Episodes

In this episode and the next Albert Evans and I explore the knowledge, understanding, and skills that were handed down directly from Otto Harbach to Oscar Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim to Lin-Manwell Miranda. Listen to the story of how the Musical evolved from "Silver Age" to "Golden Age" and right up to HAMILTON today.

During the 1930s Broadway was severely impacted by the economic disaster of the "Great Depression". However, somehow out of all that hardship and struggle rose an extraordinary period of artistic achievement and spectacular development for the Broadway Musical.

This episode explores at the first half of what I call "The Silver Age Of Broadway" -- a period that spans from the end of WWI to the opening of CAROUSEL in 1945. "The Roaring '20s" brought The Jazz Age to Broadway via a new crop of brilliant young songwriters including George & Ira Gershwin; Rudolf Friml, Rodgers & Hart; Vincent Youmans & Irving Ceasar; DeSylva, Brown & Henderson and more!

In this episode I share the often overlooked stories of Broadway's groundbreaking female choreographers including Aida Overton Walker, Gertrude Hoffman, Albertina Rauch, Hanya Holm,, Onna White, and especially Agnes DeMille who is arguably the most important woman in the history of the Musical. I also profile the two queer women that invented the art and craft of Broadway lighting design as we know it: Jean Rosenthal & Tharon Musser. Special thanks to Alan Fitzpatrick for his vocal acting contributions.

In this episode my special guest Albert Evans and I will share the often overlooked stories of Broadway's female songwriters and bookwriters including Dorothy Donnelly, Betty Comden, Bella Spewack, Mary Rodgers, Carolyn Leigh, and Dorothy Fields - whose amazing 50-year career stretched from the vaudeville era to the age of rock!

In this episode David Armstrong shares the fascinating stories of Broadway's defining queer choreographers Robert Alton & Jack Cole, the legendary gay songwriters Noel Coward and Larry Hart, and prolific bookwriter Herbert Fields, who may be one of the most significant and least known inventors of the Broadway Musical!

In this episode David Armstrong shares the fascinating stories of early queer producing and life partners Charles Frohman and Charles Dillingham; the first great gay director Hassard Short, drag superstars Julian Eltinge & Bert Savoy, the "Pansy Craze", and the immortal Cole Porter!

The 1920's begin to roar when Eubie Blake and many other brilliant black theater artists bring the Jazz Age to Broadway..

African-American theater artists played a much larger role in the creation of the Broadway Musical than is generally acknowledged -- including an entire decade of nearly forgotten hit shows and songs! In this episode we will rediscover the early history of Black Broadway, and the amazingly multi-talented men and women whose legacy still inspires Broadway today,

In this episode David Armstrong and special quest Albert Evans continue the amazing story of how Jewish, Irish and other immigrants invented the Broadway Musical -- including the immortal contributions of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, McCarthy & Tierney, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice,, and Florenz Ziegfeld.

In this episode, host David Armstrong, along with special guest, Albert Evans, begin to tell the amazing story of how Immigrants, Jews, Queers, and African-Americans invented America's signature art form -- the Broadway Musical.