Fifty-five years ago, during what we now look back on as the golden age of Broadway, Sholem Aleichem’s folk tales of Tevye the dairy man and his five tradition-challenging daughters were adapted into the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Although considered commercially risky at the time, it went on to become one of the longest-running shows ever on Broadway, and a hit around the … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 2: ‘My Fair Lady’
I am more of a Sweeney Todd and Fiddler on the Roof fan, but if you insisted that My Fair Lady is the great American musical, I wouldn't argue with you, particular after seeing the extraordinary Lincoln Center revival Sunday. Bartlett Sher, the Center's resident directing marvel (South Pacific, Light in the Piazza, etc.) has created a knockout production, with eye-popping … [Read more...]
Sher’s take on ‘King and I,’ at Kravis, renews a classic
With admired productions of South Pacific and Fiddler on the Roof behind him and My Fair Lady on his plate for this Broadway season, director Bartlett Sher is getting an acclaimed reputation for his affectionate, reverential musical revivals. That rep can only be enhanced by his take on Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s The King and I, now playing at the Kravis Center … [Read more...]