Musical Lyrical Lingo

Send us Fan Mail "Be the hero of your own story." This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are unpacking our tackle boxes and grabbing a massive box of tissues as we dive into Andrew Lippa and John August’s 2013 masterpiece, Big Fish. Based on the celebrated Daniel Wallace novel and the iconic Tim Burton film, this show redefines the "Lingo" of the American family drama. Join us...

Send us Fan Mail Blimey! Dust off your pearl jackets and practice your best "Oi!" because this week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are stepping back in time to celebrate pure, unadulterated musical comedy gold: the 1937 classic turned 1980s Broadway smash, Me and My Girl. How did a lost, pre-war British script get pieced back together from family attics and the BBC archives to become a ma...

Send us Fan Mail They had the budgets, the stars, and the hype—so what went wrong? This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we’re trading in the Tony Awards for the "Trouble Out of Town" as we count down the Top 10 Musical Flops in Broadway history. From the expensive web-slinging chaos of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark to the blood-soaked (and short-lived) prom night of Carrie , we’re perfor...

Send us Fan Mail [Trigger Warning: This episode discusses addiction and sexual trauma.]   "You live, you learn... you live, you learn." This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we’re tearing down the white picket fences of suburban Connecticut to look at the "Perfect" family that’s anything but. We’re diving deep into the 2019 powerhouse Jagged Little Pill. Using the iconic, angst-...

Send us Fan Mail Pack your shrubbery and find your finest cow-flinging catapult! This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are "lovingly ripping off" one of the funniest shows in Broadway history: Monty Python’s Spamalot . How did a low-budget, cult-classic 1975 film about the Middle Ages become a Tony-winning musical juggernaut in the 2000s? We’re breaking down the "Lingo" of th...

Send us Fan Mail They say there are two sides to every story—but in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years , those sides are moving in completely different directions. This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are performing an autopsy on a five-year marriage that starts at the end, ends at the beginning, and meets only once in the middle. Join us as we track the meteoric rise of Jamie, the "...

Send us Fan Mail Modern Love & Musical Mathematics: Sondheim’s Company Is it better to be "Alone" or "Alive"? This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are blowing out the candles on Bobby’s 35th birthday as we dive into the 1970 masterpiece that changed Broadway forever: Stephen Sondheim’s Company . In a season full of "Lingo," Sondheim is the ultimate linguist. We...

Send us Fan Mail He was a high school dropout from Brooklyn who became the king of Broadway and the darling of Paris. This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are stepping away from the stage door to look at the man who gave the American Musical its heartbeat: George Gershwin . From his "accidental" start at the piano to his legendary (and often hilarious) partnership with his brother Ira...

Send us Fan Mail Pigs, Pignapping, and Post-War Pride: Betty Blue Eyes What would you do for a real piece of pork? In 1947 Britain, the war is over, but the hunger is just beginning. This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are diving into the quirky, witty, and surprisingly emotional world of Stiles & Drewe’s Betty Blue Eyes . Based on the Alan Bennett film A Private Function , this musical ta...

Send us Fan Mail The Top 10 Love Stories – From "Green Flags" to "Red Blushes" What does it actually mean to fall in love under the spotlight? This week on Musical Lyrical Lingo , we are tackling the big one: Romance . But we aren’t just looking for the best singers, we’re looking for the love stories that actually taught us something about real life. In this "Battle of th...

Send us Fan Mail We are back for Season 4 of Musical Lyrical Lingo ! To kick things off, we’re stepping into the high-energy, heart-filled world of Kinky Boots . When Charlie Price inherits his father's failing shoe factory, he finds an unlikely savior in Lola, a fabulous drag queen in need of some sturdy stilettos. In this episode, we break down: The Power of Acceptance: Moving beyond tolera...

Send us Fan Mail A single line, one defiant kid, and a school hall full of nerves—somehow it all becomes magic. We ring out season three with a warm, funny, and surprisingly tender celebration of Nativity The Musical, using it to ask a bigger question: what happens when children are given the space to shine and adults get brave enough to follow their lead? From Mr Poppy’s joyful chaos to that fina...

Send us Fan Mail A tap break that sounds like a typewriter, a flapper’s bob as a battle cry, and a nine-day sprint that turned an understudy into a Broadway star—this is Thoroughly Modern Millie at full voltage. We revisit the show’s glittering craft and ask what it takes to keep its joy without repeating its harm. We start with fresh theatre headlines—Alexandra Burke stepping into Chaka Khan, and...

