When I heard they were adapting Disney’s hit film Frozen to the Broadway stage, I had high expectations. After all, most Disney stage adaptations significantly expand the scope and complexity of their sources, and given that Frozen was already … [Continue reading]
The Prom
This show faced some challenges from day one because a better musical with the exact same base premise (a gay teenager being banned from their school’s prom) opened in London a year before The Prom ever made it to a major venue. As it happened, The … [Continue reading]
Lady in the Dark
The ‘revolution’ that the Musical experienced in the 1940s is generally credited almost entirely to Oklahoma, but can really be traced to the innovations of a string of genre-busting stage and film musicals, of which Oklahoma is but one. Perhaps the … [Continue reading]
Kiss Me, Kate
One of the side effects of Rodgers and Hammerstein's invention of the Musical Play in the Forties with such works as Carousel and South Pacific was the make the Operetta genre (which was already falling out of favor by that point) almost completely … [Continue reading]
Lolita, My Love
This show, which closed on the road before reaching Broadway in 1971, carries a certain mystique among musical theater fans as perhaps the definitive example of a bad idea well-executed. Ken Mandelbaum, the world’s greatest acknowledged authority on … [Continue reading]
Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly
In the wake of the tragic passing of legendary performer Carol Channing, I thought I would take a look at her most iconic role. By the time she attempted this part, she had already given one of Broadway's greatest comedic performances in Gentlemen … [Continue reading]
Double Feature Review: Finding Neverland/The Greatest Showman
These two shows, while released a few years apart from each other, had much in common. Both had distinctly Pop-flavored scores and beautifully stylized visuals. Both were retellings of the lives of famous historical figures that had almost nothing to … [Continue reading]
Man of La Mancha
Given that this show happens to be not only my favorite musical, but my favorite work of art in any medium, I’m not entirely sure I’m capable of assessing its merits with any degree of objectivity, but I intend to do my best. It helps that the work … [Continue reading]
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