Patrick in Jacksonville, Florida, is curious about an expression his family uses: just like downtown, meaning, “done really well,” or “performed to perfection.” This phrase, along with just like New York, originated in the...
Angela calls from Albany Township, Maine, because she’s puzzled by the slang she hears from younger professionals in her field. She designs wigs and styles hair for actors, and recently she’s heard them use the word eat in a new and...
In honor of the great Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Quiz Guy John Chaneski has composed a quiz in which the answers lie hidden inside the name of works by Sondheim. For example, it’s no surprise that as a fan of murder...
In theatrical parlance, an 11 o’clock number is a showstopping tune late in a musical, which usually coincides with the protagonist or other major character having a life-changing realization. An example would be the song “So Long...
In an earlier conversation, we discussed the term gypsy and its ugly history as a slur against the Roma people. That history prompted the Actors’ Equity Association to choose a new name for its traditional Gypsy Robe. For decades, this garment...
Sandee from New York City thought that she was the only person who had misunderstood a line from the song “Ladies Who Lunch” from the Stephen Sondheim musical Company, memorably performed on Broadway by Elaine Stritch. Years later...