While my first priority was always seeing whatever shows I had come to see that particular trip, early visits to New York City were also consumed by my eagerness to take it all in. Not the city; Broadway, specifically the fabled theatres. Long before thousands of pictures from a single day could be stored effortlessly on one's mobile phone, my dad would, fortunately, pack enough film (long, black, shiny plastic-y stuff with chemicals that fixed themselves into images when exposed first to light and then to other chemicals) to get pictures of me in front of every Broadway marquee we could find. With no idea what most of the shows were, and absolutely no idea who the theatres were named after, I collected Broadway marquees in a camera. It was really quite innocent if I do say so myself.

Now, I'm old and I know things, and things that used to be pure fun are borderline offensive to me. Watching a television report on a new Broadway show recently, I found myself asking, "What business does that show have in that theatre with that namesake?" It was an irrational response to an ultimately harmless coincidence that I realized I have felt several times over the past few years at least, and something I thought worth exploring. Why is it jarring to see certain Broadway marquees?

Imagine you’re a chemistry or biology college student. You’ve spent weeks preparing your lab and have timed everything perfectly. You and your lab partner double checked the equations, and experiments are chugging away. There’s still a couple more weeks of monitoring to go before your work is finished, but you’re feeling pretty good. Now imagine being told that the lab is needed to host a special visitor and that your experiments must be removed. The “compromise” is that you can move to a smaller lab which doesn’t have the right equipment, so all your months of hard work will be lost. You have no say in the matter and nor does your faculty advisor- the college administration made all these decisions for you and without your knowledge or input. This would never happen, right? No one would dream of asking a science student to uproot their work at the last minute. Yet this is exactly what played out at Westfield State University (WSU) and their theatre students.

Last month we tried this with musicals of the 21st Century and it got a huge response. So we're going back a little further this month and re-visiting our favorites from the 1990's! 

Since Facebook now has a really fun poll feature. We'd figured the easiest way to do this is to do it bracket style. 

I want to offer a rebuttal to the piece submitted on this site regarding three upcoming musical revivals, Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady and Carousel. Upon first glance they all seem horribly outdated, misogynistic and not conducive to the landscape that is 2018. I argue that with the right direction and treatment, they can be very timely and have important lessons to share.

NBC's annual airing of live musicals took an enormous leap forward with their Easter broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar. The 1970 Rock Opera, which Andrew Lloyd Webber composed when he was 22 (think on that for a moment), has been a fire rod of controversy and debate since its opening. I think we can agree that it has its fair share of fans and detractors. 

So NBC certainly was rolling the dice when it decided to air this on one of the holiest days of the year. How did they do? Let's break it down. 

I’m still giddy over the news we are getting a Broadway version of Hercules.It is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated Disney films. That, and Meg is one of my favorite characters of all time. I relate to her in so many ways, more than I can count. And I Won’t Say I’m in Love is both brilliant and iconic.

To be honest, the idea that I have the potential to play a character who means so much to me on stage is thrilling.

Broadway is not the be-all-end-all of theatre, though sometimes people act as though it is. Theatre happens everywhere. To say that New York theatre is the only theatre that matters is a misunderstanding of how the theatre community operates. On the other hand, denying the importance of Broadway is a misunderstanding of equal magnitude. Though New York isn’t the only place the theatre community talks about, it is where the largest, most centralized conversations are being had. This is a hard truth for the far-away fan, a side effect of loving a medium that draws some of its magic from being in the same location as its audience.

We’re doing another series that celebrates some of the very best voices for their vocal ranges, with a primary focus on (but not limited to!) theatre. Many will be well-known, while others you may not have heard of (until now). Your faves might not make the list,  but here are some that deserve some love, too! Hopefully, these lists will showcase a wide variety within the vocal classifications, to show there is no single way to create beautiful art!

Here are 10 MORE baritones that are glorious gifts to the world!

Having seen Hamilton last year, while I find the entire show to be a masterpiece, I keep coming back to one song that I personally think is not just the best song in the show, but the greatest masterpiece Lin-Manuel Miranda has ever written and one of the finest examples of musical storytelling I have ever seen—”Satisfied.”

“Satisfied” is the eleventh song in the show and comes about halfway through act one. Here’s some background: the song immediately before it, “Helpless,” chronicles, from Eliza Schuyler’s point of view, the first time she and her older sister, Angelica, meet Alexander Hamilton at a party. Hamilton and Eliza are immediately smitten with one another, and in just a few short weeks they’re walking down the aisle. “Satisfied” begins with Angelica giving what appears to be a standard maid of honor toast at the nuptials and quickly becomes so much more. 

Let’s break down this number in all its genius, shall we? Angelica beings with a toast…

We’re doing another series that celebrates some of the very best voices for their vocal ranges, with a primary focus on (but not limited to!) theatre. Many will be well-known, while others you may not have heard of (until now). Your faves might not make the list,  but here are some that deserve some love, too! Hopefully, these lists will showcase a wide variety within the vocal classifications, to show there is no single way to create beautiful art!

Here are 10 MORE mezzos that are glorious gifts to the world!

We’re doing another series that celebrates some of the very best voices for their vocal ranges, with a primary focus on (but not limited to!) theatre. Many will be well-known, while others you may not have heard of (until now). Your faves might not make the list,  but here are some that deserve some love, too! Hopefully, these lists will showcase a wide variety within the vocal classifications, to show there is no single way to create beautiful art!

We’re doing another series that celebrates some of the very best voices for their vocal ranges, with a primary focus on (but not limited to!) theatre. Many will be well-known, while others you may not have heard of (until now). Your faves might not make the list,  but here are some that deserve some love, too! Hopefully, these lists will showcase a wide variety within the vocal classifications, to show there is no single way to create beautiful art!

Starting off, here are 10 MORE sopranos that are glorious gifts to the world!