BROADWAY NATION

Here is the link to join the Backstage Pass Club and support Broadway Nation: https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.com/new_landing This is a special holiday reprise of one of Broadway Nation's most popular episodes: It's an audio version of a Broadway Nation Live! performancethat was presented in December of 2019 at the Vashon Center For The Performing Arts on Vashon Island just outside of Seattle, WA. Several previous episodes of Broadway Nation have explored the crucial role that the Jewish-Russian immigrant songwriter, Irving Berlin, played in the invention of the Broadway Musical.This time I share the story of how he also invented an entirely new category of popular song – the Christmas standard. This live show features musical performances by Cayman Ilika, Eric Ankrim, Chris DiStefano, and Albert Evans. Next week we will be back with part two. Happy Holidays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s special ENCORE Episode is in celebration of Noel Coward’s birthday! Noel Coward was born just outside of London on December 16, 1899, and in fact he was named him Noel because his birth came so close to Christmas! For some reason, ever since I was very young, this lower middle-class, midwestern American gay boy from Cincinnati, Ohio has had a strong affinity for everything Noel Coward — his songs, his plays, his books, his movies, his TV performances, and his musicals. Why? I have no idea. I am not even sure I can pinpoint my first exposure to his work — but certainly by the time I was in high school I was obsessed with Noel Coward. My best guess is that in 1972, when I was 13 years old (and already an avid cast album collector), the original cast album of the new hit off-Broadway revue Oh Coward! was released.This was a deluxe 2 record recording of the entire show which had been devised by Roderick Cook and made up of dozens of Coward’s songs, poems, revue sketches, and even brief excerpts from his plays.All of this was performed by a terrific three-person cast made up of Barbara Carson, Jamie Ross and Cook himself. Of course, I didn’t immediately understand all of the context and references — I just knew that I loved it.What I certainly didn’t understand at the time was that the tittle was a cheeky play on Oh Calcutta!, the infamous nude revue that was causing a sensation at the time.I also didn’t know that Noel Coward’s last public appearance before he died was attending a gala performance of Oh Coward! in NY with Marlene Dietrich as his date. I played that cast album until it was worn out, and at some point I also acquired the cast album to the hit London revue Cowardy Custard which opened that same year. Over the years I have had the enormous pleasure of directing Oh, Coward!three times and I would jump at any chance to do it again. And I also directedPrivate Livesonce, as well. Home sweet heaven for me would be to mount a majorNoel Coward Festival!Who wants to join me? This episode is the second of several that highlight the many queer men & women who played a crucial role in the invention of the Broadway musical. You can find the others at www.Broadway-Nation.com, on the Broadway Podcast Network and wherever you listen to podcasts.Start with Episode 5: Cole Porter & The Queers Who Invented Broadway! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is author Laura Frankos whose delightful and entertaining new novel is titled Broadway Revival —What If Gershwin Had Lived? Although this is the first work of fiction that I have featured on this podcast, as you will hear, Broadway Revival is filled with fascinating and meticulously researched Broadway history. One of the greatest joys of this book is that it provides all of us the opportunity to go back in time and experience legendary Broadway musicals of the 1930s, 40s, & 50s — at least vicariously — through the eyes of the story’s protagonist David Greenbaum. Other central characters include George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Vincent Youmans, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weil, Richard Rodgers & Larry Hart.In fact, an alternate subtitle for the book could have been, “The Time Travelers Boyfriend — Larry Hart”! Laura Frankos is also the author of the The Broadway Musical Quiz Book, the mystery novel St. Oswald’s Niche, numerous stories which have appeared in fantasy, mystery, and science fiction magazines, and she also contributed a chapter to the recent book 50 Key Stage Musicals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second half of my conversation with my dear friend and frequent co-host, Albert Evans, in which we explore the differences between stage and film musicals.If you missed part one you may want to catch up before listening to this one. Of course, we don’t really hate any movie musicals, and as you heard on the previous episode and will continue to hear on this one, we actually love quite a few of them. Hollywood and Broadway musicals are closely related to one another and share many of the same writers, directors, choreographers and stars – which is no doubt why many books and other podcasts analyze and discuss them together.But, as you will hear, Albert and I see stage musicals and film musicals as being two very wonderful, but very different things. