What makes a musical appealing to high school students? Which musicals do they want to perform? And which musicals are going to be a sure-fire success for performers and audiences alike? At the Educational Theatre Associations’ Thespian Festival ...

Few shows straddle the opera-musical line like Frank Loesser's THE MOST HAPPY FELLA.  Some musicals, such as LES MISERABLES and RENT, follow the common operatic characteristic of being sung-through.  Others, like SWEENEY TODD and Michael John ...

"Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" from Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows' GUYS & DOLLS is the kind of show-stopping number that audiences eagerly await.  Often occuring towards the end of the second act, these numbers are commonly referred to as "11 ...

Many of Frank Loesser's male characters experience an inexplicable urge to keep moving from place to place, without any obligations tying them down.  From the gamblers and their floating craps game in GUYS & DOLLS to Joe's beautiful ode to wandering ...

Gambling features prominently in Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows' musical, GUYS & DOLLS.  Finding a safe location for the floating crap game drives much of the story - as does Sky's bet that he'll take Sarah Brown, one of the Mission ...

In 2006, NPR interviewed Frank Loesser's widow, Jo Sullivan Loesser, who he met during THE MOST HAPPY FELLA.  Tirelessly championing his work for the past forty years, Jo Sullivan Loesser has performed in concerts and on recordings to ensure Frank ...

Frank Loesser's brilliance as a bookwriter, composer, and lyricist is enjoyed across the world in shows such as GUYS & DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING.  But did you know that the man who uses such vivid imagery in his ...

At the beginning of Frank Loesser's sprawling masterwork, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, two characters are getting ready to move on.  For Joe, traveling is a way of life; he'll stay in one place for a few months, working in the fields, and then quit and go ...

Few theatre writers are as synonymous with New York as Frank Loesser.  For generations, the New York of GUYS & DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING has captured the hearts and imaginations of people all over the world.  ...

"Knowing Frank Loesser was a rare and rewarding experience for many reasons," writer Cynthia Lindsay explains, "but the most important was that no matter who and what you were, he made you better.  Whether it was your talent, your humor, your ...