
"UP IN THE CHEAP SEATS"
Theatre yesterday and today

JUST BECAUSE IT'S JUNE... 22nd
I got an email from the restaurant Five Napkin Burger this morning that today is National Onion Ring Day. But June 22 always pops out on...

NINA'S DAD
Self-portrait of Al Hirschfeld at his drafting table in his Koken barber chair. The artist Al Hirschfeld, a theatrical treasure of the...

THE SCOTTISH PLAY
On this day twenty-two years ago, a new production of Shakespeare’s Macbethopened at the Music Box Theatre. Directed by former director...

AND THE WINNER IS...
Jaquel Spivey, John-Michael Lyles and James Jackson, Jr. at the first Broadway preview curtain call for A Strange Loop (Photo: Jeenah...

50 YEARS AGO ON BROADWAY
During the height of my teenage theatergoing years, which occurred between 1969 and 1973, I was never happier than when I would pore over...

WHAT MAKES A CAST ALBUM PERFORMANCE GREAT?
Julie Andrews singing “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” at the recording session for My Fair Lady (1956). Having listened to a steady stream of...

IT'S TONY TIME
Harold Prince, victorious with Tony #20 for Showboat, with Gregory Hines (1995). Now that the 2022 Tony Awards nominations have been...

BOBBY BABY BOBBY BUBI BOBBY
Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961). It’s with a heavy heart I attempt to put...

AN ACTOR'S LIFE IN PLAYBILL
It’s a funny thing about an actor’s resume: they’re never complete and always a work in progress. In the constant act of selling...

CHILDREN WILL LISTEN
The Original Broadway Cast Recording of I Do! I Do! released in 1966. As young kids, I’m sure most Broadway loving-types have all had the...