Worst Side Story
In the never-ending category of Hollywood Has No New Ideas, we have a new entry: Steven Spielberg is remaking "West Side Story." That should be against the law. Tony Kushner, who Spielberg hired to write the new version, told Vanity Fair, "Our version is not meant to...
Neil Simon
The Hebrew word "dayenu" means "it would have been enough." As an example of its use, consider this: If Neil Simon had only written "The Odd Couple" and "Barefoot In The Park," DAYENU. Or: If Neil Simon had only written "The Sunshine Boys" and "Plaza Suite," DAYENU....
An Odd Theater Sighting
As we drove along US Route 1 in Maine last week, we passed the Ogunquit Playhouse, a regional theater that hosts bus-and-truck touring companies of shows like "Jersey Boys," "Smokey Joe's Cafe," and "An American In Paris." The marquee outside said the current offering...
Theater Review: Terry Fator
I was only familiar with Terry Fator from clips of him winning "America's Got Talent" eleven years ago. He parlayed that into a regular gig (and a theater named after him) in Las Vegas, where he's played for the last decade. Several of my friends have seen and raved...
Theater Review: Penn & Teller
My wife and I have seen Penn & Teller many times since they made their off-Broadway debut in the mid-1980s, but haven't gone back for seven years or so until this weekend. I'm glad we did. Unlike other Vegas acts, who have been doing the same tricks over and over,...
Steve, Marty, Bruce, and That Tony Moment
Why would I buy tickets to see Steve Martin and Martin Short at The Fox Theatre later this year when I just watched their entire show on Netflix? Even if I had only seen bits and pieces of it, I still wouldn't go because they didn't make me smile, let alone laugh. The...
Making Hair On TV Without Chia Pets
NBC has announced that the next musical it will turn into a live television event is "Hair" ("The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical"). The first Broadway show with a rock and roll score, it debuted fifty years ago (after four months off-Broadway), right smack dab in...
Too Much Spamalot
I see that Eric Idle has made a deal to turn his hit Broadway musical “Spamalot” into a movie. It won’t be a filmed version of a stage production, but a revision made specifically for the screen. As much as I loved the show, I wish everyone involved would pause long...
