Articles by Noel Katz

Funny Girl

Jul 31, 2019 | 0 |

The most famous songs from Funny Girl, “People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” are unusual in that they’re stunningly successful, and yet they contain elements that are “wrong” in a strict definition of the term.

Little Shop of Horrors

Jul 6, 2019 | 0 |

It would be a mistake to dismiss Little Shop of Horrors as camp, because it is written with more attention to the intricacies of construction than most serious musicals. In a sense, it’s the last purely funny musical comedy to have stood the test of time; its endurance due, in part, to its solid architecture.

Sweeney Todd

May 31, 2019 | 0 |

Stephen Sondheim, writing at the height of his powers, makes audiences anticipate almost every second of the show that something scary is about to happen.

My Fair Lady

May 6, 2019 | 0 |

My Fair Lady is a paradigm of many elements that make musicals work. But one unique aspect is how its leads never express romantic feelings to each other.

Cabaret

May 6, 2019 | 0 |

Cabaret is a seductive musical with attractive songs. But we’re well aware of the tragic implications: 1930 Berlin is a bad time and place to be Jewish.