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is in response to a question I get quite often from listeners:Is Broadway Nation ever going to focus on movie musicals? Well, today is the day! Of course, I don’t really hate any movie musicals.And I love quite a few of them. In fact, it was largely old movie musicals from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s that I watched on TV when I was a kid back in the 60s and 70s that made be fall in love with show business in the first place. No doubt because so many of them were backstage musicals set in the worlds of Vaudeville, nightclubs, and the bright lights of Broadway. The history of stage and film musicals is, of course, closely related, and they share many of the same creators and stars – which is no doubt why many historians and books analyze and discuss them together.I however see stage musicals and film musicals as being two very different things. What are the main differences between them? I am thrilled to be joined today by my dear friend and frequent Broadway Nation co-host, Albert Evans, to explore and define those differences -- and at least for a day -- give film musicals some love (and maybe a little bit of criticism) on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week on Broadway Nation podcast is Paul Salsini, author of the memoir, Sondheim & Me. Many listeners will know Paul as the founder and original editor of the much beloved magazine, The Sondheim Review, the first only quarterly magazine ever devoted to a living musical theater composer. Paul launched the magazine in 1994 and over the following ten years Paul exchanged notes, letters, faxes and phone calls with Stephen Sondheim — who it was clear was reading every word of every issue of the magazine — and Sondheim often had corrections and comments, or as he called them, “emendations.”On a few occasions these notes and phone calls included “vigorous objections” to what Paul had included the magazine, but overall Sondheim was wonderfully supportive and helpful. Paul’s new book chronicles his unlikely relationship with Sondheim during an eventful period that included the New York premieres of Passion and Saturday Night, the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim Celebration, Broadway revivals of six of Sondheim’s major works, and the decade long development of the musical that would eventually be called Road Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New episode out now! My guests this week are JULIE BOARDMAN & DIANE NICOLETTI — the founders and driving forces behind the Museum Of Broadway! In this episode Julie and Diane share with us the story of how this first ever Broadway museum has come to be. They profile the team extraordinary talents they put together to create it, and most importantly they give us the inside scoop on what to expect when this highly immersive and experiential museum opens next week on November 15, 2020, in the heart of Times Square. I also chat with BEN WEST who is the MOB’s Resident Historian and the creator of one of its central features — the “Timeline of Broadway” history. As you will hear, the Museum of Broadway seems to be tailor made for fans of this podcast, and by the end of the episode I have no doubt that you will be as excited about it as I am. The Museum Of Broadway is located at 145 West 45th Street in New York. Tickets are on sale now at: https://www.themuseumofbroadway.com/about Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second half of my conversation with Adam Abraham, author of the engaging new book Attack Of The Monster Musical – A Cultural History Of Little Shop Of Horrors.If you missed the previous episode you may want to catch up with that one before listening to this one. Last week Adam shared the unlikely behind-the-scenes story of the making of Rodger Corman’s original low budget horror film The Little Shop Of Horrors, and then how that inspired a young writer and director named Howard Ashman to transform it into the stage musical, Little Shop Of Horrors, which quickly became a long running Off-Broadway smash. This week Adam takes us inside the creation of the hit movie adaptation of the musical -- which opened which opened while the original Off-Broadway stage production was still playing.And we discuss the incredible legacy of Little Shop and its impact on American culture over the past 40 years. Most especially, how it kept the flame alive for American musical comedy during the “British Invasion” of Broadway in the 1980s. Perhaps most importantly we explore the significant influence