Danny Hoch
Solo performing is an art like no other. It brings with it the tension of being the only one on stage, as well as the luxury of total artistic control. One solo stage artist is using that control to...
View ArticleFoote Family
There's a new play in New York; WNYC's Sara Fishko sat in on a rehearsal this past week, and talked to numerous participants, all of them related!
View ArticleWest Side Story
The 1950's was a time of great tension, both around the world and on the streets of New York. On Broadway, a new musical attempted to capture that tension on stage. WNYC's Sara Fishko reports on how...
View ArticleOrchestration
This spring, a new crop of musicals will be presented on Broadway, and some old ones will be revived. Toiling behind the scenes, Sara Fishko tells us, are the orchestrators. Here is the next Fishko...
View ArticleImprovisation
Some music is composed from top to bottom, every note written in advance. Some is just made up, on the spot. And then there is music that is a combination of the two: it's improvised around the...
View ArticleBroadway Music
Contract negotiations are in progress between Broadway producers and pit musicians, and the two sides are in bitter dispute. Sara Fishko examines some of the finer points of this struggle for the...
View ArticleVisual Music
The classical concert season is in full swing, and, as Sara Fishko tells us, music is not the only thing on stage. Here is the next Fishko Files... Click here to see John Coriglianos photo "Circa...
View ArticleCandide
This week conductor Marin Alsop and director Lonny Price bring a new, semi-staged production of "Candide" to Lincoln Center. The original version of the musical opened on Broadway in the 1950's. As...
View Article"Angels" on Stage
The four dramas nominated for Tony Awards this week bring to mind another Broadway season, when the play that won the Tony was more than a play. "Angels in America" appeared in New York in early May of...
View ArticleNew York Shakespeare
Tomorrow night, the 50th season of free Shakespeare in Central Park begins with "As You Like It." Nowadays, we take for granted thatcome summergreat actors will appear at the Delacorte theater and...
View ArticleFlorence Foster Jenkins
Long before American Idol and the Amateur Hour, soprano Florence Foster Jenkins sang about as badly as anyone had ever sung in public. But people have been fascinated by her style and her story since...
View ArticleNichols and May
Any time Mike Nichols and Elaine May occupy the same stage at the same time, it has to be seen as a cultural event. WNYC’s Sara Fishko was there, recently, when Nichols and May talked things over in...
View ArticleChayefsky
Film is a visual medium, but the words that inspire the pictures are critical. The screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky died 25 years ago, but people still remember his films, vividly; and what they tend to...
View ArticleThe Other Juno
A short-lived Broadway musical called ‘Juno’ is coming back for a brief run. It’s not to be confused with the current hit movie about a pregnant teen. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, the 1950’s 'Juno'...
View ArticleOn Hamlet
Reflecting on the many voices of HamletA Hamlet season is ahead: Jude Law will be on Broadway right after Labor Day in the play, and in March, the Met will stage the opera. WNYC’s Sara Fishko works up...
View ArticleAngels in America
Thanks to the first New York revival of Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America,” theater-goers can once again see the American epic on stage. WNYC’s Sara Fishko looked back at the original Broadway...
View ArticleLeo Friedman
As Tony Award-time comes around and the theater celebrates itself, we can turn to a treasure trove of theater history in the photos of the venerable Broadway photographer Leo Friedman. WNYC’s Sara...
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Pins and Needles
A Foundry Theater revival of a Depression-era musical opens this week. In its day, the show brought satirical relief to a polarized society. WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells the story. (Scroll to the bottom...
View ArticleKitchen Sink Realism
Next week, a 1950s English play opens off-Broadway that was more than just a play, says WNYC’s Sara Fishko. It was a cultural landmark that shook English class consciousness to its foundations. A trip...
View ArticlePorgy and Bess
Next week will see the release of the cast album of the Tony-nominated Broadway production of Porgy and Bess. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, the controversy over the style and scale of the musical is...
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