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)

Give My Regards to GEORGE M!

Opening on Broadway today, 10 April, some 58 years ago in 1968, GEORGE M! tells the story of George M. Cohan, the legendary performer, writer and producer once known as “The Man Who Owned Broadway.” Find out more about this show in today’s “Forgotten Musicals Friday” column. Continue reading

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Everything’s Coming Up Gypsy

Musical theatre makes its way into our personal lives in the strangest ways. What’s a musical theatre quirk that’s made its way into your life? Continue reading

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First, Blow-up, Biggest, Latest – The Robert Lopez Edition

This week, the Saturday List showcases Robert Lopez, the double EGOT recipient who moves seamlessly between scrappy musical satires, blockbuster Broadway hits and animated films for Disney Animation. Continue reading

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The Technicolor Dreams of LADY IN THE DARK

Some musicals fade into history because they failed to capture the imagination of their contemporary audiences. Others can’t make their mark because they’re ahead of their time. LADY IN THE DARK is neither. It was a huge hit, critically and commercially, and it was absolutely in step with the times. Even so, it is a show that feels strangely distant in today’s musical theatre landscape, even as we remember and celebrate other great successes of the 1940s. Continue reading

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The Saturday List: The Beginnings of Broadway

This week’s Saturday List looks back at five theatrical traditions that helped establish the conventions of the Broadway musical. Continue reading

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Forgotten Musicals Friday: When the APPLAUSE Fades Away…

Some musicals are forgotten because they failed. Others are forgotten because time quietly moved on without them. APPLAUSE falls squarely into the latter category, which makes it one of the more curious entries in our Forgotten Musicals Friday canon. Continue reading

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Musical Theatre Hot Takes

Hot takes are all over the Internet these days – and hot takes on musicals are no exception. Here’s my attempt at a few. Continue reading

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The Saturday List: Ranking Sondheim’s Post-Prince Shows

In the four decades since Merrily We Roll Along flopped on Broadway, effectively bringing Stephen Sondheim’s prolific collaboration with director-producer Harold Prince to a painful end, Sondheim wrote only six new musicals for the stage: Sunday in the Park with … Continue reading

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Forgotten Musicals Friday: When Broadway Went ANIMAL CRACKERS

Some musicals are “forgotten” in the loosest sense of the word, not because they vanished entirely, but because we remember them for one thing and quietly overlook the rest. Animal Crackers is one such show. More often thought of as … Continue reading

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The Magic of Musical Theatre Moments

What makes musicals so magical? Here are some thoughts about why so many of us fall in love with it so young and stay in love with it for life. Continue reading

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