Manhattan Digest

All you need to know about Manhattan culture and so much more...

Christopher Caz

New York Pops’ ‘Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein’ Review

by

The New York Pops kicked off a sparkling 2020 Carnegie Hall night with a reprise of its program Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein, an evening featuring the notable music of the famous songwriting team. During the short period of their collaboration from 1943 to 1959, the duo’s ground-breaking shows and film versions garnered thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, and two Grammy Awards (information courtesy of Wikipedia). [Read more…] about New York Pops’ ‘Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein’ Review

A Look Inside ‘In the Closet’ at Theatre Row’s Studio Theatre

by

In the Closet, a dramedy by Siegmund Fuchs, introduces us to four gay men of varying ages who have entered into a shared limbo, a limbo which takes the form of a metaphorical closet. In this closet there’s enough space for four people to walk around, a table and chairs, two doors, food, and coffee that comes straight from a dresser drawer without requiring a coffee maker. In this safe haven these men find the soothing memories of a grandmother’s back scratches and warm-baked kolaches, the smell of lilac, and the company of each other. [Read more…] about A Look Inside ‘In the Closet’ at Theatre Row’s Studio Theatre

‘Enter Laughing: The Musical’ is Side-Splitting Soft-Corn Musical Theater at its Finest

by

So there was this 1958 semi-autobiographical book called “Enter Laughing”, written by funny man Carl Reiner. The book got turned into a 1963 play written by Joseph Stein, then turned into a 1967 movie, with both Reiner and Stein on screenplay. Later, the play inspired a 1976 Broadway musical entitled So Long, 174th Street, which played a dismal 16 performances. It seems incredible that a recording of the show was made in 1981. [Read more…] about ‘Enter Laughing: The Musical’ is Side-Splitting Soft-Corn Musical Theater at its Finest

‘Mary, Mary’ Tries Hard but Misses The Mark

by

Mary, Mary, written in 1961 by Jean Kerr (husband of renowned theater critic Walter Kerr) has enjoys periodic restaging over the years, including this most recent run at the intimate lower Manhattan Gene Frankel Theatre. [Read more…] about ‘Mary, Mary’ Tries Hard but Misses The Mark