Breaking the Curtain

On this episode of Breaking the Curtain, we're kicking off our two-month Stagey Spooks Series with a very special crossover episode. We were so honoured to join Kara and Stephanie of Prophecy Girls: A Buffy Rewatch Podcast to discuss the musical elements of Once More, with Feeling.

"Once More, with Feeling" is the seventh episode of thesixth seasonof the supernatural drama television seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayerand the only one in the series performed as amusical.

Once More, with Feeling explores changes in the relationships of the main characters, using theplot device that a demon— "Sweet" —compels the people of Sunnydale to break into song at random moments to express hidden truths.

BREAKING THE CURTAIN

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PROPHECY GIRLS

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Welcome to our very first edition of THEATRE HOT TAKES where we anonymously read the Theatre Hot Takes our listeners submitted and discuss the topic with our own opinions!

00:47 - The BOOH LV cast was awesome

01:45 - Stunt casting should be given a chance

06:20 - Next to Normal is better than Dear Evan Hansen

09:07 - I love Hamilton and Wicked dearly, but they’ve had their day. They should close

11:30 - Audiences shouldn’t be allowed to drink alcohol at shows

14:46 - The New York Critics are harsh

17:08 - The West End is better than Broadway

21:16 - Hamilton is extremely overrated and not worth the hype

24:55 - Audience members are so entitled these days with no respect for the cast sometimes

25:20 - Cats is a genuinely good and enjoyable musical, people only bash it because it’s easy!

27:04 - Traditional soprano theatre voices <<<

34:43 - Bigger shows aren’t always the best, smaller shows are sometimes better

36:14 - If you’re going to a show set in high school you can’t really complain about “annoying teen fans”

37:43 - Diana The Musical is actually so good and campy. I think it'll come back like Carrie!

41:36 - Jukebox musicals are very overrated. I miss the old classic shows

45:39 - People can be a little too quick to defend their 'faves' when something is brought up that isn't good

47:35 - People take being a 'theatre fan' too seriously

We are beyond thrilled to be joined by Joe Iconis to chat about his upcoming new musical: The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musicalopening later this month at La Jolla Playhouse, the epic fan response on social media to Be More Chill, 'Broadway Here I Come' and much more!

Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and a Lucille Lortel Award, is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, Jonathan Larson Award and Richard Rodgers Award. Joe’s musical Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) opened on Broadway in 2019 at the Lyceum Theatre, following a sold-out Off-Broadway run at The Pershing Square Signature Center and a world premiere at Two River Theatre.

He is the author of Broadway Bounty Hunter (with Lance Rubin and Jason SweetTooth Williams; Barrington Stage Company and Greenwich House Theater Off-Broadway),Bloodsong of Love(Ars Nova, NAMT),The Black Suits(Center Theater Group, Barrington Stage Company),ReWrite(Urban Stages, Goodspeed Opera House), Theaterworks USA’sThe Plant That Ate Dirty SocksandWe The People. Musicals in development include Punk Rock Girl andLove In Hate Nation.

His music appeared on Season 2 of NBC’s “Smash,” with his song “Broadway, Here I Come!” hailed by The New York Times as a new entry in The Great American Songbook.

PRE-ORDER 'ALBUM' ON VINYL

A few months ago we had the pleasure of seeing A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical and it was SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO GOOD! What we didn't know while in the audience is that we were witnessing Mary Page Nance's first performance in the role ofMarcia Murphey.

Mary Page is a New York City-based Broadway Performer, Event Producer, Director/Choreographer, and Business Owner. During COVID, she opened a paper goods business called⁠a page of mary⁠where she sells her handmade goods that sell out in minutes! She produces, directs and choreographs events with Broadway Talent in the private sector and beyond, and also teaches Broadway Master Classes, and one on one privates.

As a performer, Mary Page was in the original casts of both Finding Neverland and Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway, and toured the country with the First National Company of Bright Star. She works frequently developing new musicals in the city, most recently: Black No More written by Black Thought and John Ridley, choreographed by Bill T Jones, and Lempicka, directed by Tony Award Winner Rachel Chavkin.

Mary Page is currently a member of "THE NOISE" in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical!

Our 2023 Tony Interview Series continues with the highly talented and kind, Taylor J. Williams, who is nominated for his work on Broadway's Ain't No Mo!

Taylor J. Williams is a musician and sound designer who has been nominated for a Tony Award for his work on Broadway’s Ain’t No Mo’ along with Jonathan Deans. He has worked as an electronic music designer on more than 30 Broadway productions including Moulin Rouge, Beetlejuice, Be More Chill, King Kong, Disney’s Frozen, Falsettos, and The Who’s orchestral tour: The Who Hits Back.

