Author Archives: David Fick

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About David Fick

teacher + curator + writer + director + performer = (future maker + ground shaker) x (big thinker + problem shrinker) x (go getter + detail sweater)

The Saturday List: Five Underrated 1990s Musicals We Don’t Talk About Enough

Posted on January 10, 2026 by David Fick

Musicals from the 1990s have enjoyed something of a reappraisal in recent years, but in between the mega-hits, adaptations and popular revivals, some genuinely adventurous, entertaining and artistically rich shows slipped through the cracks. Continue reading →

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Forgotten Musicals Friday: Broadway Meets Britain in ANDRÉ CHARLOT’S REVUE OF 1924

Posted on January 9, 2026 by David Fick

Broadway has often looked across the Atlantic for creative renewal, and just over a century ago, it found something of the kind in ANDRÉ CHARLOT’S REVUE OF 1924, a sophisticated import refreshingly unlike anything American audiences were used to seeing. Continue reading →

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“Hal, It’s About Cats”: Who Decides What Musicals Mean?

Posted on January 5, 2026 by David Fick

Who decides what a musical really means? This Musical Cyberspace Monday Missive reflects on the question of who ultimately determines meaning in musical theatre: the writers, the directors, the performers – or the audience. Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: Five Best Musical Tony Winners That Have Aged the Worst

Posted on January 3, 2026 by David Fick

Although the Tony Awards represent the pinnacle of each Broadway season’s theatrical presentations, some recipients of the award for Best Musical haven’t stood the test of time. Sometimes, an undeserving musical edges out a show that is otherwise recognised as being absolutely brilliant; at other times, an older show is out of step with the way we see the world today. Continue reading →

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Forgotten Musicals Friday: When THE FIG LEAVES ARE FALLING Fell Flat

Posted on January 2, 2026 by David Fick

In today’s edition of Forgotten Musicals Friday, we take a look at THE FIG LEAVES ARE FALLING, a musical so desperate to run that it raffled off a chicken to the audience at every performance. A turkey would have been more apt! Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: 5 Songs That Turn Youthful Anthems Into a Movement

Posted on September 20, 2025 by David Fick

It’s a tough time in the world right now. When it feels easier to keep your head down, musical theatre reminds us how powerful it can be when we speak up, find each other and take a stand. Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: All the Things Oscar Hammerstein II’s Lyrics Are

Posted on July 12, 2025 by David Fick

Today, we celebrate the birthday of musical theatre legend Oscar Hammerstein II. Born into a family who were already notable in theatre history, he would become the most renowned of the Hammerstein clan, not only because of his contributions to musical theatre as a lyricist and librettist but also as a practitioner who pushed the boundaries of what musical theatre could accomplish as an art form. Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: Four Robot Musicals to Reprogramme Your Soul

Posted on July 5, 2025 by David Fick

After seeing MAYBE HAPPY ENDING on Broadway, I started thinking about robots in musicals – and why there are so few of them. This week’s Saturday List explores four rare shows where machines don’t suppress emotion, but reveal it, proving that even robots can sing with heart. Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: Four Early Steps on the Road to Decolonising Gilbert and Sullivan’s Operettas

Posted on May 24, 2025 by David Fick

Today marks the anniversary of MEMPHIS BOUND!, an often overlooked detour in the diverse highway of musical theatre history. To celebrate the 80th anniversary its Broadway opening, we’re listing four African-American adaptations that took the topsy-turvy world of G&S and turned it inside out and upside down. Continue reading →

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The Saturday List: JOSEPH and the Amazing Technicolor “Show” Coat

Posted on May 17, 2025 by David Fick

To celebrate the new South African revival of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT we’re running through shows that feature the famous list of colours in Joseph’s coat that Tim Rice set to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music in this week’s Saturday List. Continue reading →

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