2/4/24 O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize is a traditional song Gospel Plow also know as Hold On. The song became influential during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
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2/2/24 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: It Don’t Mean a Thing! Phyllis Hyman, Hinton Battle and Gregg Burge.

On March 1 1981, Sophisticated Ladies debuted on Broadway. The show run for 767 performances  and garnered two Tony Awards for Willi Kim for Best Costume and Hinton Battle for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It Don’t Mean a Thing! featuring the sultry Phyllis Hyman, Hinton Battle and Gregg Burge.  Continue reading

11/29/23 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Whoopi Goldberg- Direct From Broadway, 1984 – 1985, (originally – Spook Show)

In 1983 Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson) created The Spook Show, a one-woman show composed of different character monologues. Director Mike Nichols offered to take the show to Broadway. Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway premiered on October 24, 1984 and ran until March 10, 1985, for a total of 156 performances. Continue reading

11/20/23 O&A NYC THEATRE- REVIEW: Hadestown- Sometimes True Love Can Be Hell.

By Walter Rutledge

Recently I had the extreme pleasure to see the Broadway smash hit Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theater. The 2019 eight-time Tony Award winning musical is still wowing audiences with Anais Mitchell’s incredible lyric music score and touching book featuring dual love stories. Before we talk about Hadestown lets first have a Greek mythology tutorial. Continue reading

12/28/20 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Gone Are The Days! aka Purlie Victorious (1963) | Ruby Dee Ossie Davis

Gone Are the Days! (aka Purlie Victorious / The Man From C.O.T.T.O.N.) is a 1963 American comedy-drama film starring Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Godfrey Cambridge. It is based on the 1961 Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which was written by Davis. Continue reading

8/11/20 O&A NYC THEATRE: Broadway Bares Fundraiser Goes Virtual With- Zoom In

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is taking its annual striptease fundraiser online for the first time. Broadway Bares: Zoom In began stream August 1 on Playbill and at BroadwayCares.org.  Continue reading

8/7/20 O&A NYC SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: Bob Fosse Documentary

Bob Fosse stunned the musical theatre world when he went from dance darling to world class choreographer and director. Continue reading

3/8/20 O&A NYC SUNDAY JAZZ CONCERT: Lena Horne- The Lady and Her Music (1982)

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Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, a Broadway musical revue, written for and starring American singer and actress Lena Horne. The show opened on May 12, 1981, and after 333 performances, closed on June 30, 1982, Horne’s 65th birthday. Continue reading

8/5/19 O&A NYC DANCE: It Don’t Mean A Thing from Sophisticated Ladies- Phyllis Hyman, Gregg Burge And Hinton Battle

It Don’t Mean A Thing from Sophisticated Ladies features a  knockout cast including Phyllis Hyman, Hinton Battle, Gregg Burge and Mercer Ellington. Continue reading

7/28/19 O&A NYC THE MORNING FUNNIES: You Can’t Pray The Gay Away- Laura Bell Bundy

You Can’t Pray The Gay Away,  a 2017 Skits-O-Frenic episode Broadway veteran Laura Bell Bundy.   Continue reading