She’s on the stage for two hours – singing many of Fanny Brice’s best-known songs while tap dancing, twirling, telling funny jokes, relating Fanny’s personal life and career highs and lows, while ‘Baby Snooking’ her way into the hearts of the audiences. I asked Esther Covington to talk about preparing for and performing the role […]
Schmoozing with Felix and Oscar
Rick Foucheux and J. Fred Shiffman on playing Oscar Madison and Felix Unger in Theater J’s The Odd Couple. They are two of my favorite actors and two of the nicest people I know. What I respect most about Rick Foucheux and J. Fred Shiffman is that they are both eloquent and passionate about their […]
Ken Ludwig on A Fox on the Fairway
If he had a theme song, it would be “Make ‘Em Laugh”, and Washington playwright Ken Ludwig has been doing just that for years. So far, he’s had over 15 plays produced, with more to come. Perhaps his most famous are Lend Me a Tenor, which recently closed its Broadway revival, the adaptation of the […]
Director Seth Rozin on Silverhill
Director Seth Rozin talks about InterAct Theatre’s production of Silverhill Part 2 of a series of chats with Philadelphia directors. Before I plan a trip to Philadelphia, I always check to see if InterAct has a show running. This weekend, 6 members of The Ushers and Broadway Bound Meetup will be heading to Philly with […]
A Standing Ovation! Performances to Cherish
In the last three months, there were many performances that moved me, made me laugh, and made me stand up and cheer at the final curtain. Here are my favorites. Bravo to all of you!
Richard Stafford directs Curtains
Part 1 in a series on Philadelphia directors from Curtains, SilverHill, Macbeth, and The Three Penny Opera. It’s one of my favorite Kander and Ebb musicals and I’ll be seeing the final performance of Curtains at the intimate Walnut Street Theatre on October 24th. Last year I loved Walnut’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and […]
Matt Cowart on directing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
When I heard that Matt Cowart (Sondheim the Birthday Concert) was directing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at No Rules Theatre Company, I knew I had to interview him. After speaking with Matt on the phone, I realized that I had seen many productions where Matt assisted one of my favorite directors – Lonny […]
Glimpses of the Moon: they saved the show
A glimpse into the ‘big switch’ at MetroStage: Lauren ‘Coco’ Cohn and Natascia Diaz on Glimpses of the Moon It’s a great 42nd Street-type story: the lead gets sick and another cast member assumes her role and saves the show. Then bring in a talented actress/comedienne who comes down from The Big Apple to play […]
Falsettos’ Family Therapist and the Bar-Mitzvah boy
Noah Chiet and Tony Gudell on playing Jason and Mendel in Ganymede Arts’ Falsettos I’ve seen Noah Chiet perform in several productions at Musical Theater Center, and I knew that if he was given the chance to play a lead role in a musical, he would have the audience and critics applauding. So, it didn’t […]
Making their musical Shine!
Richard Seff, Greg Anthony, Roger Anderson, and Peter Flynn on polishing their musical SHINE! for NYMF Many of our readers know Richard Seff as the columnist of ‘NY Theatre Buzz’ here on DC Theatre Scene, but what many of you don’t know is that Richard Seff is a playwright, and, in the case of SHINE! […]
Jenny Cartney on conducting Chess
It was definitely the right move when Jenny Cartney was made the conductor of the extraordinary group of musicians that comprise the orchestra of the musical Chess at Signature Theatre. Jenny talks about working with David Holcenberg, who provided the lush orchestrations for the production, her work as both conductor and keyboardist, and her love […]
Broadway’s Jill Paice in Chess at Signature
If you were not a fan of Jill Paice when you walked into Signature Theatre’s production of Chess, you surely became one after watching her powerful performance as Florence. Jill burns up The Max every time she steps on the stage, and when she sings Florence’s songs – it’s sheer ecstasy!