All tagged Sweet Charity

The Best Musical Tony Award Debate: 1966

1966 was an interesting year in Tony Award history. Three of the four nominated Best Musicals, Man of La ManchaMame, and Sweet Charity, ultimately achieved iconic status and could have easily won the category, each for very different reasons. The three aforementioned nominees had some particularly good things going for them, but none of the three were the perfect musical, each falling short in one way or the other. The fourth nominee, Skyscraper, is simply in the running to round out the category, a weak choice in just about every aspect. We know that Man of La Mancha took home the prize, but did it have everything required to deserve a Best Musical win? Was there another title more deserving? Today we take a look at the 1966 Tony Awards and have that discussion.

The Name on Everybody’s Lips is Gwen Verdon

With the TV miniseries Fosse/Verdon on is way to the small screen this April, I thought I would take some time to look back on one of Broadway’s most captivating triple-threats and honored leading ladies: Gwen Verdon. Gwen Verdon was a multi-Tony Award winner, playing a wide variety of roles, many of which became iconic thanks to her distinctive personality and voice, not to mention her nonpareil dance skills. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember the one, the only, the unforgettable, Gwen Verdon and the Broadway musicals that she touched.  

Remembering the Musicals of Neil Simon

This weekend we received some incredibly sad new in the theatre community: the death of one of America’s most prolific and beloved playwrights, Neil Simon. Simon mixed humor with humanity, honesty with insanity, and always connected with the individual in each of us. Many of his plays remain well-regarded in theatre circles the world over. Titles such as Barefoot in the ParkThe Odd CoupleChapter TwoThe Star-Spangled GirlPlaza SuiteThe Gingerbread LadyThe Prisoner of Second AvenueThe Sunshine BoysBrighton Beach MemoirsBiloxi BluesBroadway Bound, and Rumorscontinue to be as poignant and funny as they were when they were first written. Simon won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1991 play Lost in Yonkers.

Though often celebrated first as a playwright, Simon was also an adept collaborator when writing books for Broadway musicals. Over the years, he was responsible for the librettos behind a handful of musicals, meeting varying degrees of success for his efforts. Here is a stroll down memory lane, taking a look at the musicals for which Simon provided the book. 

Broadway Blip: Dorothy Fields

Many of you might not know who Dorothy Fields was (I’m sure some do), but you will certainly know the lyrics to myriad songs she wrote from Broadway musicals. Featuring one of most prolific (and certainly groundbreaking) careers as musical theatre writer, Fields was a constant voice in the business when very few other women were making headway in the male-dominated profession.