MusicalTalk - The UK's Independent Musical Theatre Podcast

Nick sits with Antonia to discuss what he thought of Young Frankenstein - now playing at the Garrick Theatre; Antonia shares her thoughts on Strictly Come Dancing, as well as Strictly Ballroom coming to the West End - and also discusses what she thought of The Girls - that's now, sadly, left the West End.

More songs and conversations from this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe – so join Thos for the low down on the Murderous Philanthropist of Croydon Town, One Good Soul and an intriguing double/sequel/prequel/Mobius strip of a musical in two parts, or two musicals in one, namely Wall! A Thinly Veiled Metaphor for Our Current Political Landscape Disguised as a New American Musical and Wall 2.0! A Thi...

It's Fringe Round Up Time – so join Thos for the next couple of weeks as he talks to the people behind some of shows at his years Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  And in today's episode he talks Sondheim, Gilbert and Sullivan and Henry Cyril Paget, the fifth Marquis of Anglesey – it's class all the way!

Nick and Dom discuss Stephen Sondheim's Follies - currently playing at the National Theatre. This production stars Imelda Staunton, Philip Quast, Tracie Bennett and Janie Dee - and is one of Sondheim's most admired scores. This marks the first time Nick has seen the show - but how does it compare to the 1987 production by Cameron Mackintosh?

Composer Stephen Weiner discusses his upcoming musical adaptation of The Honeymooners, and his journey through the exciting and chaotic landscape of musical theatre development.

Join Thos as he talks to the writer, performers and producer of this year's MusicalTalk Pick of the Fringe, the wonderful new five star show, Stop the Musical, which was developed in collaboration with Les Miserables' Claude Michel Schonberg and has been winning rave reviews for its intelligent, moving and delightful book and score.

With the Festival Fringe reaching its seventieth anniversary, there has never been a better time to go to the world's largest arts festival. So, with this in mind, Thos has compiled a list of five and four star songs and shows that are still on for you to see. Hear from composers, writers and performers and investigate everything musical theatre from synaesthesia to Theremins. It's the best of the...

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro received a mixed reception in 1947 and didn't get to Europe until it opened in London 69  years later.  In part two of an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of this legendary show, Tim and Thos ask whether it has heart, and if it has Hart!

Is Rodgers and Hammerstein's legendary 1947 Broadway musical Allegro really an artistic failure - or is it any good? It's the question that people have been asking for seventy years! Thos sat down with Tim to discuss the piece and the recent European premiere production at the Southwark Theatre. Listen to the first part of this in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of this most interes...

Nick chats to Rosie about the new chamber-musical playing at the Donmar Warehouse looking at the court case involving a British charity scandal. It runs until the 12th August!

Join Thos as he talks to some of the actors involved in MusicalTalk's Pick of the Fringe from last year, Royal Vauxhall - cabaret queen, Sarah Louise Young, and respected actor Tom Giles, who played Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury respectively.  In these candid interviews, you'll also hear more about the realities of show business at the fringe - and learn about Thos' exploits in a cupboard!

With the  70th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe barely a month away, Thos sits down with writer and composer, Desmond O'Connor, to talk about MusicalTalk's Pick of the Fringe from last year, the five star show, Royal Vauxhall.   So find out what happens when Freddie Mercury, Kenny Everett and Diana, Princess of Wales walk into a bar? It's no joke!

Join Nick and Dom as they talk about seeing Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre - featuring new songs by Stiles and Drewe and then hear Dom talk about his experience playing The Mysterious Man and the Narrator in Into The Woods...

Nick and Antonia take a visit to West Covina, California to talk about the musical TV show - Crazy Ex Girlfriend; Nick, Amy and Andrew discuss the new Jim Steinman Rock Opera - Bat out of Hell playing at the London Coliseum and Jonathan Cohen shares his thoughts on working with British TV legend Brian Cant.

Nick is joined by Robert Gordon as they sit down to discuss the Tony Award results, The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of On The Town, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's musical-like sensibility and whether lyric writing has got lazy over the years!

In this week's episode - we re-play our 2008 interview with legendary orchestrator William David Brohn - who passed away in May 2017. Hear Bill talk, with Nick Hutson and Jonathan Cohen, about his work on Wicked, Miss Saigon, Ragtime, Mary Poppins, Crazy for You, Curtains and answer questions from our listeners.

Ever wondered what a director brings to a production?  Found yourself pondering what a producer actually does?  Perhaps you've puzzled over how the roles differ or overlap?  Well, as cult hit, the Quentin Dentin Show, returns to London in June, Thos sat down with Adam Lenson and Hannah Elsy, the director and producer of that show to investigate - as you'll find out in this insightful episode

In this bumper edition, Thos sits down with up-and-coming writer, Henry Carpenter, the man behind the cult hit, the Quentin Dentin Show, to enjoy a masterclass on the development of just one song.  Hear five different versions of the piece over the life of its development and enjoy the analysis of narrative, performance, arrangement, lyrics, wordplay, musical hooks, and a whole lot more. It's a mu...

Musician/lyricist/actor Val Vigoda talks about transitioning from indy pop to musical theatre, playing a six-string electric violin, live looping, and her new Off Broadway show "Earnest Shackleton Loves Me" - which we offer an exciting way to see! Antonia shares her thoughts on the ENO production of Carousel - that ran at the London Coliseum.

Join Tim and Thos as they discuss the haunting and original 1996 Adam Guettel musical based on the true story of tragic pot-holer, Floyd Collins, in Kentucky 1925, who inadvertently finds fame when he becomes the eye of a media storm by getting stuck in a cave.  Find out what makes this show so unusual and musically exciting with influences from Bartok, Stravinski, Copland and perhaps Gershwin (or...

With its triumphant return to London this week (prior to a week in Hamburg), Thos looks at hit fringe show, Paper Hearts, where love, passion and betrayal meet in a bookshop (next to the historical fiction and romance sections).  Thos talks to the Assistant Director of its Edinburgh incarnation, Mark Stuart Flynn, about the creative inputs of this exciting new piece and its sophisticated story tel...

David Herzog returns to chat with director Kirk Jameson about this latest London incarnation of the Irving Berlin classic!

Mike chats to Laura Darrell - who's been involved with the new John Kander musical "Kid Victory". She talks about working on a new musical with John Kander and offers other golden nuggets of advice! You'll also get to hear music from the show, too!

Join Nick Hutson, David Herzog, Jonathan Cohen and Dominic McChesney for an episode spanning our thoughts on 42nd Street (now playing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), an Olivier Awards re-cap and an introductory discussion with Adrian Jekkells - who is the principle of the London School of Musical Theatre.

As part of MusicalTalk's tenth anniversary celebrations, Thos sits down with the man who started it all, Nick Hutson, to talk about the birth of the series and how it developed in its earliest years, touching on Wicked, pantomime, Stephen Schwartz, Lord of the Rings and a lot more besides.  To misquote Sondheim; look – we made a chat!