Today marks the birthdate of the playwrights Anthony and Peter Shaffer. Not only were they twin brothers, but they shared the unique distinction of having each won Tonys for Best Play (Peter did so twice). Anthony got there first with his inventive and smash hit mystery Sleuth (1970). Peter won for Equus (1974) and for Amadeus (1980), each running more than 1,000 performances. Peter also went on to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay when Amadeus was made into a

May 8, 2020: Theatre Yesterday and Today, by Ron Fassler My long and abiding affection for the Larry Gelbart, Burt Shevelove, Stephen Sondheim musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is because it’s so true to its title: Funny Stuff Happens. When it opened fifty-eight years ago tonight, critics were mad for what was described by one as being “about as crazy as anything you’ve ever seen in old-time vaudeville.” When The Producers, with its similar style o

Stories of theatrical lore often slip into legend, and many come with an extra dollop of “un-truthiness” that make for a better tale. But the one that occurred at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre on the May 7, 1953 — the opening night of Abe Burrows and Cole Porter’s Can-Can, sixty-seven years ago this evening, was witnessed by not only the sold-out audience of approximately 1,500, but by the multitude of critics there as well (this in the days when it was mandatory for critics to

The scores Frank Loesser composed for Broadway (both music and lyrics) include Where’s Charley?, Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying — significant benchmarks anyone with serious ambitions of writing for the theatre would be wise to follow. When The Most Happy Fella premiered on Broadway in 1956, sixty-four years ago today, Loesser’s attempt at near-opera added his name to the few who had previously tried, such as George Ge