That tiny slip of paper every theatregoer knows (btw, Christian Dante White was terrific). A common question I see posted from time to time on theatre blogs asks what the difference is between an understudy, a standby and a swing: terms and names listed below the cast for all shows in every Playbill. This refers to actors and dancers waiting in the wings (or by a phone) forever on the alert on a moment’s notice to take on a role in a show due to someone’s inability to perform

Vintage Tony Award, prior to its eventual pedestal. Okay, there was never any such thing as a 1944 Tonys. But the awards junkie in me had this thought and decided, for the fun of it, to attempt a peer into the crystal ball in reverse. By that I mean, take a shot at predicting what a Tony Awards might have been for the season in which Oklahoma! would surely have dominated the field — had there been such a night. As the Tonys were handed out for the first time on April 6, 1947

Leigh Whipper, depicted in the painting “Dans un Café a Paris” by Lois Mailou Jones (1939). Not many actors have their portraits on the walls of a museum, so imagine my surprise when I came upon someone with that honor — Leigh Whipper. Painted by the esteemed African American artist Lois Mailou Jones, I had no idea who Leigh Whipper was, staring at his image hanging in the Brooklyn Museum. Curious, I discovered that among his many credits were his being the first African Amer

Tony Walton (1934-2022) Anthony John Walton has passed away at the age of eighty-seven. This is a personal loss for me as from the first moment I met him, I melted. He was one of those rare people who emanated so much warmth it felt like coming in contact with a human radiator. His exceedingly kind manner and good cheer mixed with a sunny optimism were contagious and his wealth of talents so enumerable it put him in the rarified breed of renaissance artist. If you think I'm e