SMILE, a musical by Howard Ashman and Marvin Hamlisch about a teen beauty pageant may not have won the crown when it premiered on Broadway back in 1986, but it was the winner of this year's "Flop Shop" PATREON! poll. We're hoping now a few more people will know just how important this musical is!

Director, podcaster, and educator Robert W. Schneider joins us just having finished directing a production of this lesser-known gem. Tune in to hear all about the original production and how the show was received by audiences in 2025.

Be sure to follow Rob on Instagram @robwschneider and learn more about his theatre company at The J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company

If you enjoyed this episode, check out last year's winner of the "Flop Shop" poll: STEEL PIER with Colden Lamb

Join us at ⁠PATREON!⁠ for bonus episodes, contests, and polls! Don't forget to like and share our episodes on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠. We have fun playlists on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ to keep you company in between episodes and be sure to check out our ⁠⁠TeePublic Store⁠⁠ where our profits from the designs are donated to ⁠⁠Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS⁠⁠.

More than anything, thank you for being an important part of this podcasting community!

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Just as DEATH BECOMES HER celebrates 10 Tony nominations, we're thrilled to celebrate our new episode dedicated to this brand-new Broadway hit!

Joining us is one of the nominees, the hilarious book writer himself, Marco Pennette (TV's Ugly Betty & Mom), and one of hard-working cast members keeping the show going 8 performances a week, Kaleigh Cronin (Cabaret, A Bronx Tale, Jersey Boys).

Marco is an open, pardon the pun, "book," and you'll love his insider look at how this musical came to be. Kaleigh is not only in the show every night but also understudies both leading lady roles and has wonderful insights on those fabulous divas.

Don't miss DEATH BECOMES HER at the Lunt-Fontaine Theatre in NYC! To learn more, visit deathbecomesher.com. Be sure to follow Kaleigh on Instagram at @kaleigh_cronin.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our recent episode with the writers of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS: Rick Elice and PigPen Theatre Co.

Join us at PATREON! for bonus episodes, contests, and polls! Don't forget to like and share our episodes on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠. We have fun playlists on ⁠Spotify⁠ to keep you company in between episodes, and be sure to check out our ⁠TeePublic Store⁠ where our profits from the designs are donated to ⁠Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS⁠.

More than anything, thank you for being an important part of this podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Let me give you the lowdown, we're K-razy for 'Lew!'"

This week we're covering a game changing musical based on a game changing musical (get ready for Jeff's "Expired Ketchup" metaphor) featuring the Broadway debut of a performer who's now enjoying her Broadway debut as a choreographer! It's CRAZY FOR YOU with Shannon Lewis!

Shannon (JUST IN TIME, FOSSE, CURTAINS, SWEET CHARITY, and so many more...) never forgets a count of choreo, so there's nobody better to talk about this "dance-tastic" musical that not only left audiences floating out of the theater but rolled out the red carpet for legendary director/choreographer Susan Stroman.

For more Shannon, get your tickets now to see her choreographic work in the brand-new musical JUST IN TIME starring Jonathan Groff, and follow her on Instagram at @realshanlew

If you enjoyed this conversation, listen to another incredible artist discuss the legacy of Broadway dance in our SWEET CHARITY episode with Dylis Croman!

Join our ever-growing community on PATREON! Starting at only $1 a month, you can gain access to membership tiers, trivia competitions, bonus episodes and voting polls!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram and TikTok. We have fun playlists on Spotify to keep you company in between episodes. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice...Beetle-just kidding, we're not that crazy.

Today, we're talking about "you know who," and we're doing it with original Broadway cast member and current dance captain on the BEETLEJUICE national tour, Ryan Breslin! (NEWSIES, THE BOOK OF MORMON, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) Join us as we delve into the history of this fan favorite musical, the lore of the Netherworld, and what happens when Congresspeople are escorted out of your show.

Follow Ryan on Instagram at @theryanbreslin and visit him and the rest of the cast on one of their stops by visiting BEETLEJUICE The Musical | Official Tour Website

If you enjoyed this episode, check out another film turned musical composed by a different Australian comic: GROUNDHOG DAY with Ste Clough

Join our ever-growing community on PATREON! Starting at only $1 a month, you can gain access to membership tiers, trivia competitions, bonus episodes and voting polls!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram and TikTok. We have fun playlists on Spotify to keep you company in between episodes. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're the luckiest people in the world as "funny girl" Ruby Karp joins us to discuss the legendary musical FUNNY GIRL. Throughout the conversation there is plenty of love for Babs, plenty of "not love" for Nicky Arnstein, and even a hypothesis regarding who Fanny Brice's third husband would have been in the 2020s.

Follow Ruby on Instagram at @rubykarp and don't miss her show I DON'T TRUST ADULTS playing Soho Playhouse from March 26-May 3.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our episode on another Bob Merrill musical, CARNIVAL featuring Tony winner Debbie Gravitte Shapiro!

