Vanity Fair. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane star as ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 5, 2009, 3:41 pm
Is there a play that changed my life? The American Theatre Wing wants to know, and as I look through the contest entries, I figured I would chime in. However, there is a 350 word limit to the entries ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 2, 2009, 7:17 pm
Several weeks ago I posted Eartha Kitt's entrance to end all entrances in Timbuktu!, and have been led to this video of Kitt performing the second act number "Rahadlakum." Stopping midsong, Kitt d...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Nov 2, 2009, 12:26 pm
What was the play that changed your life? That's what the American Theatre Wing asked several contemporary playwrights for its upcoming release of The Play That Changed My Life: America’s Foremo...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 31, 2009, 9:46 pm
Since the announcement of the cancellation of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound at the Nederlander, I am sorry audiences won't get the chance to see Laurie Metcalf dive head first into the play, whi...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 31, 2009, 3:57 pm
Watching the family of seven in Brighton Beach Memoirs trip over one another, share dinners, get into squabble and fights and sort through the chaos of daily living made me smile knowingly as I recall...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 30, 2009, 5:35 pm
Over on Twitter, SarahB posted a clip of Renee Fleming on Sesame Street performing a version of "Caro Nome" that used opera to teach children how to count. Jim Henson's shows were rather extraordi...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 29, 2009, 10:12 pm
The powers that be behind the Roundabout revival of Bye Bye Birdie, the new textbook example of how not to revive a second-tier Golden Age property, should look to the St. James Theatre to learn a thi...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 28, 2009, 11:55 am

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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 28, 2009, 4:01 am
Whole songs and chunks of dialogue disappeared and new material had to be learned. Sets and costumes changed. "It was Dunkerque," recalls Howard: "I couldn't sleep or eat. I found it hard to foc...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 28, 2009, 2:18 am
What musicals should be revived soon on Broadway? 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Rex and, yes, Whorehouse Goes Public, in rep with the first Whorehouse. THAT would be swell. Like the Chicago rediscovery...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 27, 2009, 10:15 am
When discussing the musical theatre career of Angela Lansbury, sometimes Dear World gets lost in the shuffle amidst the more popularly received Mame, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. The musical adaptation of ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 24, 2009, 12:52 pm
- Sometimes the first preview performance can be more exciting than even an opening night. (If I get to the opening night of this one, I'll let you know...) Especially with a revival of a popular ...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 23, 2009, 12:33 pm
For whatever it's worth, I've never felt that Ragtime was given its due the first time around. The musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel was highly anticipated, and opened with great...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 19, 2009, 12:46 pm
When I first saw the delightful production of The 39 Steps at the American Airlines Theatre, I don't think I could have anticipated that it would have run for two years. But it was the little play...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 18, 2009, 10:49 pm
Pacific Overtures. 1976. Winter Garden Theatre. Original cast. Watch:
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 17, 2009, 9:19 pm
The musical Coco received rather negative reviews for all of the parties involved when it opened in December 1969, with the exception of Michael Bennett and his choreography. However, the negative not...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 16, 2009, 6:37 pm
Angela Lansbury, an icon of film, television and especially theatre, is celebrating her 84th birthday today. The actress is in the middle of a second coming on Broadway. After a 25 year absence, she r...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 16, 2009, 6:02 pm
I don't know what it is about a bomb that really brings out the creativity in journalists and critics. While there are a plethora of gems that I could cite from the universal evisceration received...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 15, 2009, 7:00 pm
I've long anticipated a Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie. The 1960 show, which took on the national frenzy over Elvis Presley's drafting, was a sleeper hit and won the Tony Award for Best Mu...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 14, 2009, 1:43 am
All throughout the year, Bruce Kimmel at Kritzerland records has been releasing cast albums on CD for the first time. He got the ball rolling with Anya, and has continued with Illya Darling, Show Girl...
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Kevin Daly posted an article on Theatre Aficionado at Large - Oct 13, 2009, 1:55 pm
... with a memorable delivery of the title song over the opening credits (which was written specifically for the movie). Janet Leigh and Maureen Stapleton were on board as well. However, it just does...
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