This week on Tuesday January 30th the theatre community lost two very important and influential members Chita Rivera & Hinton Battle. Today we turn our focus to Ms. Rivera who was not only a multi awarding artists (including two Tony Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Musical, the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, a Drama League Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom) but also a performer who was the consummate professional who worked tirelessly at her craft and lit up the stage with her dazzling charisma and incredible dancing. She was a true trailblazer whether it was through her origination of many iconic stage roles like Anita in West Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Anna in The Rink or Aurora in Kiss of the Spiderwoman or through her accolades including being the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002. She was someone who continually inspired and mentored so many artists and had one of the most infectious laughs that could fill up any room she was in or an stage she was on. Chita Rivera was a true old school Broadway artist who kept their head down and focused on their work and we will certainly not see the likes of her again any time soon. So in honour of her passing we are revisiting our episode on Bye Bye Birdie which is the musical she earned her first Tony nomination for. We will also dive deeper into her work this season when we tackle Kiss of the Spiderwoman in a few weeks. But for now listen and enjoy this special tribute to a one of a kind artist.

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This week on Tuesday January 30th the theatre community lost two very important and influential members Chita Rivera and Hinton Battle. So to honour both these trailblazers we here at Before the Downbeat will be releasing remastered tribute episodes of musicals they were heavily involved in. For today we turn our focus to Mr. Battle who was not only an incredible dancer but also a 3 time Tony Award winner. He won his 3 awards in the cateogory of Best Supporting Actor in a Musical and this makes him the most award performer for single cateogory. His career spanned multiple mediums from his stage work where he originated the role of the Scarecrow in The Wiz and John in Miss Saigon to his cross over to TV and film, making appearances in Dreamgirls, Smash, These Old Broads, Quantum Leap, Touched by an Angel, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer and he even choreographed the 65th and 66th Academy Awards. So in honour of his passing we are revisiting our episode on Miss Saigon which is musical he won his 3rd Tony Award for. We will also dive deeper into his work next season when tackle The Wiz. But for now listen and enjoy this very special tribute.

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This week we lost a truly great film director and Canadian cinema icon Norman Jewison. He has a long history of working on music videos and movie musicals including Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar. Beyond his musical work he also directed many notable and award winning films including 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'Moonstruck'. So in honour of his passing we are revisiting our Live Movie Musical Commentary of his highly praised film adaption of Fiddler on the Roof! Together in this live commentary, Ryan and Mackenzie explored why this film continues to speak to so many generations and they analyze how Jewison was able to so expertly and cinematically interpret a musical number for the big screen. His work will continually be studied for the years to come and the mentorship he provided will certainly be missed by many aspiring directors. Please listen and enjoy this very special tribute.

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Enjoy the final episode the first season of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they head off on a secret mission and discover some Shakespearian connections in this episode. They give their final ranking of all the episodes this season. Plus they explore the softer side of Gareth and how editing can sway the emotional pull of a song.

All this but first another drink da, da, da, da, da, da in this all new episode!

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Enjoy the latest episode of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they select a champion to fight to the death for them. They breakdown whether the backstory for Gal shown in this episode lines up with his character we've seen so far. They explore how this episode might have been extended if one of the earlier season episodes had been removed. Plus find out how Ryan feels about deadly allergies are portrayed in TV and film.

All this and picture that great big pool of puke and stool a happy ending for us in this all new episode!

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Ho, ho, ho everyone! Just want to share a brief message to say thank you to all you wonderful loyal listeners for such a terrific year. We hope you have enjoyed our bonus episode content like our Schmigadoon and Galavant review series and our first 7 episodes of season 5. We cannot wait to share the new episodes of season 5 with you in the new year and all the other amazing content we have lined up for you! Be sure to check out our social holiday image as we have left clues in the Christmas orbs in what our back 7 episodes will be. Have fun guessing and we will see you in 2024!

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Enjoy the latest episode of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they take some xanax and dive into some repressed childhood memories. They breakdown the complex love coupling of Gal and Madalena. They explore all the fun jabs Menken and Slater take a traditional musical love duets. Plus find out if they agree with Gal and Izzy that the concept of love is nothing like the fairy tales you grow up dreaming of!

All this and some hocus pocus and expialidocious in this all new episode!

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Enjoy the latest episode of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they go completely Mad...Alena for this episode. They breakdown the slightly jumbled plot of this episode and try to figure out why it doesn't quite work. They explore the cute yet also surprising dark relationship of Chef and Gwen. Plus find out if they think Weird Al and his monk character were used in the best possible way for the show!

All this and some trench mouth, tapeworms, and lice in this all new episode!

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Enjoy the latest episode of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they break out some comedy gold. They breakdown the various comedy routines that Richard and the jester Steve explore in their titular duet. They debate whether the joke of showing Isabella's under garments is dated. Plus find out which sea shanty is their favourite.

All this and the lords of the sea just not of the actual sea in this all new episode!

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Enjoy the latest episode of our review miniseries of the musical tv show 'Galavant'! Join Mackenzie and the Cup of Hemlocks Co-Artistic Producer Ryan Borochovitz as they head out and celebrate two balls. They breakdown the Fiddler on the Roof connections that are found in this episode. They explore if the episodic nature of the past two episodes works or if these episodes should have been combined and given a more serialized format. Plus find out if they feel there are one to many eunuch jokes in this episode!

All this and a jackass in a fancy metal can in this all new episode!

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