In the late 1950s and early ’60s, breaking into the music business meant writing pop songs and pitching them to a producer, who would then select an established singer or group to record them. So it went for a 16-year-old Brooklynite named Carole King (nee Klein), as depicted in the jukebox musical biography Beautiful, now receiving a very worthy production at the Wick Theatre … [Read more...]
Sluggish pace mutes the laughs in MNM’s ‘Forum’
Stephen Sondheim was a mere 32 years old when the first show with his music and lyrics, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opened on Broadway. A farce based on a convoluted storyline by the ancient Greek jokester Plautus, the audience-friendly musical has none of the psychological complexities that Sondheim would become known for, but plenty of his quirky melodies … [Read more...]