Putting It Together

A Weekend in the Country was Sondheim's attempt at perfecting the complex story song. Colm Molloy returns to discuss whether it works, the end of Act 1, and Beyoncé . You can check out Colm's website here: http://colmmolloy.com His Twitter : https://twitter.com/colmmolloy_/ His Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/colmmolloy His YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxq_yKV2rUiu9MEf8NyP2Tg You...

No doubt living with Carl Magnus every day does feel like a little death. Karen Unland returns to try and understand the character of Charlotte, if the title of the song has a secret meaning, and how it doesn't quite work in the movie version. You can follow Karen on Twitter : https://twitter.com/KarenUnland Check out Taproot Edmonton : https://edmonton.taproot.news Or Taproot Publishing : https:/...

A pig of a man singing about why women are merely objects to be enjoyed by men. Adrianna Boris returns to discuss Carl Magnus, misogyny, and that beautiful voice. If you want to learn more about Cincinnati Music Theatre you can go here: http://cincinnatimusictheatre.org You can follow Adrianna on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/mrswillshakes/ Or Twitter : https://twitter.com/mrswillshakes/ Y...

Liaisons. What's happened to them? In this episode Jackson Cooper joins Kyle to try and figure that out. This song just may be the secret to understanding the whole show. You can follow Jackson on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jackson.cooper.arts/ Here's more of Bea Arthur 's best putdowns on The Golden Girls : https://youtu.be/_eTKZPb1H4A The entire Portobello Road from Bedknobs and Broom...

Perhaps the funniest song in the entire score, You Must Meet My Wife shows how clueless Frederick is and how petty Desiree seems to be. Celina Reynes returns to discuss those matters and unpack the subtext of this song. Follow Celina on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/metoomusical/ And check out her website here: https://celinareynes.com You can purchase Stephen Sondheim's first book of...

Sometimes we see an ex and flashes of memory come to us. That's what this song does as Frederick and Desiree lock eyes with one another. But how true are their memories? Christine Chen returns to try and answer that question with Kyle. Christine's Blog : https://acrossthearch.wordpress.com Christine's Twitter : https://twitter.com/AcrossTheArch Christine's podcast, Bottomless Broadway : https://po...

The Glamorous Life is a song where Desiree's daughter sings about Desiree's supposed fancy profession. In reality Desiree is just tired. Kyle is tired because there are (sort of) three versions of this song! Brian Holcomb and Joel Perkin join him to break down why there's such a difference between the stage version and the film version. You can follow Joel on Twitter here : https://twitter.com/mrp...

Now, Later, and Soon are a triplet of songs that introduce us to three different characters. At the end all the songs converge to reveal the fears and desires of those characters. Daniel Bund joins Kyle to unpack the comedy that works and doesn't. You can follow Daniel's alter ego, Anne Elle Fischer , on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anneellefischer/ Or follow him on Twitter : https://twitt...

A Little Night Music opens up in quite the unique way. A set of four people sing the melody of a couple of songs in the score. It's an experiment that was hardly ever tried again. Plus, how does the film version introduce the characters? You can purchase Stephen Sondheim's first book of lyrics, Finishing the Hat , by going here: https://amzn.to/2LB9ZJo We are using three productions to frame our d...

We start our season looking at the inspiration that led to A Little Night Music . Smiles of a Summer Night is sometimes considered Ingmar Bergman 's first masterpiece. It certainly was the first film to bring him recognition. David Youn joins Kyle to discuss the movie in more detail. You can find the podcast Kyle and Dave do together, Kyle and Dave vs The Machine , here: https://kdvstm.transistor....

Now, I can't tell you how excited I am for the new season. Later next week you'll get to hear it. It'll be here soon enough. A new season of Putting It Together debuts next Wednesday (November 25) all about the musical A Little Night Music ! A season where we'll learn how to celebrate a weekend in the country, be each other's liaisons, and when to send in the clowns.  ★ Support this podcast on Pat...

The Last of Sheila is a cult classic film co-written by Stephen Sondheim. Erik Stadnik returns to discuss the inspiration, the execution, and the reception to this oddity of a movie. Erik's new podcast So Much Stuff to Sing : https://somuchstufftosing.libsyn.com Erik's Twitter : https://twitter.com/sjcAustenite Erik's Prague Blog : http://erikspragueblog.blogspot.com You can purchase Stephen Sondh...

