Scene to Song

In this episode, nurse and musician BethAnn Freed Cohen discusses the TV musical episode, focusing on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode and the Scrubs musical episode. We also talk about the song "Everything Comes Down to Poo" from the Scrubs musical episode.

In this episode, freelance artists and founders of ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com  David Sisco and Laura Josepher discuss contemporary musical theater----what the term means and includes, as well as examples from Broadway, off-Broadway, and their site. We also talk about the song "Changing My Major" from Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's 2015 Broadway musical Fun Home.

In this episode, I share outtakes from three previous episodes with guests  Gregory Jacobs-Rosema n, Michael Boyd , and EllaRose Chary . I also talk about the song "Telephone Wire" from Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's 2015 Broadway musical Fun Home.

In this episode, composer and librettist Rachel Peters  discusses the songs of Cole Porter--looking at the darkness in happy songs and how two things can be true at once. We also talk about the song "So in Love" from Cole Porter and Bella and Samuel Spewack's 1948 musical Kiss Me Kate.

In this episode, arts educator Aliza Greenberg discusses Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the ways in which it is and isn't a musical for kids. We also talk about the song "It's Time" from the 1996 musical Big: The Musical.    

In this episode, writer and director Michael Boyd discusses Tom O'Horgan, Helen Miller, and Eve Merriam's 1971 musical Inner City, the story behind this short-lived musical, most likely the first Broadway musical with a score by two women, as well as a look some of the songs. We also talk about the song "Hushaby/My Mother Said" from Inner City.

In this episode, performer and creator Victoria Gordon discusses Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's 1966 television musical Evening Primrose, looking at the contradictions of art vs. capitalism and inside vs. outside and at Charles and Ella's relationship. We also talk about the song " Storybook " from Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton's The Scarlet Pimpernel, specifically Linda Eder's version.

In this episode, writer and musician Kirk Hamilton  discusses Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, looking at the character of Eliza, how the show's visual elements work with the score, and the songs "Non-Stop" and "The Reynolds Pamphlet." We also talk about the songs "You'll Be Back," "What Comes Next?" and "I Know Him" from Hamilton.    

In this episode, Warren Hoffman , author of The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical, discusses his book, specifically whiteness and white identity in musical theater, in preparation for the book's second edition. We also talk about the song " Love Can't Happen " by Maury Yeston from the musical Grand Hotel. 

In this episode, composer and lyricist and theatrical producer Gregory Jacobs-Roseman discusses the musicals of composer and lyricist Jerry Herman. We also talk about the song " The Best of Times " from Herman's La Cage aux Folles. 

In this episode, seven of this season's guests--Mark Falconer, Anika Chapin, James Ballard, Jessica Fleitman, John Verderber, Marcus Scott, and BethAnn Cohen--return to discuss the topics from the season and listener-submitted questions and comments. 

In this episode, writer, director, and performer Andi Lee Carter discusses Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats--the plot, the songs, its similarities to A Chorus Line--as we prepare for the upcoming film. We also talk about the Overture from Cats. 

In this episode, writer Marcus Scott discusses rock musicals as a vehicle for coming-of-age stories and biographies, looking at Hedwig, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Passing Strange, and A Strange Loop, among others. We also talk about the song " Skid Row (Downtown) " from the Little Shop of Horrors.   

In this episode, writer and podcaster  David Levy discusses the musical revue, from The Ziegfeld Follies to Forbidden Broadway. We also talk about the song " Something " from the revue Upstairs at O'Neals.

In this episode, Afrofuturist, womanist, black femme storyteller, and social activist AriDy Nox discusses musicals that grapple with racial and/or socio-economic politics in non-obvious ways. We also talk about the song " Why We Build the Wall " from Hadestown.

In this episode, bookwriter and playwright Orian Israelsohn  discusses the Bock and Harnick musicals Fiddler on the Roof and The Rothschilds, looking at passive vs. active protagonists, time and place, and the song "If I Were a Rich Man" vs. the song "Everything." We also talk about the song " Molasses to Rum " from 1776.    

In this episode, writer/theater critic Jose Solis discusses Latinx characters in musical theater, from Evita to Miss You Like Hell to Manuel vs. the Statue of Liberty (although leaving out West Side Story and In the Heights because they are talked about enough). We also talk about the song " America " from West Side Story.

In this episode, dramaturg and writer Anika Chapin discusses Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical Assassins. We also talk about the song " Another National Anthem " from Assassins.    

In this episode, teacher and singer Nicholas Harbison discusses the lesser-known musicals of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty: Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, and The Glorious Ones. We also talk about the song " We Dance " from their 1990 musical Once on This Island.

In this episode, writer  EllaRose Chary discusses the formation of white and white Jewish identity in America, as well as the racial history of America, constructed through musical theater. We also talk about the song " The Night that Goldman Spoke at Union Square " from the 1997 musical Ragtime.    

In this episode, director and Royal Family Productions  artistic associate Mark Falconer discusses the musicals of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, from The Fantasticks to Philemon and Grover's Corners. We also talk about the song " I Said It, and I'm Glad " from Comden and Green and Styne's 1961 musical Subways are for Sleeping.

In this episode, nurse and musician BethAnn Freed Cohen  discusses representations of Judaism in musical theater. We also talk about the song " Alone, and yet Alive " from The Mikado.

In this episode, producer and writer Sean Williams discusses David Yazbek's use of genre and tropes in his score to The Band's Visit. We also talk about the song " Answer Me " from The Band's Visit.    

In this episode, composer, lyricist, writer, and orchestrator James Ballard discusses orchestrations and creating a sound world of a musical. We also talk about the song " Dust and Ashes "from the recent Dave Malloy musical, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

In this episode, writer  John Verderber  discusses political musicals and the difference between those that are dated and those that last. We also talk about Stephen Sondheim's song " Someone in a Tree " from his 1976 musical Pacific Overtures.