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Tag Archives: Fred Astaire
Broadway Legends: Vera-Ellen
One of the most versatile dancers on stage and screen, Vera-Ellen Rohe was born Feb. 16, 1921, in Norwood, Ohio, where she began dancing at age 9. Four years later, she won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which sent her … Continue reading
Posted in People, Performers
Tagged Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, On the Town, On Your Toes, Perry Como, Three Little Words, Vera-Ellen, White Christmas, Words and Music
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History of Musicals: Broadway Goes Bust
Broadway’s Roaring Twenties came to a roaring close with the rise of Hollywood’s “talkies” and the fall of the stock market. The subsequent exodus of talent posed a serious challenge for stage musicals. In 1929, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Americana, Anything Goes, As Thousands Cheer, Cole Porter, Ethel Merman, Ethel Waters, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, George Abbott, George Gershwin, Hellzapoppin, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, John Houseman, Kaufman & Hart, Knickerbocker Holiday, Kurt Weill, Marc Blitzstein, Marilyn Miller, Maxwell Anderson, Of Thee I Sing, Olsen & Johnson, Orson Welles, Otto Harbach, Pal Joey, Pins and Needles, Roberta, Rodgers & Hart, Schwartz & Dietz, The Band Wagon, The Cradle Will Rock, The Threepenny Opera, Victor Moore, Vivienne Segal, Walter Huston, William Gaxton, Yip Harburg
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Essential Film Musicals: Singin’ in the Rain
Though now often regarded as the greatest film musical ever made, Singin’ in the Rain was only a modest hit when it was first released in 1952. Its stature has grown to near legendary status in the years since. Roger … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Alan Jay Lerner, Arthur Freed, Busby Berkeley, Comden & Green, Cyd Charisse, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Gigi, Lerner & Loewe, Leslie Caron, Nacio Herb Brown, Schwartz & Dietz, Singin' in the Rain, Stanley Donen, The Band Wagon, Vincente Minnelli
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Essential Film Musicals: An American in Paris
MGM’s Freed Unit, which began creating musical films in 1939 under producer Arthur Freed’s leadership, reached the peak of its creative and critical acclaim in 1951 with An American in Paris, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. Much of … Continue reading
Essential Film Musicals: Meet Me in St. Louis
After working as an uncredited associate producer on The Wizard of Oz, Arthur Freed was given charge of his own unit at MGM. His first effort was the film adaptation of Rodgers and Hart’s stage musical Babes in Arms (1939), … Continue reading
Summer Reading List
If you’re like me, you spent most of June catching up with this past season’s New York productions of musicals. Over a frenzied Memorial Day holiday in New York, I saw six shows in four days! As New York (and … Continue reading