There has been over a dozen major productions of Follies . Some have released an album version of the show. Kyle takes the time to listen to all the albums he could find to discover the best Follies recording, and which songs on each album are standouts. You can purchase Stephen Sondheim's first book of lyrics, Finishing the Hat , by going here: https://amzn.to/2LB9ZJo We are using three productio...

Follies is full of songs. But that doesn't mean that certain tunes didn't get cut during the creative process. On this episode Kyle details the 10 songs that weren't included in Follies and why they didn't ever see time on-stage. Here are the songs that we talked about that you can listen to now: Bring on the Girls - https://youtu.be/K2W5EnSEYQ0 Cheri - N/A Can That Boy Foxtrot - https://youtu.be/...

It's not exactly the play where everything goes wrong, but it feels like it! Ben tries to put on a smiling face, dance, and be charming but the show is crumbling around him. William White returns to the podcast to close out the Follies season. William's brand new podcast The Classical Gabfest : https://cgf.buzzsprout.com William's website : http://www.willcwhite.com William's Twitter : https://twi...

The 1987 London version of Follies decided to change how the show ended. Out was the original ending of Live, Laugh, Love and instead was this song. Colm Molloy joins Kyle to figure out which ending might be better and why it's probably not this one. You can check out Colm's website here: http://colmmolloy.com His Twitter : https://twitter.com/colmmolloy_/ His Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/c...

Depending on the actress that is cast as Phyllis she might be asked to perform The Story of Lucy and Jessie or this song. This is a burlesque strip tease. Phyllis is asking the audience what they expect to find underneath. Celina Reynes joins Kyle to discuss what it is that's revealed and what remains hidden. Follow Celina on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/metoomusical/ And check out he...

It's time for Phyllis to shine! Should she be more like Jessie or Lucy? You see it's not that easy. Victoria Gordon returns to educate Kyle about what this song is actually about and how Phyllis is the unsung hero of the show. Victoria's website : https://www.thevictoriagordon.com Victoria's Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thevictoriagordon/ Victoria's Twitter : https://twitter.com/thevictor...

This song is deceptively simple. There is a richness to it both musically and thematically in the show. Ashley Pribyl returns to offer insight and tells the story about which character this song was originally written for. Follow Ashley on Twitter : https://twitter.com/pribbleprabble Or on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/pribylprabble/ Losing My Mind is a pastiche song. It was inspired by th...

We have entered the pscyho Follies. Buddy is up first to sing about what is driving him mad. David Heineman returns to explore Buddy's psyche, talking fast, and who performed it best. David's last appearance was talking about Simple from Anyone Can Whistle : https://share.transistor.fm/s/1722d41a Musically this song is based on The Half of It, Dearie, Blues ; lyrics by Ira Gershwin with music by G...

This is the only time the younger versions of the four main characters get to sing a song. Is the jaunty melody actually a sign that their relationships started positively but became corrupted? Or are they trading fake niceties to hide the negativity brewing in their lives? A Fine Romance , music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields , performed by Ella Fitzgerald : https://youtu.be/VMUFn9D6...

Is Loveland a collective mental breakdown, or is there something deeper going on? Steve Johnson joins Kyle to discuss MGM musicals and the idea that this is just the crossing of the threshold to the fantastic. You can follow Steve on Twitter : https://twitter.com/SteveTomJohn And you can check out his YouTube channel, The Listener's Guide , here: https://www.youtube.com/c/thelistenersguide/ Listen...

Phyllis deserves more love! Both in the show and from general audiences. In this song she delivers withering barbs to her husband Ben. But could she also be hiding behind a mask of anger her vulnerability? Darby Turnbull returns to discuss this and more! Darby's Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/darby2u/ This episode ends with Donna Murph y's rendition of Could I Leave You : https://youtu.be/_...

One More Kiss was cut from the original Broadway cast album. That's a shame because it just might be the most thematically rich song of the entire show. Marco DeNinis joins Kyle to explore operetta, ghosts, and beautiful things dying. You can follow Marco on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/marcodeninis/ You can purchase Stephen Sondheim's first book of lyrics, Finishing the Hat , by going he...

Buddy is mad. He dreams of being with the right girl. But who is that right girl? Isaac Bernier-Doyle returns to discuss Margie, delusions, and dad's dancing. You can find Isaac on Twitter : https://twitter.com/isaacbd Or on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/isaacbd/ Isaac is also the co-host of That's a Shame : https://shame.city Sondheim on Reddit : https://www.reddit.com/r/Sondheim/ You can...