Taylor’s role as Co-Sound Designer for Ain't No Mo was integral in bringing this vision to life, as his perspective as a Black man allowed him to serve on the sound team as a voice and advocate for the Black community. With his input, he was able to ensure that the sound design of the production accurately represented Black culture and history within the play.

Working alongside three-time Tony Award nominee Jonathan Deans, Taylor’s specific focus for the project was to compose original music, build sound cues to appear between vignettes which were in dialogue with the play, and to speak for Miss Bag, a prop character who embodies the creations of the Black community in the U.S.

Hello Gorgeous! We're joined by our new friends, Fiona and Julianna, from the Drama Fiends podcast, to break down the history behind Funny Girl! From Babs launching into stardom playing the iconic Fanny Brice, to the film, the Broadway revival, casting drama and everything in between - we discuss it all!

Check out our episode with the Drama Fiends on their podcast!

Click here to listen

We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with the incredible Tom Kitt, who is nominated for the 2023 Tony Award for Best Original Score Written for the Theatre for Broadway's Almost Famous!

As huge fans of the show and score, we were thrilled to have an in-depth conversation about Tom's work with the piece.

Tom Kitt is a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winner. As a musical theatre composer, he has written the music for six Broadway shows: Next to Normal (Tony Award), If/Then (Tony Nomination), Flying Over Sunset (Tony Nomination), High Fidelity, Bring it On, The Musical, and Almost Famous. His work for the stage has also been seen Off-Broadway at 2nd Stage (Next to Normal, Superhero), The Public Theater (The Visitor, Shakespeare in the Park) and he has worked at some of the most prestigious regional theatres including The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, The Signature Theater, and ART. In addition, Tom’s Broadway credits as an orchestrator include: Next to Normal (Tony Award), The SpongeBob Musical (Tony Nomination), Jagged Little Pill (Tony Nomination), Almost Famous, Head Over Heels, Everyday Rapture, and American Idiot.

Tom has also been active in the world of film and TV. As one of the vocal arrangers working on the Pitch Perfect films, Tom most notably helped create the classic “Riff-off.” Tom also served as music supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Grease Live and contributed songs for Royal Pains and Penny Dreadful. He also provided music supervision for the NBC series, Rise and has written numerous songs for Sesame Street. And he is known for his two original opening numbers for The Tony Awards, Live in 2019, written with David Javerbaum for James Corden, and the Emmy Award winning, Bigger in 2013, written with Lin-Manuel Miranda for Neil Patrick Harris. Tom is also proud that his musical adaptation of Freaky Friday, co-written with Bridget Carpenter and Brian Yorkey was turned into an original movie musical for Disney Channel. Most recently, Tom served as a Supervising Music Producer on the new Bobby Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez/Steven Levenson/Thomas Kail musical television series, Up Here.

We're delighted to be joined by Benjamin Durham who plays the iconic role of Winnie the Pooh in the new musical adaptation now touring around the UK & Ireland!

The show features many of the original songs written byRichard M.andRobert B. Sherman,who composed most of the music for the Winnie the Pooh franchise over the years. Thepuppets were lovingly crafted within the walls ofRockefeller Productionsby a talented anddedicated team of artists, designers, patternmakers, builders, welders and fabricators; allinfluenced byDisney'sseminal character designs with nods toE.H.Shephard’soriginalillustrations.

We're so thrilled to be joined by Jonathan Cullen to discuss playing the role of rockstar Stacee Jaxx in Toronto's Rock of Ages!

Jonathan Cullen has wowed audiences on stages across North America since 2010. Most recently he played a leading role on the 1st National Tour of the Broadway Smash-hit, The Book of Mormon. Jonathan helped Grammy Nominated Steven Page, formerly of Barenaked Ladies, workshop his new musical, Here’s What It Takes. Previously in his career, Jonathan worked with Tony Award Winning Director Stephen Daldry and Tony Award Winning choreographer Peter Darling along with multiple Academy and Grammy Award Winning artist Elton John on their ground-breaking Broadway success, Billy Elliot.

We're so excited to be joined by Emily Kristen Morris!

Emily is currently the Elphaba standby on the Broadway National Tour of Wicked. Some of her other favorite theatre roles include Bea in Something Rotten (Broadway National Tour), Daisy in Side Show, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, and Sophie in Mamma Mia. Emily has performed as a solo vocalist with symphony orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, and the Norwalk Symphony. Her voice is also featured on Joey Contreras’ new album “In Pieces.”

In 2019 Emily began her studies with the Institute for VocalAdvancement, and founded her voice studio EKM Vocal Studio. Since then, the studio has grown exponentially, and Emily has become a highly sought-after, world-renowned vocal instructor! She teaches lessons, masterclasses and workshops to passionate singers both virtually and in person in New York City.

TikTok: @EmilyKristenMorris
Instagram: @EmilyKristenMorris
Website:www.EmilyKristenMorris.com