Send us Fan Mail A twig for a tree, a guilty love of bad Christmas movies, and the sound of a dog “tap dancing” set a playful scene before we dive into the real star: a brand-new Christmas musical called Jack Frost at The MAC Belfast. We sit down with writer Ali Harding and choreographer Jennifer Rooney to unpack how a spark turned into an epic winter adventure with twelve original songs, a celest...

Send us Fan Mail Defying gravity is easy. Living with the aftermath is the hard part. We sat down after a packed Friday screening of Wicked For Good to trade notes on what soared, what sagged, and why the second act chooses substance over spectacle. From the first quiet frames to that cheeky final shot, the film wears its love for musical theatre on its sleeve—smart foreshadowing, respectful echoe...

Send us Fan Mail A week of pure theatre joy collided with our favourite kind of head-scratching: we cheered the Wicked concert on telly, melted over Paddington the Musical’s adorable staging, then rolled up our sleeves for a frank, funny tour of Pippin’s brilliant weirdness. From marmalade charm to circus edge, the theme is the same: how musicals seduce us with shimmer while nudging us toward some...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when holiday cheer meets hard theatre truths and a cult teen sci‑fi musical? We kick off with real updates fans care about: Evita’s Palladium recording hits digital, Kiss of the Spider Woman announces eye‑catching leads, and The Greatest Showman’s stage premiere locks in a cast that actually fits the material. There’s mixed news too—Hercules lands with a thud, raising...

Send us Fan Mail Prom night with pyro, pig’s blood, and a descending staircase that almost took out a Broadway legend—Carrie The Musical isn’t just theatre, it’s folklore. We trace how Stephen King’s telekinetic teen went from RSC curiosity to five-performance flop to a cult favourite rescued by fans, rewrites, and sheer stubborn love for the messy, the bold, and the almost-great. We start with th...

Send us Fan Mail What if the best musical trivia isn’t trivia at all, but a map to why stories outlive us? We bring Professor and Theatre History and Mysteries host Dr John Bruschke into the studio to trace the hidden corridors between myth, history, and the show tunes stuck in our heads. From a British military escort for the silent Phantom film to real bones beneath the Paris Opera House, John u...

Send us Fan Mail Take one of the most stylish stories of the 2000s, add Elton John on the keys, and you get a cast album guaranteed to stir debate. We open with quick theatre news—Megan Hilty heading to Drury Lane, a Sweeney Todd revival in Birmingham, and Rob Madge’s Bank of Dave—then dive headlong into The Devil Wears Prada musical to find out whether the score matches the world of couture, powe...

Send us Fan Mail This week we unpack how Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green expanded a 1944 ballet into a full-throttle Broadway musical that felt like champagne after years of rationing. George Abbott’s decision to cut overt war talk gave the story longevity; the subtext stayed, the escapism sang. We spotlight Hildy’s agency as a cab driver who pursues what she wants...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when fantasy becomes your only means of survival? This week, we dive deep into Kiss of the Spider Woman, the powerful 1992 Tony Award-winning musical that remains one of Broadway's most underappreciated masterpieces. Set in an Argentinian prison during the military dictatorship, this Kander and Ebb musical (with book by Terrence McNally) tells the story of two ce...

Send us Fan Mail The curtain falls, the house lights come up, and you're left sitting in your seat, utterly stunned by what you've just witnessed. That's the power of a perfect Act One finale in musical theatre – a moment that leaves you counting the seconds until the second act begins. Tim and LJ explore the special magic of these pivotal theatrical moments, breaking down what make...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what makes a musical about spelling competitions so captivating? The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee might seem like an unlikely subject for Broadway magic, but as we discover in this episode, it's a masterclass in finding profound meaning in seemingly simple experiences. Set in a high school gymnasium, this musical introduces us to six middle school spel...

Send us Fan Mail What makes a pink-powered musical about a sorority girl resonate so deeply with audiences worldwide? That's what we're unpacking as we dive into Legally Blonde: The Musical, the show that taught us to embrace our authentic selves while defying expectations. The journey of Legally Blonde from novel to film to stage is as surprising as Elle Woods herself. Few know that Ama...