Episodes

Why are the great Musicals so unforgettable? Why do musicals have so much power and impact? How is it that they are able to live in our hearts and memories for a lifetime? In this Season One finale Episode Albert Evans and I tell our own stories of when, how, and why we fell in love with Broadway Musicals and suggest why this happens to so many of us.

Musical theater is a very effective form for dramatizing entire communities of people – and often the community itself becomes a major character in the drama. Because of this natural ability, dozens of Broadway musicals - including many of the most popular, acclaimed and influential - focus nearly as much on the triumphs and tribulations of the community in the story, as they do the of the individual central characters. In this episode I explore the ways in which Community central to the musicals Fiddler On The Roof, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, A Chorus Line, Pippin, The Music Man, Cats, Sweeney Todd, Come From Away and more!

At least 30 popular and successful Broadway musicals have stories, plots and themes that explicitly deal with Equity, Justice, and Inclusion in regard to Race, Ethnicity and Culture. The great musicals that I profile today include The Red Moon, As Thousands Cheer, Show Boat, South Pacific, The King And I, West Side Story, Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret, Ragtime, Hairspray, and Wicked.

This is the second of two special holiday bonus episodes of Broadway Nation. In Part One we looked at how the Jewish-Russian immigrant songwriter, Irving Berlin -- in addition to being one of the prime inventors of the Broadway Musical -- also created an entirely new category of popular song: “the Christmas Standard”. In this episode we explore how Berlin was aided and abetted in that endeavor by the son of Irish and German immigrants from Washington State who became one of the most popular performers of all time -- Bing Crosby. But first, we start off with Albert Evans’ amazing in-depth analysis of the genius of Irving Berlin, and the inspiration and craft that is behind the most popular song of all time.

This is the first of three episodes highlighting the principal themes of the Broadway Musical. Today I look at the single most ubiquitous and pervasive theme: “Transgressive Women”. From “Laurey” in Oklahoma! to “Elphaba” in Wicked. From “Annie Oakley” to “Tracy Turnblad”. From “Maria” in The Sound Of Music to “Effie” in Dreamgirls. Dynamic women who break the rules and refuse to follow the path that society has set out for them have been at the center of America’s signature Art Form.

Perhaps surprisingly, the current generation of Broadway creators has re-embraced and reinvigorated both the “Musical Comedy” and the “Musical Play” in ways that I think would make Rodgers & Hammerstein very proud, with shows such as Hairspray and Wicked, At the same time they have introduced something sort of new – the “Jukebox Musical” including Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys. In the process, and with a major assist from the Walt Disney Company, the Broadway Musical has achieved new heights of prosperity, popularity and cultural relevance in the 21st Century.

The second half of my interview with NY Post columnist Michael Riedel about his new book, Singular Sensation – The Triumph of Broadway continues the story of the Broadway Musical in the 1990s including the musicals CHICAGO, The Full Monty, The Producers, and The Lion King.

In this episode I interview NY Post columnist Michael Riedel about his new book, "Singular Sensation - The Triumph Of Broadway", and that conversation is the perfect vehicle to continue to tell the story of the Broadway Musical during the final decade of the 20th Century.

The Modern Era of Broadway, part 7. In this episode I explore what is often called “The British Invasion of Broadway” – a ten-year period during which it seemed that writers, directors, designers, producers and performers from the UK had sailed in and taken over Broadway with musicals such as Les Miserables, Phantom Of The Opera, and Miss Saigon. .

In this episode I explore the growing visibility of queer stories, themes and characters on Broadway in musicals such as Hair, Coco, Applause, Seesaw, A Chorus Line, and La Cage Aux Folles, as well as the devastating effect that the AIDS Crisis had on Broadway during the 1980s and 90s when a whole generation of creative talent was eliminated or sidelined by the disease.

In this episode I explore the history of what is called the “Concept Musical”, including its key creators: Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, Michael Bennett and their game changing musicals Cabaret, Company, Follies, A Chorus Line, Chicago, Cats, and Dreamgirls.

In this episode I celebrate 1970s Broadway, and the return of the Black Musical. More than a dozen hit black musicals opened during the decade, and three of them won the TONY Award for "Best Musical"! About half of them were dynamic new, original musical plays – mostly adaptations of popular plays or novels – and all of them employed a combination of rhythm & blues, pop, rock, jazz and traditional Broadway style music to help tell their stories. The other half were musical revues that showcased the classic songs of the great black songwriters of the 1920s, 30s and 40s. These shows represented a major black wing of the ongoing Nostalgia Craze. Join me as I explore the musicals PURLIE, RAISIN, THE WIZ, DON’T BOTHER ME I CAN’T COPE, and YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD, as well as the dynamic songbook revues BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, EUBIE!, SOPHISTICATED LADIES, and BLACK AND BLUE.

In this episode I continue my review of Broadway’s Nostalgia Craze of the 1970s and beyond. This includes the musicals Grease, Irene, Over Here!, Very Good Eddie, Whoopee!, Sugar Babies, 42nd Street A Day In Hollywood A Night In The Ukraine, On Your Toes, My One And Only, Crazy For You, Me And My Girl and even ANNIE, as well as how this passion for the 1920’s, 30s and 40s affected every aspect of American culture, Art and entertainment.

In this episode Albert Evans and I explore the origins of Broadway’s “Nostalgia Craze of the 1970s” -- where it came from, and what artistic, social and cultural forces came together to spark this unlikely phenomenon. We look at its roots in the counterculture youth rebellion of the 1960’s, the rediscovery of classic films from the 1930s and 40s on television, and in the popularization of gay camp culture via the off-off Broadway mega hit DAMES AT SEA. All of this would lead to the triumphant 1971 Broadway revival of NO, NO, NANETTE, which was billed as “the new 1925 musical”.

In April of 1968, “The Golden Age of Broadway” came to an abrupt end on the opening night of the “tribal rock musical” HAIR, which took America by storm and created a shocking jump cut into what I call “The Modern Era" of the Broadway Musical. In this episode I share the story of the emergence and rise of the so called “Rock Musical”.

As the 1950’s came to a close, Broadway Musicals were at the very center of American culture. Then in 1960, as if on cue, two immensely popular shows – The Fantasticks, and Bye, Bye Birdie – kick off the decade by foreshadowing several major changes in American culture that by the end of the decade will leave the the Broadway Musicals future in doubt. The brilliant Broadway creators profiled in this episode include Schmidt & Jones, Strouse & Adams, Michael Stewart, Gower Champion, Jerry Herman, and Bock & Harnick. As well as the classic musicals that bring the “Golden Age Of Broadway” to its climax – Oliver!; Stop The World; The Roar Of The Greasepaint;, Man Of La Mancha; Fiddler On The Roof, and what I call the "Big Transgressive Lady" Shows – Hello, Dolly!, Sweet Charity, and Mame.

In this episode I focus on the 1959–1960 which brought us Gypsy vs. The Sound Of Music. And you could subtitle this episode Ethel Merman vs. Mary Martin! Spoiler alert: There was a tie for the Best Musical Tony Award that season, but if you don’t already know the story, it probably didn’t end up the way you think it would have. There are still Broadway mavens that remain outraged over which show won, and which musical was in their view unjustly denied its rightful award! Which shoe do you think should have won?

In this episode, Albert Evans and I take an in-depth look at two classic musicals that went head to head at the 1958 TONY Awards -- .West Side Story and The Music Man. We explore the conception, development and storied history of these legendary shows, and look “under the hood” to discover just what it is that makes them so great. After you listen, let me know which show you think truly deserved to win the prize for "Best Musical"!.

This is the second part of my discussion with Tony Award winning Costume Designer Ann Hould-Ward in which we trace the legacy chain of Broadway costume design expertise that was handed down directly over a 100 year period from Aileen Bernstein to Irene Sharriff to Patricia Zipprott to Ann Hould-Ward, herself.

One of the main threads of this podcast is how the arts and crafts of the Broadway Musical have been handed down directly from one practitioner to the next, generation to generation. In this episode I trace the legacy chain of Broadway Costume Design that was handed down directly from Aileen Bernstein to Irene Sharaff to Patricia Zipprott to Ann Hould-Ward. I recently had the pleasure of discussing all this with Ann Hould-Ward herself. Hould-Ward is the Tony Award winning costume designer whose work includes the original Broadway productions of Beauty And The Beast, Into The Woods, Sunday In The Park With George, Falsettos, and the recent revival of The Color Purple.

The Golden Age of Broadway’s new revolutionary way of writing musicals did not just apply to musical plays like those of Rodgers & Hammerstein and Lerner & Loewe – it also transformed the Musical Comedy. In this episode I share the stories of how their success with Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun and Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate inspired a new generation of writers, directors, choreographers, stars and producers including Jule Styne, Frank Loessor, Adler & Ross, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon and Michael Kidd to bring the Musical Comedy to new heights!

In this episode Albert Evans and I tell the story Trude Rittman who during the "Golden Age of Broadway" (and beyond) composed music for 33 Broadway musicals including Carousel, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Fininan’s Rainbow, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music, and Camelot.

In this episode I explore two musicals that led to the "Golden Age of Broadway" -- Lady In The Dark and On The Town. And I highlight the career of Lerner & Loewe, the first major team to follow in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s footsteps, and rival their achievements with their musicals Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot!

Stephen Sondheim considers "The Bench Scene" in Rodgers & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL to be “the singular most important moment in the evolution of contemporary musicals.” In this episode the amazing Albert Evans takes us inside the music with his fascinating, in-depth look at this landmark musical sequence.