Join our ever-growing community on PATREON! Starting at only $1 a month, you can gain access to membership tiers, trivia competitions, bonus episodes and voting polls.

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram and TikTok. We have fun playlists on Spotify to keep you company in between episodes. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Be careful when you open the loop...

A STRANGE LOOP is a musical outlier in many ways: it's one of the few Broadway shows to include book, music, and lyrics by one individual. It also won pretty much every award it could have (including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama) during its New York runs. But maybe most impressive is the sheer number of conversations one can have about it.

This week we welcome Tony nominee L Morgan Lee (A STRANGE LOOP) to open as many of those loops as we can in about an hour's time. Adult conversations will include queer vs gay musicals, the not-so-subtle art of cruising, shame, identity, and more... (notice the ellipses)

Follow L Morgan on Instagram at @lmorganlee and don't miss her March 31st as host of this year's Maestra Amplify 2025, a concert amplifying the women and non-binary musicians in the musical theatre industry.

If you enjoyed this episode, try our FALSETTOS episode with Tony winner Michael Rupert.

We've just announced our new series on PATREON! featuring conversations about the 10 musicals that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (PS- one of them will be A STRANGE LOOP.) Join the PATREON! FAM tier today or be a Beginner for only $1.

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram and TikTok. We have great playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we wrap our three-episode series on recent entries into musical theatre history with one of today's biggest Broadway hits!

THE OUTSIDERS became standard reading for young people in the United States following its novel debut in the 1960s, and now the story has become essential viewing for all musical theatre fans. Joining us to discuss how and why this show became a certified blockbuster is an expert in "musical gangs" and one of the stars of the hit revival of GYPSY, Kevin Csolak!

Broadway audiences have watched Kevin grow up onstage, and his vast experience in the worlds of WEST SIDE STORY and THE OUTSIDERS makes him the perfect guest for this episode.

Follow Kevin on Instagram at @kevincsolak

If you enjoyed this episode, try our GYPSY episode with Alison Fraser or our WEST SIDE STORY episode with Hector Guerrero.

Have you heard it's only $1 a month to join the ever-growing community on PATREON!? You won't want to miss everything in store for our loyal subscribers from new tiers to trivia competitions and bonus episode series!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram, TikTok, and X. We have great playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's beyond privilege to record an episode about a musical with the writers of said musical, and that is exactly what we have this week!

To celebrate last season's WATER FOR ELEPHANTS debut in the licensing world, Tony-nominee Rick Elice (JERSEY BOYS, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, SMASH) as well as three members of innovative theatre team PigPen Theatre Co. (THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON) join us to spend a little more time "under the Big Top" of their epic show. Their decade's long journey of imagination and creativity (with plenty of Rick stories along the way) will leave you excited to mount a production of your own.

To learn about licensing WATER FOR ELEPHANTS where you live, please visit https://broadwaylicensing.com/shows/broadway/water-for-elephants/

Follow PigPen Theatre Co. on Instagram @pigpentheatreco

Have you heard it's only $1 a month to join the ever growing community on PATREON!? Still too much money? Give us a nice review during the month of January, send a screenshot to [email protected] and receive a free year on us! We can't wait to show you what we've been working on!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram, TikTok, and X. We have great playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New for 2025: new episodes of "A Musical Theatre Podcast" will drop on Saturday mornings!

Also new for 2025, we're spending the first episodes of the year discussing some of the newest entries into our musical theatre canon. First up is a "flop" from the 2024 Broadway season with a larger cultural and emotional impact than shows with three times as many performances.

LEMPICKA is a musical that introduces us to an icon too few know by name: Tamara de Lempicka. Special guest and "president" of the Eden Espinosa fan club Sarah Anne Fernandez (WICKED) joins us to discuss historical women in musical theatre, the incredible art of Tamara de Lempicka both on and off the stage, and her upcoming show dedicated to both.

Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarahannee17 and don't miss her show "Don't Forget Me" at The Green Room 42 this Monday, January 13th! Attend in person or virtually by reserving your tickets HERE!

Have you heard it's only $1 a month to join PATREON! Still too much money? Give us a nice review during the month of January, send a screenshot to [email protected] and receive a free year on us! We can't wait to show you what we've been working on!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram, TikTok, and X. We have great playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're celebrating the end of the year this week with the musical A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD. And just like the musical itself, this week's episode is filled with much more than you'd expect:

Join us for this packed conversation as guests Dr. Erica Halverson (host of Arts Educators Save the World) and director/choreographer Daniel Pelzig (Broadway's A Year with Frog and Toad and 33 Variations) bring their years of expertise to the intersection of children, theatre, and one of the most unique undertakings in modern Broadway history.

Learn more about Erica's work (including her book and podcast) by visiting her website ericahalverson.com

Have you heard it's only $1 a month to join PATREON! Join now to qualify for all of our new content in 2025. We can't wait to show you what we've been working on!

Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram, TikTok, and X. We have holiday and episode playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from those designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS TODAY, December 31st!

Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices