Profile for Ludlow29

Urban Stages website is streaming Michael Colby's acclaimed CAST OF OF CHARACTERS. Michael Colby musicals have included CHARLOTTE SWEET (3 Drama Desk Award nominations), NORTH ATLANTIC (Show Business Award), TALES OF TINSELTOWN (Jay Records album was on two “Best of the Year” lists);, etc. His champions have included John Yap, Leonard Cohen, Al Hirschfeld, and theatres such as Urban Stages, Amas, The Directors Company, and TADA! Michael Colby's CAST OF CHARACTERS is currently being streamed—F...

For those who have never seen the musical CHARLOTTE SWEET, there will be an all-star concert presented by Amas Musical Theatre. The dates are November 17 (virtually sold out) & 18 at 7 pm. Tickets are at:https://www.amasmusical.org/Directed by Jeff Calhoun, the cast is Dwayne Clark, Ann Harada, Nicolas King, Marc Kudisch, Michael McCoy, Mamie Paris, Stephanie Pope, and Megan Styrna.FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm Michael Colby, the librettist (also Vice-President of Urban Stages and author of "The Algon...

First of all, I agree that Jesse Green is not being objective when he criticizes old movies biographies for inaccuracies and painting rosy pictures. Those were different times with different perspectives. It’s like Stephen Sondheim in his book on lyric writing where he criticize W.S.Gilbert, regardless of what Gilbert did achieve.But BLUE MOON is an exceptionally fine movie. Full disclosure: I am a Lorenz Hart aficionado—he’s my favorite lyricist and I was skeptical about the casting of Ethan...

I saw Merman. The most thrilling performance I've ever seen in a musical. The fact that she didn't win the Tony proves how inadequate the award can be.

An all-star music video created to raise money and awareness for The Actors Fund. Please consider donating at: actorsfund.org/TTWShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s25J5qPZcW8&t=162s

MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS and its sequel FALSETTOLAND were eventually merged into FALSETTOS. OF THEE I SING and LET 'EM EAT CAKE were done together at BAM as one evening, with both parts abbreviated. My musicals, LUDLOW LADD and its sequel CHARLOTTE SWEET, were done in repertory at the New American Theatre (Rockford, IL).

A Director said: "Ludlow29 said:Ah, yes, the Dorothy Hart biography! In it she claims Noel Coward was the Show Doctor for I'D RATHER BE RIGHT. Do tell! The book for the show was written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Their style is very different from Noel Coward's, so why bring in Coward to work on this musical? Where did you find this information Mr. Just A Researcher? Did you and Ms Hart make things up?"Where in the world does someone come up with this stuff? Dorothy Hart never mentio...

In regard to "At the Roxy Music Hall:"I can't remember which, but either Joshua Logan or Larry Hart called the "Roxy Music Hall" section a "divertissement"--i.e. a diversion from the crazy plot complications for a bonus sequence. The segments were all Ballanchine's satires on dance and other entertainment of the era. Like Larry Hart's jokes in the lyrics to "Roxy Music Hall," it would be difficult—maybe impossible—to translate the humor to anyone unfamiliar with the targets covered. I can't c...

WhizzerMarvin: You're right that the mission of Encores includes better known titles, as well as curios. After all, their first show was Fiorello. Like any theatre company these days, they need some box office insurance and will include, for example, 1776 and Chicago as guaranteed audience draws. I was falling back on the mission of the company that preceded Encores, The New Amsterdam Theatre Company (of which I was a founding member). Where Encores has changed is going from semi-staged, book...

ColorTheHours048 said: "I mean this in the nicest way possible, but get over yourself. We get it. You wrote a book. For the record, I did not write the biography of Lorenz Hart: it was written by Dorothy Hart, his sister-in-law. I was just a researcher. You are entitled to your opinion of the show, as are we all.

People forget that the mission of Encores! is to revive musicals of the past that wouldn't necessarily be done today. I'd rather have the chance to revisit the work of giants like Rodgers, Hart, and Joshua Logan than see another staging of Hair or Bye Bye Birdie. Hearing the "lost" orchestrations of Hans Spialek (a genius in his field) is worth the price of admission for me. My favorite Encores! presentation ever was Pardon My English, an "un-revivable" Gershwin flop that proved to be delight...

And the less said about the score, the better. I haven't yet seen this incarnation, but was involved in two past versions of I MARRIED AN ANGEL. I also saw an enchanting version—beautifully cast with Marin Mazzie, Victoria Clarke, Kim Criswell, and Jason Graae—which got across-the-board raves.It takes someone with little historic tolerance—or appreciation of classic musical theatre—to write off a score that includes "Spring Is Here," "I'll Tell the Man In the Street," the title song, and "At ...

The character of Barnaby Bugaboo was booed virtually every night during curtain calls for Charlotte Sweet.http://www.michaelcolby.com/index.php/charlotte_sweet/

Though only 9 years old when I saw her in GYPSY, I will never forget how electrifying she was. It was the kind of performance that sent chills down my spine and, 58 years later, I still don't believe I've ever seen a greater performance in musical theatre. - Michael Colby

Its champions have included Al Hirschfeld, Harold Prince, Leonard Cohen, and Christine Ebersole. You can read some of its outstanding reviews below. And there are still some tickets available (but they're going fast) for the February 27th all-star concert at Feinstein’s 54 Below, the first time the show has been done in NYC in over 30 years. Hope to see you there. - Michael Colbyhttps://54below.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F1Y00000ZBAIBUA5https://54below.com/events/charlotte-sweet-conc...

I consider myself very fortunate to have seen Terri Klausner first in EVITA. She was thrilling in every way. - Michael Colby

Jarethan said: "Ludlow29 said: "Penny Fuller in APPLAUSE, the best supporting performance I've ever seen in a musical. Saw the show out-of-town before the original "Eve" was replaced, and Fuller made all the difference in the world, nuanced, riveting, a powerhouse in her songs. Melba Moore was fine in PURLIE, stopping the show with "I Got Love" and funny in her cartoon-like performance. But Penny Fuller was astonishing."Strongly disagree. I always liked Penny Fuller, thought she was a great S...

Penny Fuller in APPLAUSE, the best supporting performance I've ever seen in a musical. Saw the show out-of-town before the original "Eve" was replaced, and Fuller made all the difference in the world, nuanced, riveting, a powerhouse in her songs. Melba Moore was fine in PURLIE, stopping the show with "I Got Love" and funny in her cartoon-like performance. But Penny Fuller was astonishing.

SLAY IT WITH MUSIC is everything you've described:http://www.michaelcolby.com/index.php/slay_it_with_music/

Some TOOTSIE trivia. There are two scenes in the movie where Dustin Hoffman is auditioning against the backdrop of an off-Broadway musical. The show is CHARLOTTE SWEET (set by Holmes Easley). The set included a prop trunk, which was actually my mother's college trunk. By pure coincidence, one of the movie's producers was Dick Richards (my father's step-brother). - Michael Colby (librettist of CHARLOTTE SWEET; composer: Gerald Jay Markoe).