that Howard Ashman, Alan Menken and Little Shop Of Horrors have had on the several generations of musical theater writers who have followed in their footsteps. Adam Abraham is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Auburn University, and he also has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, NYU, and Harvard.His previous books include When Magoo Flew: The Rise And Fall of Animation Studio UPA, and Plagiarizing The Victorian Novel: Imitation, Parody, Aftertext.He has also written for film, television, and theater. Attack of the Monster Musical provides a fascinating, in depth, look into the dynamic partnership of Howard Ashman & Alan Menken and their creation of what I believe is one of the best and most perfectly crafted musicals of all time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special Halloween edition of Broadway Nation! This is the first part of my conversation with Adam Abraham, author of Attack of the Monster Musical – A Cultural History of Little Shop Of Horrors. In this terrific new book Adam relates the unlikely story of how Roger Corman’s schlocky, low budget, 1960’s monster movie was transformed 20 years later into a smash hit, long-running, Off-Broadway musical that became an international sensation and spawned a hit film musical adaptation as well.And of course, today Little Shop Of Horrors is a hit all over again and can currently be seen in another long running off-Broadway production. Adam Abraham is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Auburn University, and he also has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, NYU, and Harvard.His previous books include When Magoo Flew: The Rise And Fall of Animation Studio UPA, and Plagiarizing The Victorian Novel: Imitation, Parody, Aftertext.He has also written for film, television, and theater. Attack of the Monster Musical provides us with a fascinating, in depth, look into the dynamic partnership of Howard Ashman & Alan Mencken and their creation of what I believe is one of the best and most perfectly crafted musicals of all time. Topics discussed in this episode include: How Howard Ashman was influenced by the cast album of GYPSY; how he discovered Roger Corman’s film in the first place; his first musical The Candy Shop; the truth behind the legend that Corman shot the original movie in just two days; NYC’s Off Broadway scene during the late 1970s and early 80s; the WPA Theater; how an early version of Little Shop bombed at the BMI Workshop; the casting of Ellen Greene & Lee Wilcoff (and how Nathan Lane & Faith Prince were almost in the original cast); why the show never moved to Broadway; what Cameron Mackintosh, David Geffin & the Shubert Organization have to do with the show; how the dream team of Ashman & Menken worked together; and the tragic loss of Howard Ashman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special Halloween edition of Broadway Nation! This is the first part of my conversation with Adam Abraham, author of Attack of the Monster Musical – A Cultural History of Little Shop Of Horrors. In this terrific new book Adam relates the unlikely story of how Roger Corman’s schlocky, low budget, 1960’s monster movie was transformed 20 years later into a smash hit, long-running, Off-Broadway musical that became an international sensation and spawned a hit film musical adaptation as well.And of course, today Little Shop Of Horrors is a hit all over again and can currently be seen in another long running off-Broadway production. Adam Abraham is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Auburn University, and he also has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, NYU, and Harvard.His previous books include When Magoo Flew: The Rise And Fall of Animation Studio UPA, and Plagiarizing The Victorian Novel: Imitation, Parody, Aftertext.He has also written for film, television, and theater. Attack of the Monster Musical provides us with a fascinating, in depth, look into the dynamic partnership of Howard Ashman & Alan Mencken and their creation of what I believe is one of the best and most perfectly crafted musicals of all time. Topics discussed in this episode include: How Howard Ashman was influenced by the cast album of GYPSY; how he discovered Roger Corman’s film in the first place; his first musical The Candy Shop; the truth behind the legend that Corman shot the original movie in just two days; NYC’s Off Broadway scene during the late 1970s and early 80s; the WPA Theater; how an early version of Little Shop bombed at the BMI Workshop; the casting of Ellen Greene & Lee Wilcoff (and how Nathan Lane & Faith Prince were almost in the original cast); why the show never moved to Broadway; what Cameron Mackintosh, David Geffin & the Shubert Organization have to do with the show; how the dream team of Ashman & Menken worked together; and the tragic loss of Howard Ashman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices